詩文評屬於傳統學問，文學批評則為現代學科；從詩文評到文學批評的變化，標誌中國學術從傳統到現代的轉型，經歷了學理與心理的雙重建立過程。面對西方文化的衝擊，文學是晚清時代民族自信的最後憑據，自新文學家宣佈中國傳統文學已死，摧毀舊觀念，遂有輸入西方文學、建立新文學之新思潮。建立新文學，需要文學批評指引；中國沒有現代文學批評，需要輸入西方文學批評。以西方文學批評整理詩文評，則詩文評從傳統學問成為現代學術。在此過程中，如何處理西方學術與中國傳統的關係乃關鍵問題，其得失至今仍有借鑑意義。

The changing of Comments on Prose and Poetry into Literary Criticism marks the modern transformation of traditional Chinese scholarship. It is the course of double construction academically and psychologically. Facing the affect of western learning, literature is the last and only evidence of national self-confidence in late Qing Dynasty. With the declaration of the death of traditional Chinese literature, and of creation of new Chinese literature announced by the New Literateurs, the tide of introducing Western literature began. Western literary criticism was also introduced, because the guide from western literary criticism was thought to be needed for construction of new literature. The traditional Chinese comments on prose and poetry had been reviewed and reconstructed through principals and frameworks of western literary criticism, came to be the modern academy. The key question is how to handle the relationship between western academy and Chinese tradition in this course. Both its successes and failures are valuable for today and future.