辭賦衍至宋、元，體格大備，而傳世作品交沓，蕪莠雜陳，整理與總結，時機已至。元代延祐初年復舉業，試士以古賦，辨賦體格已為時代的必須。祝堯編纂的《古賦辯體》十卷便是因應時代的要求的辭賦總集。是集選載戰國以迄宋末六十一家凡一二九篇作品，以時序排次，於正集八卷類區為楚辭體、兩漢體、三國六朝體、唐體與宋體，於外錄二卷別選五類賦體的變格；每一體類、作品以及作者，祝堯都表示了批評的意見。這種總集和批評結合的模式，遠紹西晉摯虞《文章流別集》，近則取法晁、朱的楚辭學，啟導明清兩代賦論以及辨體批評。祝堯賦論就辨體批評、賦本確立，古體回歸及交義釐析四方面，倡導以抒述怨思的小賦為古賦的大體。以發展及辯證的意識總結辭賦的演變，而且自具嚴整的理論架構，實唐宋以後文論的奇葩。

　　　　　In terms of style and structure, the Chinese tz'u fu had developed into a full-blown literary genre by the Sung (960-1279) and Yuan (1260-1368) dynasties. The re-emergence of civil-service examinations during the Yen-yu reign (1314-1321) of the Yuan period even made a profound understanding of this particular form of prose poetry a must in the intellectual arsenal of budding literati seeking appointments to official posts. Further, as tz'u fu compositions of mixed qualities abounded in the literary world of the time, the need for a systematic review of existing works had never been more obvious. It was under these circumstances that the Yuan scholar Chu Yao (n.d.) compiled the Ku-fu Pien-ti, an anthology of ten volumes of 129 tz'u fu pieces by 61 authors from the Warring States (403-221 B. C.) to the Sung. Arranged in a chronological order, the main body of the compilation provides in eight volumes extensive coverage of classics in the Ch'u-tz'u and works from the Han (202 B.C.-A.D.220), the Three Kingdoms (220-265) and the Six Dynasties (220-589), the T'ang (618-907), and the Sung epochs. Compositions in the variant forms of these styles, on the other hand, are presented in the two supplementary volumes. It is worth noting, though, that the intent of the Ku-fu Pien-ti is by no means confined to offering a collection of essential pieces; its scope, to be sure, is of a broader type, as the compiler himself had rendered where possible a significant number of remarks in the critical vein. When adopting the approach of juxtaposing the original pieces and the critiques in one sigle collection, Chu Yao had apparently embraced the general framework of the Wen-chang Liu-pieh-chi of Chih Yu (d.331) and the philosopohies underlying the Ch'u-tz'u studies of Ch'ao Pu-chih (1053-1110) and Chu Hsi (1130-1200). By examining representative compositions through the ages from four distinctive perspectives, Chu Yao was able to recapitulate the evolution of the poetic genre of tz'u fu and to substantiate the claim that the predominant mode of exposition had been one that was short and expressive of lamentable sorrows or emotional states. A rare and outstanding literary study with a carefully constructed theoretical foundation, Chu Yao's review and critical analysis had laid the groundwork for undertakings of an identical nature during the Ming (1368-1644) and Ch'ing (1644-1912) dynasties.