The Confucian classics, such as The Book of Songs, The Book of History, The Book of Rites, The Book of Changes, and The Spring and Autumn Annals, are not only truthful and elegant in thought, but also rich in content and refined in style. Written for different purposes, these books vary greatly in style. Produced centuries ago, these classics were later rewritten by Confucian scholars according to their writing styles, and they were used in the Confucian education system. These classic writings had an important impact on all aspects of ancient Chinese politics, society, culture, and life. They were not only classics for moral education, but also set standards for scholarly writing.

Thus the writings of sages are both elegant and refined, graceful in wording and rich in content. While the way of nature is difficult to comprehend, people still try hard to understand it. Writings are easy to acquire, so why not study them? If we base our arguments on the classical writings of sages, we can write good articles. (Liu Xie: The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons)