阮元是清代著名的經學家，他通過詮釋《周易》〈文言〉建立起來的文學理論，很早已引起中國文學批評史研究的廣泛關注。不過由於受到現代學科分類的影響，這些以文常為專業的學者大多忽視阮元的經學研究與其文論的關係，因此他們每每認為阮元引述〈文言〉的目的不過是要訴諸權威，藉此發揮一己的學說而已。這些流行的意見，並未能全面和準確地描述阮元的文論。
有見及此，本文嘗試從說經的方法入手，展示阮元文論與其經學研究的相通之處。有的鉶要結論包括：1.阮元〈文言說〉乃其經學研究的一項發現，並不是為了借孔子之名而生硬拼湊出來的著作；2.他標舉《文選》一書亦與其經學研究大有干係；3.阮元把這些詁經的發現延伸至文學的領域，目的是要重新統合學統與文統。

Through the interpretation of the “Wen Yan”文言 (Commentary on the Hexagrams of Qian 乾 and Kun 坤)in the Yi Jing 易經(Book of Changes), Ruan Yuan 阮元, a renowned scholar of classical studies during the Qing Dynasty, developed a unique view of literary criticism, which has widely drawn the attention of students of Chinese history and literary theory. However, being influenced by modern academic disciplines, students who specialize in literature tend to ignore the elements of classical studies who specialize in literature tend to ignore the elements of classical studies in Ruan Yuan’s theory. They suppose that Ruan’s citation of the “Wen Yan” is merely an appeal to authority as a rhetorical device, so as to help him more easily elaborate his own theory. These comments on Ruan’s theory are neither accurate nor conclusive.
Confronting these prevalent views, this paper aims to elucidate the homogeneity between the prose theory and the classical studies of Ruan Yuan in terms of the method of Classical commentary. The author concludes that (1)Ruan’s “Wen Yan Shuo”文言說is a result of his own classical studies, rather than an essay with the intent to appease Confucian traditional; (2)his advocacy of Wen Xun 文選is also one of the results of his classical studies; (3)the reason for extending his discoveries of classical studies to the domain of literature was to reunify the paradigm of literature and that of classical studies.