隋朝曾多次編纂目錄，『隋書』〈許善心傳〉記載許善心編了一部《七林》，這目錄在《隋書》〈經籍志〉失收。本文通過分析《隋書》〈許善心傳〉的史源、作者、《隋書》〈經籍志〉編纂時間、史臣間的關係等問題，嘗試重新探討這事。 《七林》出現時，天下剛統一。本文以《七林》為主是，乃藉這書來反映統一後學者對圖書、目錄的整合。此外，本文亦從南北朝官私藏書與目錄編纂情況，討論南北兩地的學滿諭發展差異。南朝圖書大量增加，促成南朝的目錄編纂一枝獨秀。這背景使隋朝學者在整理前朝圖書和編纂目錄時，以南朝目錄作為參考依據。許善心及其家世與南朝淵源甚深，在這些因素影響下，許善心雖於天下一統後編纂《七林》，但南朝目錄的影響力卻仍在發揮作用。

Qi Lin 七林 is a bibliographic work of the Sui dynasty. In the “Bography of Xu Shanxin” in the History of the Sui《隋書》〈許善心傳〉, we find one brief paragraph of 54 characters describing Qi Lin informing us that it was edited by Xu Shanxin. However, it is not mentioned in the Jingji zhi經籍志section of the History of the Sui, which is a bibliographic collection dating from the Sui Dynasty. Two modern Chinese scholars have advanced hypotheses concerning this discrepancy, but without any substantive evidence to support their views. This study will, therefore, first examine the important issue of why Qi Lin does not appear in the Jingji zhi section of the History of the Sui. Secondly, the author will investigate the different academic styles that existed in northern and southern China before the political unification of the Sui Dynasty (Qi Lin was edited after political unification had succeeded). During the period of southern Dynasties, the growth of both official and private book collections stimulated the editing of bibliographic works. After unification, the Sui government, which found itself in possession of a large quantity of books, had to create a series of bibliographic works in order to be able to utilize this patrimony. Given the lack of bibliographic tradition in the north, Sui scholars had to turn to southern scholars for help in compiling their own works. The academic influence of the Southern Dynasties upon the bibliographic works of the Sui Dynasty can thus be clearly evidenced. Xu Shanxin was raised and educated in the south, and only moved to northern China after unification. Thanks to his academic background and renown as a scholar, he started to edit the Qi Lin. Thus, while the northern regime reunified China, the southern Dynasties continued to maintain their influence in the area of bibliographies.