Chaoye leiyao 朝野類要

Chaoye leiyao 朝野類要 "Important [facts] from the court and the capital, arranged topically" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Southern Song period by Zhao Sheng 趙升, courtesy name Xiangchen 向辰, from Wenchang 文昌 in today's Guangdong province.

As a young man, Zhao observed court ceremonies, judicial administration, and philosophical discussion at the capital. However, he had no knowledge of official documents or the specialised language used among officials and scholars. Seeking to understand these matters, he turned to various books, only to find that they either contained scant information or omitted them entirely. As a result, he sought guidance from teachers, friends, and elderly scholars. Over the years, he wrote down everything he had learnt and published these notes in 1236 as a book with a length of 5 juan.

His book records stories from the court and society in the capital Lin'an 臨安 (Hangzhou 杭州), organized by category. It is divided into twenty sections, providing information on court assemblies, rites and ceremonies, historical facts, titles and forms of address, the civil service examinations, medicine and divination, careers in he officialdom, like appointments and dismissals, promotions and transfers, ranks and salaries, demotions and pardons, retirement and leisure; furthermore, official duties, laws and regulations, official documents, government affairs, miscellaneous institutions, military personnel, crises and disasters, and additional records. There is a total number of 329 entries. Zhao's book provides valuable information on the organisation of government and administrative matters during the late Southern Song period.

The text is included in the series Wuyingdian juzhenban shu 武英殿聚珍版書, Siku quanshu 四庫全書 (only 14 chapters), Zhibuzuzhai congshu 知不足齋叢書, Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編 and Biji xiaoshuo daguan 筆記小說大觀.