Yunjian jumu chao 雲間據目抄

Yunjian jumu chao 雲間據目抄 "Notes on observations from Cloud Leisure [Hall]" is a Ming-period 明 (1368-1644) collection of notes compiled by Fan Lian 范濂, completed during the Wanli reign-period 萬曆 (1573-1619).

Set in the Songjiang 松江 region (today part of Shanghai), it documents local society, customs, and historical anecdotes. The work is divided into five sections, namely People (Renwu 人物), Customs (Fengsu 风俗), Omens and Anomalies (Xiangyu 祥異), Taxation and Corvée (Fuyi 賦役), and Construction (Tumu 土木), each comprising one juan. Its contents include political events, folk legal cases, natural and supernatural phenomena, and aspects of local governance. The book is valuable both as a source of local historical records and as a work of social critique.

The book employs a realistic narrative style to reveal the corruption of officials and the misconduct of local gentry, recounting incidents such as the deeds of the "Four Iron Censors" (si tie yushi 四帖御史) and the Zhang Zhongmou 張仲謀 murder case. These narratives reflect the social tensions and urban life of the Jiangnan region 江南 in the late Ming period. It also provides detailed depictions of Songjiang‘s handicrafts, commerce, and daily life, including descriptions of cotton-dyeing workshops and the evolution of furniture fashions. Through its incisive language and critical tone, the work directly addresses moral decline and growing extravagance in late Ming society. Notably, it records collusion between gentry and clerks and practices of tax evasion, which exemplify the era’s social maladies.

The book is found in the series Biji xiaoshuo daguan 筆記小說大觀, Shenbaoguan congshu xuji 申報館叢書續集 and Chushi suoke shu 褚氏所刻書.