During the Ming and Qing dynasties， a large number of literati engaged in the writing of drama ， yet their attitudes toward whether to treat dramatic works as literature and include them in their personal collected works （bieji） varied considerably. When such collections were compiled and printed， editors frequently hesitated over the question of including drama， and the widespread phenomenon of dramatic works being “listed in the table of contents but not printed” in these collections is an outward manifestation of this ambivalence. Beyond objective factors such as the cost of printing， the fundamental obstacles to drama gaining formal entry into collected works lay in the orthodox hierarchy of literary genres， the entrenched perception of drama as a minor and peripheral art， and the broader historical context in which dramatic composition was held in low critical esteem. Examining the particular cultural phenomenon of drama’s inclusion in personal literary collections helps clarify the attitudes of Ming-Qing literati toward drama， as well as the underlying connections between those attitudes and the external cultural environment and prevailing literary thought of the period.