Abstract: The establishment of the "human oriented" principle of literature marks the maturity of a modern ontology of literature. Constructing a more integrate and ambitious theoretical system based on the idea of "literature of human beings" during the May 4^th Period, QIAN Gu-rong put forward the doctrine of "literature as a study of man" in the mid-1950s. This was of great significance in terms of overcoming the instrumentalist notion of literature, which had prevailed for a long time. Since "Reform and Opening up", this doctrine has been acknowledged again and become a flag guiding the revolution of literary thought in the new period. It still remains its vitality today. To promote its theoretical power, we should further explore the internal connection between "man" and "literature" in terms of the connotation of "man" and more deeply analyze the diversity of people's ways of living and the correlations between different ways. This is the duty of those who believe in the doctrine of "literature as a study of man".

Key words: “literature as a study of man”, historical position, realistic significance, construction in the future