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Gao Shi and Cen Shen are representative writers of frontier fortress poetry in the Tang Dynasty. This book selects the representative works of Gao Shi and Cen Shen, combines their life experiences, uses history to describe poetry, analyzes poetic practices, comments on artistic characteristics, and highlights their similarities but differences in creative styles.

This book is one of the collections of special articles by members of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The collection includes 18 articles, divided into three groups. The first group contains four articles, which is a study of some important issues in the literary history of the Tang Dynasty; the second group contains 10 articles, which is a textual research on the lives of poets and writers in the prosperous Tang Dynasty such as Gao Shi, Qin Shen, and Du Fu. It puts forward its own opinions on some controversial issues. The third group contains four papers, which discuss certain issues related to the imperial examination system and the official selection system in the Tang Dynasty. The earliest of these articles was published in 1963, and the latest was published in 2012, 49 years apart. This may reveal the author's journey in the field of literary and historical research.

The guard-by-election system was an important part of the official selection process in the Tang Dynasty. Its essence was that civil servants below the sixth rank could not serve continuously and had to take turns to retire from office. Moreover, they often served for less time and had more time to retire. This situation had a significant impact on the lives and creations of scribes. This book first discusses the formation and development of the selection system in the Tang Dynasty. Secondly, it explores the ways for civil servants in the Tang Dynasty to get rid of being elected. Getting rid of the election means that civil servants can be appointed officials without having to participate in the selection of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, that is, they can become ministerial officers of the fifth rank or above or permanent staff officials of the sixth rank or below, so that they can continue to serve as officials. Finally, it briefly describes the influence of the Shouxuan system on the life style and literary creation of scribes in the Tang Dynasty, such as the style of seclusion and landscape pastoral poetry.