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The Tianxia junguo libing shu 天下郡國利病書 "On benefit and faults of the empire's local administration" is a comprehensive history of local administration from the Ming period 明 (1368-1644). Its author, Gu Yanwu 顧炎武, collected materials from various local gazetteers (difangzhi 地方志) from the whole empire to evaluate the effects of good and bad government in order to have a compendium at hand how to benefit (li 利) the people and the state and how to avoid malfunction (bing 病). This was especially important in a time when corruption and bad government were rampant and would eventually lead to the end of the dynasty.
The book begins with a geographic overview of the empire, proceeds to the two capitals of the Ming dynasty, Nanjing and Beijing, and then goes on to the provinces. Gu Yanwu describes in detail the local conditions and politics in field distribution, taxation, hydrology, military, border defense and many more topics.
The book is available in two different versions. The original draft version by Gu is to be found in the third series of the collectaneum Sibu congkan 四部叢刊三編, another version in 120 juan "scrolls" was printed in Chengdu 成都, Sichuan. The second version contains many errors.
Source: Li Xun 李洵 (1992). "Tianxia junguo libing shu 天下郡國利病書", in: Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Zhongguo lishi 中國歷史, vol. 2, p. 1140. Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe.
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