This article discusses Ma Duanlin’s (馬端臨, 1254-ca.1330) historical method by analyzing Wenxian tongkao’s (《文獻通考》) organizational structure. Wenxian tongkao’s historical method is to situate institutions in their historical context, observe and analyze their processes dynamically, and then investigate their advantages and disadvantages. This method is applied through a carefully-designed structure by Ma Duanlin. The structure of Wenxian tongkao can be divided into two categories: “wen” (文, sources) and “xian” (獻, worthies’ discussions), which are constructed by four levels. The first level belongs to the wen category, which is a collection of sources of institutions (including sources of both institutional regulations and their actual operations in history). The second to the fourth levels belong to the xian category. The second level records contemporaries’ discussions, and the third level later Confucian scholars’ discussions. The fourth level records Ma Duanlin’s own comments. The four levels are interconnected to construct a dynamic institutional history. As a result, the institutional history presented by Wenxian tongkao presents a highly coherent narrative with clearly defined questions. All of the questions are relevant to the fundamental principles of the governmental process. The purpose of this kind of historical approach is to examine governmental process rationally and provide practical suggestions for the contemporary and future governments. Ma Duanlin’s elaborate historical method took shape in the background of the prosperity of the gushi (故事) genre during the Song Dynasty.