Abstract: Yi Shunding, a famous poet in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic period, was keen on writing ci poetry in the early years to an extent that he could not live without ci poetry creation. Based on the be-true-to-yourself style, Yi's theory catered to spirituality, taste and tranquility with emphasis on meaning, wording, polishing, titling and so on. In addition, his theory was different from the mainstream one that ci was a spirit carrier and the concept that ci was unimportant in among all forms of literatures. Yi absorbs the essence of ci poets to express feelings and praises talents by profound connotations and unique mastery of language, especially the thought-provoking ones. He has different styles in ci writings and and shi-poem writing; however, they share the pursuit of forming a unique style instead of solely following the Tang or Song style.

Key words: Yi Shunding, theory of ci poetry, artistry of ci poetry, the ci community the late Qing Dynasty