What is a letter?

A letter is a gift. Books are letters, and ancient books are also called "letters" or "letters", which is an applied style. However, China's applied style has never rejected the aesthetic literary attribute, especially the integration of letters, and China's ancient lyric prose began with letters. The combination of practicality and aesthetics of letters is perfect. Letters of the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties focus on practicality, and most scholars have no intention of writing them as aesthetic works. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, in the works of some literati, the practical function of letters was obviously weakened and the aesthetic expression was strengthened day by day. Some letters are intentionally written as pure literary works (see the preface to China's Letters Literature History by Zhan).

Yi Yu has various literary functions and can be lyrical, such as Sima Qian's Letter from Renan and Lin Juemin's Letter from His Wife. You can also write landscapes, such as Wu Jun's "A Book with Song and Yuan Dynasties"; You can write personal events and feelings, such as Ji Kang's Breaking Up with the Mountain Gathering Source, you can also talk about literature, such as Cao Pi's With the Quality of Martial Arts, you can also talk about politics, such as Ouyang Xiu's Book of Raising Officials through Going to the Sea, and you can also visit dignitaries to encourage them to study in the future, which has formed a unique tradition of writing. Like other styles, Ju Chi also pays attention to the layout and quality of articles.