In his pref., Wu Shouchun (z. Helin 鶴林), who was Liu Heng’s private secretary during his Sichuan years, says that when Liu was appointed to a position in Henan in 1830, some Sichuan gentrymen and officials asked him (Wu) to compile an anthology of Liu’s proclamations and directives from his eight years in the province, and then had it printed. (Liu Heng does not mention Wu’s role in his own pref. to Yongli yongyan, but does confirm in his pref. to Shuliao wenda [q.v.] that while about to leave Chengdu and sick with malaria, he asked Wu to assemble the Yongli yongyan material for him.) Liu claims to be “ordinary” because he followed the methods established by his predecessors and did not attempt to distinguish himself by his own views (無出臆見稍稍自立異者庸矣). The text can be read as a record of his experiences as a local official in that region, starting with an account of his arrival at his Baxian 巴縣 post, followed by discussions of some of the issues and problems he faced during his tenure. The entries are in the form of directives, proclamations, regulations, communications to superiors, and other documents issued during the course of the author’s day-to-day duties—in other words, a gongdu anthology. Among the topics dicussed are problems related to the management of clerks and runners, issues of morality and behavior among the people, charity for orphans and the poor, justice administration, famine relief, and management of baojia and militia. The Shuliao wenda and Yongli yutan (qq.v.) complement the work, which quickly was regarded as one of the Qing classic magistrate handbooks.