Palace Library

The Palace Library was a central government agency in Imperial and monarchical China, Korea, and Vietnam generally in charge of maintaining and archiving the collection of the monarch's documents.

China

The office was in existence for the most part from the mid-200s CE to 1380. Over the millennia there were five names for this office:

Directorate of the Palace Library : during the Three Kingdoms, the Liao dynasty, the Jin dynasty and the Yuan dynasty
Court of the Palace Library : between 300 to 464
Department of the Palace Library : during the Northern and Southern dynasties, the Sui dynasty, most of the Tang dynasty, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the Song dynasty and the Ming dynasty
Orchid Pavilion : used during the Tang dynasty between 662 and 670
Unicorn Pavilion : used during the Tang dynasty and the Wu Zhou between 684 and 712

In addition to preserving the emperor's official documents, the agency was sometimes also tasked with compiling or editing historical records and state calendars. Before the Sui dynasty, it also handled documents flowing into and out of the imperial palace, making it interchangeable with the Secretariat. During the late Tang dynasty and the Song dynasty, the office was largely non-functional and staffed by eminent officials for sinecure purposes.
The office during the Tang dynasty was headed by one director and two vice directors, and during the Song dynasty by one director and one vice director. The office was also staffed with assistant directors and assistants. During the Yuan dynasty, the office was headed by four chief ministers, two directors, two vice directors, and two assistant directors, all eunuchs.

Korea

Modeled after the Chinese institution, the office also existed in Goryeo dynasty under several names:

As Department of the Inner Library : from 918 to 995
As Department of the Palace Library: from 995 to 1298
As Directorate of the Palace Library: from 1298 to 1308 and from 1356 to 1362
As Office of Proofreading Documents : from 1308 to 1356
As Court of Proofreading Documents : from 1362 to 1392

In general, the office was staffed by 1 supervisor, 1 director, 1 vice director, 2 assistant directors and 1 assistant.

Vietnam

The Palace Library Office of the Nguyễn dynasty was one of the four sở of the cabinet of the Nguyễn dynasty. It was first established under the reign of the Minh Mạng Emperor under the name Palace Library Section and would retain its final form during the reign of the Thiệu Trị Emperor. The Palace Library Office of the Southern Court took care of the copying of poems and documents, preserving important documents, such as official correspondence with other countries, national maps, and public bibliographies.