Linghu Dequn was an influential historian and bibliophile in the Tang Dynasty. He made many important achievements in the protection of ancient books, historical revision work, and academic works.

First, during his tenure as a secretarial official at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Linghu Dequn proposed an important book purchase plan. Due to the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, many books were lost. Linghu Dequn suggested using the power of the court to collect books from all over the world and reward those who contributed books. With the support of Tang Gaozu, this plan was successfully implemented, and a large number of books were collected in just a few years. Soon after Tang Taizong ascended the throne, more than 200,000 volumes of books had been collected in the Hongwendian, of which more than 80,000 volumes were old books from the Sui Dynasty, and the remaining more than 120,000 volumes were obtained through purchases. The results of this work were remarkable, laying a solid foundation for the cultural accumulation of the time.

Secondly, Linghu Dequn participated in the collation of ancient books. In the second year of Zhenguan, he presided over the collation of the purchased books according to the "Four Sections" classification, which made the books in the Secretarial Office organized and restored. He recognized the importance of cultural construction at the beginning of the new dynasty and actively promoted the collation of ancient books, timely saving a large number of scattered ancient books and documents. This work laid the foundation for the collation and revision of ancient books in the early Zhenguan period and also contributed to the prosperity of Tang culture.

In addition, Linghu Dequn also participated in the compilation of historical records. He advocated the compilation of history and enjoyed a high reputation among historians at that time. He once said to Tang Gaozu, "I have seen that in recent times, there have been many historical records without proper historical records. The Liang, Chen, and Qi dynasties still have literary works." Dequn's timely suggestions and concise analysis caused Tang Gaozu to carefully consider it. After some planning, he officially issued an edict to compile the historical records of the previous generations, including the Wei, Zhou, Sui, Liang, Qi, and Chen dynasties, and divided the work among various historians.

Later, Li Yanshou wrote the "History of the South" and the "History of the North". Worried that they would not be officially recognized because they were privately written, he asked Linghu Dequn to review and revise them. As a senior historian, Linghu Dequn vigorously supported the young Li Yanshou, affirmed his work, and made some revisions. Subsequently, these two historical records were officially submitted to the court and had the opportunity to be publicly circulated.

The eight official histories revised, including the "Book of Liang", "Book of Chen", "Book of the Northern Qi", "Book of Zhou", "Book of Sui", "Book of Jin", "History of the South", and "History of the North", were all either full of Dequn's hard work or specifically guided by him. In general, they all have a direct and practical connection with Dequn.

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