The composition is as follows:[1] Most of the texts are prose written in the "ancient style" which guwen (古文) refers to.
Guanzhi (literally "read-end") is an idiom meaning "good beyond comparison; cream of the crop."
The compilers avoided overly difficult texts and made their explanations as clear and concise as possible.
In its own time, Guwen Guanzhi's main assets were its ideal size (in terms of number and length of the selected texts), the relative comprehensiveness of its selection, lack of an overly moralistic or tendentious approach, and good notes and comments.
[5] Analysis shows that the composition of Guwen Guanzhi is heavily based on a former anthology produced by an altogether different compiler.
Though the "blueprint" has often been presumed to be the "imperial" anthology Guwen yuanjian (古文淵鑑), edited during early Qing dynasty under the personal supervision of the Kangxi Emperor, and including the standard commentaries required for the imperial examinations, this has proven not to be the case.
[9] In 1674, Lin was imprisoned by the pro-Ming rebels, who in turn were defeated by the troops under the command of Wu Xingzuo and others in 1675.