This article explores the meaning and characteristics of the Gong-an style in several ways. First, this article refines the existing discussion on the Gong-an style. Second, it explores the similarities between the members of the Gong-an school and the Gong-an style. Third, it establishes the significance of the Gong-an style based on its critiques by literati in the 1600’s and later impact it had on Chinese poetry. The Gong-an style is clearly manifested seen in the works of Yuan, Hong-dao. In his poems, contained in Ji-fan ji and Jie-tuo ji, Hong-dao demonstrates his use of the Gong-an style by using plain language, so that the reader can clearly understand the themes of the poem without difficulty, to describe the little things of everyday life. A chief goal of the Gong-an style was to breakaway from the conventional informal style of the time. As a result, the works of early authors like Yuan, Hong-Dao became a model among the literati of the Gong-an school. The key feature of the Gong-an style is the use of plain and calm language to describe thoughts and feelings according to the respective circumstances. Notwithstanding the Gong-an school’s breakup, the Gong-an style’s influence continues to remain in literary circles. Yet the Gong-an style has been misunderstood as a style in which one can easily write a poem without knowledge or talent. Consequently, many people who have attempted to replicate the Gong-an style have sued vulgar words without much thought, which has led to the mass production of mediocre poems. This has caused a huge backlash among the followers of the Gong-an school, causing it to retreat back into literary circles.