The literature collection has irreplaceable value for the study of style concepts. Yan Kejun 严可均 presented his idea of the Sao-style 骚体 through the editing and compilation of the

Quan shanggu sandai qinhan sanguo liuchao wen

全上古三代秦汉三国六朝文

.

By analyzing and sorting out the common

examples， notes， and selected works in this book， the compiler confirmed that the book includes 59 pre-Tang Sao texts. The concept of Sao （works collected from

Chuci zhangju

楚辞章句） reflected in the titles or prefaces of the works is the primary indicator of Sao defined in the book， regardless of the linguistic forms. For works with less obvious stylistic features， the use of the character“xi”兮 and the presence of empty words at the end of sentences becomes the main basis for determining the Sao style in the book

.

Sao originates from

The book of songs

诗经， encompassing the traditional Ci style 辞体 as a subcategory of the broader Fu 赋. Yan Kejun’s concept was greatly influenced by

Yiwen leiju

艺文类聚， but with some adjustments. The concept of Sao style expressed in the general collection represented by this book was more representative in the Qing Dynasty， which was echoed by other discussions such as those in

Fu gai

赋概 of Liu Xizai 刘熙载.