"Da Ming huidian 大明會典 (Collected statutes of the great Ming)... the second [ed.] was ordered in 1576 and printed in 1587, and is therefore referred to as the Wanli huidian 萬曆會典. It covers the years 1479 to 1584. The huidian were based on early statutes and regulations such as the Da Mingling. The huidian are not legal works, but collections of documents showing the workings of the main organs of government, their administrative procedures, precedents, and historical development. As such, they are very important sources for institutional and political history." Cf. Wilkinson, Chinese history, a manual, p. 884.
For textual history cf. Franke, An introduction to the sources of Ming history, p, 178 [6.1.12].