The Plum Flower Manuals were written by different authors from different periods of time. However, they had common themes and most of the original Plum Flower Manuals were extensions or improvements of the earlier ones. There were also overlaps in content in the earlier Plum Flower Manuals.

The original Plum Flower Manual was by Wang Zaiyue.
Some of the exact dates of publications of the Plum Flower Manuals is not known but the general consensus of the order is as follows:

• 01 Wang's Plum Flower Manual
• 02 Wu Shuang Pin Plum Flower Manual
• 03 Chong Ben Tang Plum Flower Manual (1865AD)
• 04 Plum Flower Springs Manual
• 05 Zheng's Plum Flower Manual (1897AD) (originally known as 《梅花五子变》)
• 06 Wu's Plum Flower Manual (Late Qing Dynasty)
• 07 Shan Qing Tang Plum Flower Manual
• 08 Anti-Plum Flower Manual by Ba Jiren