The Qing dynasty scholar Cui Shu’s 崔述 work Kao xin lu 考信錄 established his reputation in Chinese historiography, while he owes his position in the history of Confucian classics studies to another work, Du feng ou shi 讀風偶識. Cui Shu, Yao Jiheng 姚際恆 and Fang Yurun 方玉潤 are known as the three great independent Qing scholars of the Shijing 詩經 . Yao’s Shijing tong lun 詩經通論 and Fang’s Shijing yuan shi 詩經原始 are masterpieces of Shijing studies, both works providing analysis and interpretation of the more than 300 poems that constitute the full-length text of the Shijing. Despite only discussing the Songs (feng 風) from the Shijing, Cui Shu’s Du feng ou shi is still held on a par with these works, serving to show that it is a work of great originality in its own right. However, it is not necessary to believe the excessive praise heaped on Du feng ou shi by scholars such as Hu Shi 胡適 . This paper identifies the motivations behind Cui Shu’s interpretation of the poems in Du feng ou shi and its characteristics, examines his acceptance and criticism of Han and Song studies of the Shijing, and so explains the position and significance of Du feng ou shi in the history of Shijing scholarship. This paper shows that the most distinguishing feature of Du feng ou shi is that it “observes the Shijing from the point of view of historical studies, and promotes the value of historical studies through the Shijing” 以史觀詩,以詩興史. Although Cui Shu strongly criticizes traditional Shijing studies, the influence of traditional Shijing teaching is deep and far-reaching. Indeed, Cui Shu’s interpretation of the Shijing is still unable to escape these traditional influences, despite his unique and independent style and methods of scholarship.