Qi Ji: public sources offer limited information about his life, official career, and dates of birth and death, and his native place and personal experiences cannot be reliably established. This entry therefore relies only on the holdings data and on well-established background concerning Tang poetry. What can be confirmed is that two works are attributed to him under the title Fengsao Zhige (Guidelines of Wind and Elegance), both concerning poetic rules and techniques. They belong to the tradition of classical poetic criticism and fit reasonably under the categories of ancient poetry and Eastern philosophy. His writings are thus closer to discussions of poetic form, syntax, and the selection of imagery than to ordinary collections of lyric verse. Their style is concise, presenting rules for guidance, and they share the practical character common to Tang works on poetics; they may serve readers studying the formal and critical conceptions of Tang poetry. Given the limited material, the full range of his poetic style and influence cannot be discussed in detail, and readers should consult the original texts and related scholarship.
