《采菽堂古詩選》主張「寫景必寫虛」，「虛」包含虛字、由此延伸之虛境，並涉及虛物色。藉由虛字暨虛境的探討，可窺見陳祚明欲藉此彰顯詩作靈活生動的一面，並強調虛字需切而曲。與虛字、虛境相關，「生動有致」乃物色品評常見之術語。在對這些品評術語詳加區辨與定位後，以此為基礎探討《采菽堂》主要之虛物色：風、水之評在梁代以前較帶傳統比興意味，「風」評於梁代則多見閑雅逸趣，而常表現虛實物交融和合之樣貌；「水」雖是這些虛物中得陳氏最多品評者，但在陳看來穩固少變，特殊性相對薄弱；「光」是虛物色中最得陳氏激賞者，與其最能體現陳對虛物的看重、情辭相兼之主張，並多顯「致」、「雋」等圓融美感有關。「影」評相對後起，陳著意點出影子附屬地位被提高及其效用，並費心闡釋「影」尖、壯之表現。本題除了可深化對陳重虛主張、情辭觀暨詩評用語定位之理解；就詩評（論）史而言，陳評將劉勰普遍物色論、鍾嶸巧構形似說往特殊化發展，在著意於空浮、不易掌握的虛物色中，深刻展現南朝詩歌體物之精細；陳評在展現清代前期調和明代格調、性靈之際，復顯重視藝術形式的文學走向；並提供讀者反思唐前詩歌既定認知的空間。以上俱為陳於物色中與「虛」相關之評之貢獻。

The Selections of Ancient Poems in Caishu Tang states that depicting scenery needs to describe the unreality. The unreality includes unreal wording (xu zi), unreal extent (xu jing), and unreal “Wu Se.” From the studies of unreal wording and unreal extent, we could observe that Chen Zuo-ming showed the flexible and vivid side of poetry, and emphasized the need for unreal wording to be appropriate and indirect. In relation to unreal wording and unreal extent, "Shengdong youzhi" is a common term through the lens of Wu Se. Based on a detailed analysis of these critical terms, we will explore the unreal Wu Se in Caishu Tang. Before the Liang dynasty, the comments related to wind and water were composed in traditional literary techniques of comparison (Bi) and affective image (Xing). In the Liang Dynasty, the comments of wind were often associated with leisure, which showed the combination of unreal and real objects. Although water appeared most frequently in Chen’s criticism of unreal objects, the particularity of water was relatively weak in comparison with the commentaries on wind, light and shadow. Light was the most appreciated one in the unreal Wu Se. This is because light can best embody Chen Zuo-ming's opinions on the emphasis of unreal objects and view that both sentiment and vocabulary are important. Furthermore, Chen thought that light often displayed such a mixed aesthetic feeling as "Zhi" and "Jun." The comments on shadow appeared relatively late. Chen paid attention to the raising of shadow's subordinate status and effects. Besides, he took pains to explain the sharp and strong aspects of the shadow. Through the discussion of this article, we can have a deeper understanding of Chen Zuo-ming's emphasis on unreality, his views on sentiment and vocabulary, and the orientation of his language of poetry criticism. As far as the history of poetry criticism is concerned, Chen's criticism could be understood in terms of adopting Liu Xie's theory on general Wu Se and Zhong Rong's arguments on "Qiaogou xingsi" in the direction of specialization. While paying attention to the empty and impenetrable "unreal Wu Se," Chen also profoundly displayed the fineness and particularity of the depiction of outer objects in the poetry of the Southern dynasty. Chen’s criticism not only showed the harmony between the two schools of "Ge-diao" and "Xing-ling" in the early Qing dynasty, but also showed the literary trend of stressing the importance on artistic forms. He also provided readers with a reflection on the established cognition of poems before the Tang dynasty. All of these were Chen Zuo-ming's contributions to the representation of unreality in the commentary on Wu Se.