Cao Zhi has many innovations and developments in the art of poetry. Especially in the creation of five-character poems. First of all, most of the ancient poems in Han Yuefu are narrative, and it was not until Nineteen Ancient Poems that lyric elements occupied an important position in the works. Cao Zhi developed this trend, organically combining lyric and narrative, so that the five-character poems can not only describe the complex changes of events. It can also express tortuous psychological feelings, which greatly enriches its artistic functions. Prince Charming Wang Biao is a good example. Secondly, Cao Zhi is far superior to the classical poems of Han Yuefu and classical poems in the refinement and modification of poetic language. For example, his Beauty is more detailed in description and flowery in rhetoric than Mo Shang Sang. Even his poems about immortals are more mature than similar works in Han Yuefu, and the difference between them is quite remarkable. Due to deliberate refinement, there are many wonderful epigrams in Cao Zhi's poems, such as "Gua Tian didn't accept his shoes, and Li Xia didn't win the whole crown" (A Journey to a Gentleman and Poems of Yuefu as an old saying), "Died in a national disaster and ignored death" (White Horse) and "lived in a luxurious house and landed on a hill" ("Cao Zhi" Therefore, Cao Zhi's poems often leave a strong impression on people from the beginning. The so-called "Chen Si's most ingenious tune" (Shen Deqian's Ancient Poetry Source, Volume 5) refers to this. In addition, Cao Zhi's five-character poems also pay attention to the order of sentence placement and the harmony of phonology. For example, "The Public Banquet" "Qiu Lan was taken away by Nagano, and Zhu Hua was taken away by Green Pool. A diving fish jumps in the clear waves, a good bird sings, and so on, which forms a preliminary antithesis. Some poems are roughly flat and even rhyming.
As for the overall artistic style of Cao Zhi's poems, Zhong Rong once pointed out that his "lofty spirit, Hua Mao style, elegant feelings and resentment, and flying literary talent" ("Poetry") is a comprehensive evaluation. Cao Zhi's poems, on the one hand, are sincere and strong in feelings and vigorous in brushwork, which embodies the style of "appealing to both refined and popular tastes" in Jian 'an poems, on the other hand, they are rich in colors and brilliant in literary talent. In this respect, Cao Zhi surpassed his predecessors and was the best among all Jian 'an writers. Therefore, in the history of China's poetry, he is regarded as a master of five-character poems, just as Zhong Rong said, "The charm overflows in the present and stands out from the crowd".