Liu Shao-tang often divides writers of biographical literature into three "generations": The first tell their own stories and are therefore the most exciting. The second tell stories they have heard and offer their opinions; these are also often quite interesting. The third generation still tell the story of the first generation, but can only amass research on paper. They still have historical value, but cannot move the readers.
劉紹唐常把「傳記文學」的作者分成三代，第一代說的是自己的故事，所以最精采；第二代說的是聽來的故事和自己的看法，也時有佳作；第三代若是還作第一代人物的故事，就只能在故紙堆裡研究，史料價值仍在，動人心弦則難矣。