《文心雕龙·序志》
可是后世离开圣人太远了，文章体制逐渐败坏。有些作家只是喜欢新奇，一味追求浮浅怪异的文辞，就像在已经华丽的羽毛上再加文饰，在巾带上再绣以花纹一样，使文章越来越离开根本，最后就会走向错误而漫无节制的道路。《尚书·毕命》中讲到文辞问题，曾经说过应该抓住要点；孔子教育学生，也曾说过不要去搞不正确的学说。《尚书》和孔子的说法有所不同，但应该注意领会其主要精神。
唯文章之用，实经典枝条，五礼资之以成，六典因之致用，君臣所以炳焕，军国所以昭明，详其本源，莫非经典。而去圣久远，文体解散，辞人爱奇，言贵浮诡，饰羽尚画，文绣鞶帨，离本弥甚，将遂讹滥。盖《周书》论辞，贵乎体要，尼父陈训，恶乎异端，辞训之异，宜体于要。
However, later generations have strayed too far from the sage, and the writing style has been gradually corrupted. Some writers simply like novelty and pursue superficial and bizarre diction, just like adding embellishments to already gorgeous feathers or embroidering flowers on ribbons, so their writing strays further and further from the fundamentals, and will ultimately lead to error and extravagance. The Book of Shang: Bi Ming discusses the problem of diction and argues that one should adhere to the main points; Confucius also taught his students to avoid studying incorrect doctrines. Although the Book of Shang and Confucius differ somewhat, one should pay attention to understanding their main principles.