劉師培在《中國中古文學史講義》一書中，首揭「通侻」為建安文學特色之一，其表現在文學實踐上則有「侈陳哀樂」及「漸藻玄思」之內容；魯迅承用此說，將「通脫」詮釋為「隨便」，是「想說甚麼，便說甚麼」的文章，並肯定曹操為此文風的倡導者和實踐者；學者唐翼明更將「通侻」標舉為建安文學的重要特徵，認為：『通侻』實在是建安文學最重要和最本質的特徵」。循此，對「通侻」的把握，則可視為契入建安文學內在肌理的路徑之一。劉氏「通侻」係建安文學特色之說，已為學者所認同與接受，學界對侈陳哀樂」所形成的諸項因素及其在文學內容及形式的表現上，亦多有論及，惟對「漸藻玄思」之論述較少。此乃肇因於劉氏本身對「通則漸藻玄思」一語並未深入闡發，其確切指涉為何，學界看法不盡相同。筆者以為，若能回到劉氏之原典對「通侻」一詞再加以審視，掘發其義，或可對「通侻」一格能有更深入之理解。

Liu Shi-Pei in his Handouts for Chinese Medieval Literature first declared that “Tong Tuo” was one of the essential features for Jian’an literature. For him, the major literary presentations are “free delivery in thoughts” and “gradual emphasis on metaphysical thoughts.” Luxun recognized and adopted these two major presentations; moreover, he further interpreted “Tong Tuo” as literary works of “free style” or works of the spirit which “freely expressed whatever the writer wanted to.” He considered that Cao Cao was the advocator and practitioner of this literary trend. Scholar Tan Yi-Ming even marked “Tong Tuo” as the most important and intrinsic characteristic of Jian’an literature. Thus, to understand “Tong Tuo” equates to realize the logic and concept of Jian’an literature. Liu Shi-Pei’s theory had been generally recognized and accepted by scholars. Academic circles had many discussions about the forming factors, the literary contents and forms about “free delivery in thoughts.” However, there were few discourses about “gradual emphasis on metaphysical thoughts.” This phenomenon resulted from the fact that Liu Shi-Pei had not clearly interpreted the concept that “mastering canonical classics might lead to gradual emphasis on metaphysical thoughts.” therefore, the academic field held different views about what the phrase really referred to. In this article, the writer would like to review the term in Liu Shi-Pei’s original masterpiece, delve into its real meaning, and wish to present a deeper understanding about the nature of “Tong Tuo.”