Extracts from 137 Qing authors, including Chen Hongmou, Wang Huizu, Xie Jinluan, Yuan Shoudong, Yin Huiyi, and many others, arranged chronologically under 18 topics dealing with problems of local government. Yang Yizeng’s pref. makes reference to Qiewenzhai wenchao 切問齋文鈔 (1776) and Huangchao jingshi wenbian 皇朝經世文編 (1826) as models. A note at the end of the fanli (liyan 例言 in the 1848 ed.) says that, although it had been completed in 1838, the work was revised (重訂) for a 1848 ed., many materials having been either added or removed in between: one therefore finds materials posterior to 1838. The fanli mentions that Zhouxian shiyi (q.v.), being a work composed on imperial order, should only be consulted in its entirety, in the same way as Da Qing huidian; therefore it has not been included in the selection. Certain works are also cited, such as Congzheng yigui, Fuhui quanshu, or Huangzheng congshu (qq.v.), which should be “bought and read” in their entirety; still other works, like specialized treatises on financial or judiciary problems, cannot be excerpted and should be consulted when one has time. The emphasis is on what is directly usable to confront current problems. The 18 headings are as follows: “Bases of government” (治原) (j. 1), “Outline of administration” (政略) (j. 2), “Controlling one’s family” (持家) (j. 3), “Employing men” (用人) (j. 4), “Serving superiors” (事上) (j. 5), “Meeting subordinates” (接下) (j. 6), “Selecting good advice” (取善) (j. 7), “Rejecting bad policies” (屏惡) (j. 8), “Agriculture and sericulture” (農桑) (j. 9-10), “Taxes and levies” (賦役) (j. 11), “Disaster management” (籌荒) (j. 12-14), “Ensuring prosperity” (保息) (j. 15), “Educating the people” (教化) (j. 16), “Administration of justice” (刑名) (j. 17-19), “Subduing violence” (戢暴) (j. 20), “Military preparedness” (備武) (j. 21), “Other considerations” (事彙) (j. 22), and “Provincial officials” (憲綱) (j. 23). Each chapter begins with a table of all the titles and authors of the excerpts and a short introduction; each excerpt is preceded by basic biographical data on the author, and occasionally followed by a comment by Xu Dong. Muling shu is among the best edited and easiest to use of all Qing magistrates handbooks.