綜觀方苞一生，康熙三十年之前究心詞章，康熙三十年折入朱學，康熙五十年潛研三禮，這是融合文學、理學與經學的過程。對方苞而言，從文學、理學到經學，只是治學對象的選擇，抑或學問的轉折？研究此一系列問題，可從傳記情境探索，每個人終其一生以其獨特的興趣、動機、欲求、期望、宗教、意識型態等觀點，解釋其所接觸的世界，且試圖改變這個世界。方苞以經生自命，但後世少論其經學，所注目者仍是其詞章之學。方苞的經世文論，從作者而論，學習的對象是實用知識，自我的定位是學者；從作品而論，重視文章功能，以日常生活所需為文章的內容；從讀者而論，以實用經驗取代審美經驗。這些都形成了文學主體的消失。方苞選擇朱子之學，是從晚明諸遺老心性之學的內在世界，返回到經世之學的外在世界，這一關鍵就是禮，借禮以重建合理的社會。所以可說方苞學問的規模，其後有一定的邏輯推導而成，僅以文士視之，並不能見方苞治學之全。

In summary of whole life of Fang Bao, he studied literature before Kang Xi thirty year. He changed to Zhu Zi’s learning after Kang Xi thirty year. In Kang Xi fifty year, he studied Three Ceremony. This was a process of integrating literature, Ceremony thought and classics thought. From standing point of Fang Bao, what’s the nature of changing process? Was it a choice of research topics, or a turnoff of his personal learning? In order to study the topics, we could discover from the situation of biography. Everybody explained the world and changed it with his unique interest, motive, desire, expectation, religion, and ideology in his whole life. Fang Bao devoted himself to classics, and descendant seldom discuss his classics learning but focus on his literature. Fang Bao’s writings about managing society, from the dimension of author, learning object was practical knowledge and social position was a scholar. From the dimension of writing, outweighed function of literature, necessity of everyday life was the content of literature. From the dimension of reader, practical experiences replace aesthetic experience. Above of all, ontology of literature disappeared. Fang Bao chose Zhu Zi’s learning. The choice was a turnoff from inner world of nature of man in time of later Ming dynasty’s several scholars to the outer world of managing society. The key point was Ritual. From inner world of nature of human in time of later Ming dynasty to outer world of managing society, Fang Bao reconstructed reasonable society with Ritual. So we could say that the skeleton of Fang Bao’s learning was deduced with reasonable logic. If we treated him as a scholar merely, it would not see the whole entity of Fang Bao’s thought.