Harvard–Yenching Classification

Alfred Kaiming Chiu (1898–1977) was a pioneer of establishing a library classification system for Chinese language materials in the United States of America. The system devised by him was known as Harvard–Yenching Classification System. The system was primarily created for the classification of Chinese language materials in the Harvard-Yenching Library which was founded in 1927 at the Harvard-Yenching Institute.

During that early period other systems, such as the early edition of the Library of Congress Classification, did not consist of appropriate subject headings to classify the Chinese language materials, particularly the ancient published materials. As many American libraries started to collect the ancient and contemporary published materials from China, a number of American libraries subsequently followed Harvard University to adopt Harvard–Yenching classification system, such as the East Asian Library of the University of California in Berkeley, Columbia University, The University of Chicago, Washington University in St. Louis etc.