劉墉蒐集笑談，並別出心裁，從說話術的角度，分析幽默。其書析為十四章，以類相從；其中有作者親遇例證，並類聚相似笑話，而後解釋其致笑之由。劉墉費心蒐羅，用心編排。在採輯資料中，他將中國古代笑話，轉寫為白話。本文即在評析其改編古代笑話之得失。全文將依時序，追溯各古代笑話的源流，以瞭解故事內容，在改寫前後之異同，並解析其所以異之由。再者，本文也將以上研究，置諸全書其他幽默故事中探討，以綜論劉墉應用古典，時出新義的用心。同時，既檢討二書在收錄、歸類和詮釋上之利病，也能平心權衡其貢獻。

Liu Yong collected and compiled jokes from classical jest books and contemporary sources. Liu published two books on the same subject in terms of different readership. He categorized those stories and meticulously analyzed them from the viewpoint of rhetorical skills. As well, Liu rewrote the classical jokes in the vernacular in order to reach modern audience. This treatise is intended to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of Liu's works. By tracing the origins and variables of funny stories cited by Liu, we are able to compare Liu’s versions with the others, through which his categorization and interpretation of jokes will be fully discussed. In addition, since Liu’s attitude toward eroticism has very much to do with the nature of his two books, we will explore that point in the conclusion.