Turn History Into Zi——The Classification of Novels in The Catalogue of Sikuquanshu

The department of history mainly focuses on narrative, while the Zi department mainly focuses on discussion. Ban Gu believed novel belonged Zi, Liu Zhiji believed novel belonged history, Hu Yinglin combined the history novel and the Zi novel into one. The novels in The Catalogue of Sikuquanshu are mainly narratives, but they are also belonged to the Zi. For solve this contradiction, Ji Yun adopted the method of turn history into Zi. He believed that although these novels were narrative, their purpose was to discussion. This view is vividly reflected in Yuewei Cottage Notes.