Deyi lu is principally devoted to charities and similar endeavors. Consonant with his own philanthropic activities, the author collected statements on, and more especially the regulations (章程, 條約, and the like) of, a vast number of charitable enterprises, past and present, such as philanthropic associations (同善會), orphanages (育嬰堂), refuges for chaste widows (清節堂), public pharmacies (施藥局), associations for promoting frugality (賞節會), famine relief organizations, charitable schools (義學), and many more. All of these, he insists, can be used as models and put into practice. The first entry (in the original 1869 ed.) is devoted to the regulations of the celebrated Fan charitable estate founded by Fan Zhongyan 范仲淹 in the Song dynasty, and the second to those of the charitable association (tongshan hui) created by the late-Ming scholar Chen Longzheng 陳龍正 (author of Jiuhuang cehui, q.v.). The title of the work uses a dictum from Zhongyong to the effect that “A single act of benevolence is enough to earn the people’s diligent response” (得一善則拳拳服膺). Even though these organizations, which started to multiply in late-Ming Jiangnan, were run and funded by private bodies, the presence of officials as sponsors, guarantors of the regulations, or even prime movers, was pervasive. Several texts quoted in Deyi lu are proclamations or regulations ordered by local officials. This is especially notable in the sections devoted to famine relief and disaster prevention (j. 5-6 in the 16-j. version). Such organizations as the xiangyue and baojia, which in the late empire were part of rural administration, are also included. Also quoted are numerous sample proclamations by officials, public notices, and other documents related to burials, temple building, fire prevention, and public morals. The close connection between the state and the so-called philanthropic “public sphere” as well as the active encouragement that was expected from local officials are apparent in the fact that the leaders of the charitable association that put out the 1885 edition published in Changsha planned to distribute their books to every yamen, petitioning the authorities to keep them as “official books”; among the titles whose printing blocks have been given to the Baoshan tang and that they intend to publish, one notes official handbooks such as Zhouxian shiyi, Xiyuan lu jie, Renchen jingxin lu, Weizheng zhonggao, Wuzhong yigui, and Zheyu guijian (qq.v.). All of this explains why Deyi lu, while not strictly speaking an official handbook, has been included in several bibliographies and anthologies of guanzhen. Indeed, Yu Zhi’s own definition in his postf. of the range of topics discussed well illustrates the continuity of private and public “charitable enterprises” (善舉): they include “every good enterprise to cherish one’s relatives, be generous to the people and take care of the [ten-thousand] beings, as well as nourish life and take care of the dead, promote useful policies and eradicate abuses, improve customs and change habits” (凡親親仁民愛物以及養生送死興利除弊移風易俗諸善舉). As clearly indicated in Yu Zhi’s postf., the original 1869 ed. was in 16 j. A comparison with the eds. in 8 j. suggests that in actuality the latter contain more materials; among them the 1885 Baoshan tang ed. has significantly more entries than the 1889 Yanju ed.