The last chapter of Liu Hsieh's Wen hsin tiao lung, entitled "Hsu Chih" or "Explication of Intents", is a general summary of the book. Hitherto, students of the book have belittled this chapter and consequently overlooked its value in understanding the structure of the whole book. This essay examines the chapter and concludes that the five parts of the book are: 1. a theory of the origins of literature; 2. a theory of style; 3. a theory of creation; 4. a theory of criticism; and 5. a general summary.