《宋史·列传·卷七十八》
宋朝立国已有百余年，而文章体裁仍然承袭五代之陈规遗风，行文措辞刻意雕琢，追求对偶，以至于文风污浊不振，士人大多因循守旧，所作文章见识浅薄，格调不高。
宋兴且百年，而文章体裁，犹仍五季余习。锼刻骈偶，淟涊弗振，士因陋守旧，论卑气弱。
The Song Dynasty had already been established for over a hundred years, but the style of writing still followed the stale customs and old ways of the Five Dynasties; writing was deliberately refined and ornate, with excessive use of couplets, to the point that the writing style was vulgar and lacking in vigor. Most scholars followed old conventions and were wedded to tradition, and the essays they wrote lacked insight and were not of a high quality.