The reign of Saga Tennō (810–823) is known for its burst of literary activity, largely concentrated on the production of Chinese-language shi. In this endeavor the sovereign himself took the lead. Saga was a formidable poet, an avid student of the Chinese classics, and an enthusiastic facilitator of numerous poetic occasions both during his reign and in the many years following his abdication. Under his supervision, a royal anthology of poetry was compiled in Japan for the first time. Two more royal anthologies were completed before his death in 842. This decades-long surge of literary activity took as its philosophical basis a phrase excerpted from an essay by third-century ruler, poet, and theorist Wei Emperor Wen, known also as Cao Pi: “Writing is the grand enterprise in ordering the state, an imperishable glory.” Cao Pi’s declaration is quoted often enough in early Heian documents to warrant being called the official slogan of Saga’s court. The concerns of this article are three-fold: 1) What are the possible meanings of these words when viewed in their original context, Cao Pi’s essay “Lunwen”? 2) If the frequent early Heian invocations of Cao Pi constitute a distinct early ninth-century hermeneutical inflection of his work, how might this inflection compare to Six Dynasties and Tang-era usages of Cao Pi? And, 3) As a quotation, Cao Pi’s words appear in a diversity of Heian-era contextual environments. How does the quotation from a 600-year-old imported text function within discussions otherwise treating intensely local, contemporary issues? Moreover, what impact did the quotation of Cao Pi have on prior literary theorization in the archipelago?