A standard handbook for magistrates, by an author who served, apparently with much distinction, as magistrate of Huitong 會同 and Zhijiang 芷江 counties and Guiyang 桂陽 department (Hunan), and later in Quzhou 曲周 (Zhili). The work consists of short entries (253 in all) on topics dealing with the magistrate’s personal behavior and with his administrative duties. It is heavily quoted in Muling shu (q.v.). It was obviously considered a work of reference in the nineteenth century, as illustrated by the keen interest manifested by Liu Heng, the author of Yongli yongyan (q.v.), and his son. Liu Heng, who had access to the text in 1820, claims that it served as a blueprint (紛本) for Wang Huizu’s Xuezhi yishuo (q.v.), which indeed is similar in format; he insists that the chief merit of Tumin lu, besides the information on local government it provides, is its emphasis on loving the people (以愛民為主). Most entries generously cite model officials of the past as examples, though in a rather allusive fashion, implying a fair knowledge of history on the part of the reader and connecting the author’s utterances with a culture of professional excellence. Only some of the eds. have tables of contents.