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Ming mingchen yanxing lu 明名臣言行錄 "Records of words and deeds of famous Ming persons" is a biographical collection compiled by the very early Qing-period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Xu Kairen 徐開任 (dates unknown), courtesy name Jizhong 季重, from Kunshan 昆山, Jiangsu.
The book of 95 juan length gives an overview of the "excellent discourses and exemplary conduct" (jiayan yixing 嘉言懿行) of important persons through the Ming period 明 (1368-1644), including the Southern Ming 南明 (1644-1661).
The individual biographies are compiled in a very objective way, not judging unfairly because of rank and social standing, but critically discerning between right and wrong doings, strengths and weaknesses. This is particularly true for those experiencing the disastrous downfall of the Ming in 1644. Xu is very cautious in his critique towards those persons and tries to give the most fair rating for each person. The scholar Huang Zongxi 黃宗羲 (1610-1695) therefore praised Xu as an excellent historian and a model for later generations.
A private print of Xu Kairen survives.
Xu Xian 徐咸 (jinshi degree 1511) had compiled a book with the same title and with a length of 24 juan. The contemporary title was Huang-Ming mingchen yanxing lu 皇明名臣言行錄. Both texts, the older one of Xu Xuan, and the younger book of Xu Kairen, are included in the series Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書.