Of the shi hua (詩話 “poetics talks” or notes on poetry) surviving from the Song dynasty, the Shiren yuxie (詩人玉屑 Jade Chips of the Poets) compiled by Wei Qingzhi 魏慶之 was completed at a relatively late date and is the most exhaustive. Given that critics’ value judgments and critical biases influence their selection of material, a study of this book from the point of view of its compilation is important for understanding the author. Wei lived during the late Southern Song dynasty and his work praises tang yin (唐音 the sound of the Tang) while noting that poems should stress rhyme and allegory. As pointed out by Guo Shauyu 郭紹虞, Wei builds on the poetics of Zhang Jie 張戒, Jiang Kui 姜夔, and Yan Yu 嚴羽. Thus by studying this work in light of that tradition, we can get an understanding of Wei’s poetics and trace the development of poetics during the Southern Song dynasty.