Administrative documents, judicial decisions, correspondence, etc., written by the author as magistrate in three Anhui counties or departments from 1899 to 1901. Each chapter has a detailed mulu indicating the content, format, and date of the documents included. J. 1 contains documents from Yao’s tenure in Shidai 石埭 and Huaining 懷寧, mostly in the form of communications (禀 or 呈) and proclamations (示); many discuss attempts to control sectarianism and banditry; the chapter concludes with a note summarizing the author’s experiences. J. 2 is composed of documents written during the first two months of Yao’s tenure in Hezhou 和州 (3^rd to 5^th months, 1901). The documents in j. 3 also deal with service in Hezhou; they date from the period 6^th to 11^th month, 1901. The documents in j. 2 are in particular devoted to problems of defense, those in j. 3 to famine relief. J. 3 concludes with a second authorial postf. emphasizing the difficulties Yao encountered in Hezhou and the energetic action he took against banditry and famine.