Abstract: Since the middle of the Southern Song dynasty, a collection of selected lyrics compiled by the bookshop has been in vogue, known as Cao Tang Shi Yu. The editions are numerous and complex, involving many issues of lyricism. From the clues provided by the earliest preserved classified text in the early Ming dynasty, it can be assumed that the edition in Song dynasty was originally a lyrics-based text. Newly annotated edition in the early Ming Dynasty originally compiled by Songji bookshop is a literary text. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, lyricists recompiled the subtonal edition according to the classified edition, which had the character of word spectrum and could be used by lyricists; its selected lexical tunes are mostly those commonly used in Song dynasty, and the words chosen are popular popular works of the time, especially those not mixed with poems and other rhymes, so it is of great lexical-historical significance in promoting the development of the literary genre.