In Preface: My Intentions of The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, Liu Xie critiques Lu Ji’s (陆机)Rhyme Prose on Literature (Wenfu) as being “ingenious but fragmentary” (巧而碎乱), suggesting that while the work demonstrates skillful literary technique, its structural composition appears disjointed and disorganized. A comprehensive interpretation of this critique should consider three dimensions: the characteristic evaluative approach of The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, its internal theoretical framework, and the historical context of literary development. The term “ingenious” (巧) refers to the technical virtuosity in literary creation, which aligns with Liu Xie’s overarching concept of “carving dragons with a literary mind” (文心雕龙) and finds internal textual support in phrases such as “ingenious preface with elaborate diction” (序巧而文繁), “thorough emotion with ingenuity” (情周而巧), and “thought capable of achieving ingenuity” (思能入巧). Conversely, “fragmentary” (碎乱) denotes structural disorganization in textual composition, corresponding to the critique of “inverted misplacement and tangled-silk disorder” (倒置之乖，棼丝之乱) in the Fu Hui (Composition and Coherence) chapter. This violates the structural principles articulated in Zhang Ju (The Chapter and the Sentence) that “composition must be scaled like fish and connected like calyxes” (体必鳞次，跗萼相衔), as well as the organizational standards proposed in Rong Cai (Smelting and Refinement) advocating “circular unity between beginning and end, coherent and systematic order” (首尾圆合，条贯统序). This evaluation reflects the literary milieu of the Jin-Song period and serves as compelling evidence of Liu Xie’s dual stance: affirming sophisticated literary craftsmanship while opposing florid and decadent styles, thereby manifesting his classical Confucian literary orientation.