《文選》收錄作品的尺度多樣。只有經由對這些尺度的把握，才能認識《文選》的文學觀點。而要把握這些尺度，光靠〈《文選》序〉絕對不夠，必須從入《選》作品著手。本文分兩大部分。第一部份揭示：《文選》收錄子夏、『孔安國』、杜預名下的〈《毛詩》序〉、〈《尚書》序〉、〈《春秋左氏傳》序〉，與既知的《文選》去取尺度無一相合。第二部份則嘗試解釋這不尋常的現象。目前的看法是：收錄這三篇經學傳注序已非出於文學考量，乃是蕭氏父子意圖藉由這三篇序當中的部份要點，傳達他們不便明言者。好比：《詩》三百乃「言」而非「文」、《文選》是文學的新聖經、當如何領悟《文選》認可的各種「美」等等。

Wenxuan's criteria for selecting the works are multiple. Only through grasping these criteria can we better understand the Wenxuan editors' views of literature. The preface to Wenxuan alone is far insufficient to fully grasp these criteria. Instead, we need to delve into the works included in Wenxuan. The present paper is divided into two parts. The first part demonstrates that the three prefaces to commentary and annotation of the classics included in Wenxuan are not at all in compliance with Wenxuan's criteria of selection that we understand so far. The second part attempts to explain such a unique phenomenon. My tentative argument is that the inclusion of the tree prefaces was not based on literary criteria. But rather, the Xiao father and son, editors of Wenxuan, attempted to subtly deliver the messages that they might feel uncomfortable to say outspokenly, such as: 1) Book of Poetry is yan 言 instead of wen 文; 2) Wenxuan is the new literary cannon; and, 3) how to comprehend the different aesthetic values accepted by Wenxuan, etc.