24 short entries (making 11 + 9 folios in all) covering the rubrics usual in standard magistrate handbooks, such as administering justice, examining students, encouraging philanthropy, dealing with local notables, handling ruffians (棍徒), hiring private secretaries, managing one’s household, controlling one’s servants, controlling clerks and runners, ordering village chiefs to compile registers and maps, promoting baojia, maintaining good relations with superiors and colleagues, improving customs, and not relaxing one’s attention. According to Xu Qiaolin (who also contributes a few commentaries in the text), this short work written in plain language should be regarded as a welcome addition to Wang Huizu’s Xuezhi yishuo (q.v.): of the latter he says that in spite of being extremely useful—contrary to most handbooks, which are “out of touch with the world” (遠於世情)—it is a little hard for beginners. The format in comparatively short paragraphs introduced by a brief formula (to the effect that such-and-such a thing is not possible (不可), or is necessary (須, 必須), or cannot be dispensed with (不可不), etc., is indeed the same as in Wang Huizu’s handbooks. The prefs. state that although Dai wrote the work before he held any official position, he had early connections with the administrative milieu through his family, notably by following an uncle who had been appointed magistrate of Laiyang 萊陽 (Shandong).