[3] The poem shows the flexibility of the Chinese language in many ways, including wording, syntax, punctuation, and sentence structures, which gives rise to various explanations.

The 20th-century linguist Yuen Ren Chao utilized this poem to illustrate the complexities and unique attributes of the Chinese language, arguing that simplification and romanization would undermine its rich tonal and logographic system.

[5][6] Yuen Ren Chao's poem illustrates the difficulty of translating the nuanced tones and homophones of Classical Chinese into a romanized script.

[5] The written poem is easy to understand for those familiar with Chinese characters, each of which is associated with a distinct core meaning.

The same excerpt in other dialects: As sound changes over the years merged characters that had different pronunciations, new ways of speaking those concepts emerged.