清代論文，倡復唐宋，推崇「古文」，自初葉而然。至桐城立說，始以「義法」 深化其思想內涵、辯析其形式特徵。故桐城論古文最講求誦讀的功夫，殆因桐城派著重文章 聲律，以為須透過朗讀諷誦、品味字句等具體途徑，親自體驗文詞的音節美感，方得以會通 作者欲表達的思想情感，故有所謂『因聲求氣』說之提出。 今逆溯其源，殆承齊梁對聲律之認識、與唐宋古文家以熟讀經書為作文根柢之觀念而來， 但由觀念提出而至於理論建立，應非一蹴而幾，期間必有其遠承前說、開拓觀點、奠定理論 基礎者，劉大櫆「神氣音節字句」之提出，即為確立『因聲求氣』說之關鍵。 而後綜觀《論文偶記》及諸文集等論述，可知海峰首先確立「古文」之藝術特質，並對 聲—氣關係之領會特多，故其說除融貫韓愈、柳宗元等古文家之讀書心得，更以神主氣，以 聲律、字句探求「氣」，建立「古文」藝術形式之完整層次，為習文者指明具體之路徑—聲 律、字句，與學習方法—因聲求氣。 同時，驗之於海峰評點《古文辭類纂》論辨類之部分篇章，更可與其論文氣之說相互發 揮，而知海峰評文確實循以「因聲求氣」之準則。惟其所謂之「氣」，乃較偏重文章辭氣、 語勢等而言;而其所求之「文氣」亦較偏好雄渾、勁健而簡峻者，正與其本身才雄而氣肆之 情性相符。

　　　　　Beginning from the early days of the dynasty, Qing writings advocate a revival of Tang and Song learning and heap praise upon "classical prose." As for the thinkers of the Tungcheng School, in the beginning they believed in using "righteousness and law" to enrich the content of their thought and dissect the formal characteristics of classical prose. The Tungcheng School consequently argued that classical prose required skillful oral recitation. Tungcheng School emphasized rhythmic intonation, believed it was necessary to recite literature out loud and appreciate the words and phrases, and advocated personally experiencing the beauty of the syllables of the language in order to understand the thoughts and feelings that the author had wished to express ; consequently this school proposed the so-called "seeking qi from the sound" approach. If we wish to trace the origin of this approach, it may be possible to trace it back to Cheng Qiliang's understanding of rhythmic intonation and the view of the classical Tang and Song dynasty prose writers that familiarity with the Confucian classics was the foundation of literary composition. However, going from the proposal of a view to the establishment of a theory is not something that can be done on the first try ; the process must include long-standing prior ideas, the development of a point of view, and consolidation of a theoretical foundation. Liu Dakui's proposal of "divinely inspired syllables, words, and phrases" was a key to the establishment of the theory of "seeking qi from the sound." An overview of "random Notes on Essay-Writing" and various collections of writings shows that Hai Feng's first proposal of the artistic characteristics of "classical prose," and qi, incorporates the ideas concerning literary appreciation of such classical prose authors as Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan, and also advocates the precedence of spirit over qi. Hai Feng's use of rhythmic intonation and words and expressions to pursue "qi" and establish the final level of "classical prose" as an art form points out a specific route for aspiring writers-rhythmic intonation, and words and phrases and a learning method- "seeking qi from the sound." The test of these ideas in some of the chapters of "Classified Literary Dection from Classical Prose" containing Hai Feng's added punctuation fully conforms to his explanation of literary style, and shows us that Hal Feng's punctuation ideed follows the principle of "seeking qi from the sound." However, his "qi" more-or-less refers to the diction and style of a piece a writing, while he seeks a "literary spirit" that leans towards forceful, vital, and austere, as one would expect from his talented and vigorous character.