Zhishi yuwen 治世餘聞

Zhishi yuwen 治世餘聞 "Supplementary accounts from an ordered age" is a collection of historical stories compiled by Chen Hongmo 陳洪謨 (1474-1555) during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644). The work, comprising 8 juan, was completed in 1521. Chen regarded the Hongzhi Emperor 弘治帝 (Emperor Xiaozong 明孝宗 (r. 1487-1505) as a diligent and reform-minded ruler, and believed that the government during the Hongzhi reign-period was clear and upright, comparable to the idealised governance of the Three Dynasties of high antiquity (Xia 夏, Shang 商, and Western Zhou 西周). For this reason, he characterised the era as a "well-governed age" (zhishi 治世), which forms part of the book's title. Chen Hongmo also wrote the book Jishi jiwen 繼世紀聞 and the poetry collection Jingfangting zhaigao 靜芳亭摘稿.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part, comprising four juan, focuses on major political affairs during the Hongzhi reign-period, including court scandals such as the bribery case involving Li Guang 李廣, the incident in which the father of Zhang Weixin 張維新 (b. 1545), a Supervising Secretary (jishi 給事), violated court protocol and was publicly reprimanded, the case of the censor (yushi 御史) Li Xing 李興 (b. 1444) redressing the wrongful conviction of Yang Er 楊二, and a scandal involving collusion between salt merchants and government officials.

The second part records the activities and careers of state officials, covering topics such as the system of remonstrating officials, the selection system for chief examiners of the provincial examination, and the growing localisation of provincial grand coordinators (xunfu 巡撫). The work also preserves historical accounts such as the circumstances surrounding Lady Ji's 紀氏 giving birth to the future Emperor Xiaozong.

As a collection of records based on the author’s personal experience within the high-ranking official circles of the Ming bureaucracy, this book serves as an important primary source for studying the political environment of the Hongzhi reign-period.

In 1985, it was published by Zhonghua Shuju 中華書局 and included in the series Yuan-Ming shiliao biji congkan 元明史料筆記叢刊, where it was bound together with Chen's Jishi jiwen and Zhang Han's 張瀚 Songchuang mengyu 松窗夢語 (1510-1593). The text also appears in the series Jilu huibian 紀錄彙編, Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編, Jingyin Yuan-Ming shanben congshu 景印元明善本叢書 and Lidai shiliao biji congkan 歷代史料筆記叢刊.