It seems that facsimile eds. of the work, featuring the same date and stating “jointly edited by Xu and Xiong,” were produced in different places. Xu’s pref. recalls the importance of drawing inspiration from leading cases (成案) to “modulate” (加減, or 上下) sentences through the use of analogy (比照). The present compilation was first edited (校) by Xiong E, an official at the Ministry of Justice when Xu Lian met him. According to Xiong (cited in Xu’s preface), it is “a golden needle for deciding judgments in present times” (當世決獄金鍼); in his own pref. Xiong also stresses the clarity and brevity of the bizhao jiajian leading cases, as opposed to the proliferation and cumbersomeness of ministry memoranda (說帖). Another Ministry of Justice official who was associated with the compilation was Li Zhangyu 李璋煜 (see under Xiyuan lu bianzheng cankao). Xu Lian edited the work, based on the comparison of several handwritten copies, added abundant punctuation to the text, and had it engraved. The cases are arranged following the order of the sections and statutes in the Code, as listed in the mulu. (Only a selection of the statutes are represented.) The central margins indicate only the relevant part and section of the Code. A few cases at the end refer to Lifan yuan zeli 理藩院則例, Menggu zeli 蒙古則例, and Biyin tiaoli 比引條例. The entries are quite short. Each indicates the ministry’s provincial bureau (清吏司) that treated the case, the date of decision, and the rank of the provincial official who submitted the case; a brief abstract of the circumstances precedes the bureau’s statement explaining why it considers the punishment proposed should be either increased or decreased. The cases date from 1813 to 1822. For a sequel, see Xingbu bizhao jiajian cheng’an xubian (1843).