Kezuo zhuiyu 客座贅語

Kezuo zhuiyu 客座贅語 "Idle talk from the guests' seats" is a "brush-notes"-style book (biji 筆記) written during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Gu Qiyuan 顧起元 (1565–1628), courtesy name Taichu 太初 or Linchu 鄰初, was from the Imperial Insignia Guard (jinwuwei 金吾衛) of the Southern Capital Nanjing 南京. He obtained the jinshi degree in 1598. He later served as Chancellor of the Directorate of Education (Guozijian jijiu 國子監祭酒) and rose through the ranks to Left Vice Minister of Personnel (libu zuo shilang 吏部左侍郎), concurrently holding the position of Reader-in-Waiting Academician of the Hanlin Academy (Hanlinyuan shidu xueshi 翰林院侍讀學士), before requesting retirement and returning home. Gu Qiyuan was widely learned in both ancient and contemporary scholarship and studied diligently throughout his life. He was posthumously given the title Wenzhuang 顧文莊公. His writings include Xuetang suibi 雪堂隨筆, Dunyuan mangao 遁園漫稿, Zhe'an mulu 蟄庵目錄, Jinling gujin baikao 金陵古金百考 and Shuolüe 說略.

This book of 10 juan length mainly records anecdotes and past events related to Jinling 金陵 (Nanjing). Its contents consist entirely of historical incidents and miscellaneous matters concerning Nanjing; topics unrelated to the city were not included. Nevertheless, aspects of the successes and failures of Ming politics and the economic situation of the time can also be glimpsed through the work. Because much of the material pertains to minor local affairs of Jinling, the book is not organised into formal thematic categories but instead follows a format of miscellaneous anecdotal writings. Despite this informal structure, the work includes many valuable historical observations. For instance, it records the hardships inflicted on the population by Qing military forces, the losses of grain during the tribute grain transport system, and the extortion practised by palace eunuchs along transport routes. It also discusses the reorganisation of Nanjing's urban residents after the mid-Ming period into lijia 里甲 household units, which led to frequent requisitions and extremely heavy labour obligations.

The book further notes that supplies needed by Ming officials were taken from licensed merchant shops (puhang 鋪行) and paid for at official prices, but payment was often delayed or insufficient. Such practices sometimes caused market closures. The work also discusses rice prices in Jiangnan 江南 (the southeastern provinces) since the Jiajing reign-period 嘉靖 (1522-1566), as well as the popular customs and social conditions of the southern regions.

These observations were mainly based on the author's personal experiences as a state official, providing a basis in historical fact and rendering them historically significant – apart from some accounts of supernatural tales and trivial curiosities. Existing editions include the Jinling congke 金陵叢刻 edition and a woodblock edition from the Wanli reign-period 萬曆 (1573-1619).