Hú Tàichū was a Southern Sòng official, a native of Tāizhōu 天台 in modern Zhèjiāng, active from the Duānpíng era (1234–1236) into the early Bǎoyòu reign. According to his own preface to the Zhòulián xùlùn 晝簾緒論 (KR2l0020) and to the Sìkù Tíyào, he composed that 15-chapter manual of magistracy in Duānpíng 2 (1235) for his father-in-law (Mr Táo of Xiāngxī 香溪) on the occasion of the latter’s first county appointment. He himself rose to Prefect of Chùzhōu 處州 in Chúnyòu 12 (1252) and reissued the manual in print at the prefectural seat in Chúnyòu 13 (1253) for distribution to his constituent counties. The catalog meta gives him “fl. 1235–1253,” reflecting these documented end-points; CBDB has him as id 18889 with no firm dates. He has no separate biography in the Sòngshǐ, and the Zhòulián xùlùn is the principal evidence for his career.