‘Taste’ is one of the most essential features of the theory of ancient Chinese poetry. Starting from the Six Dynasties and continuing till the late Qing Dynasty, describing a poem with ‘taste’ has a prominent theoretical significance. First of all, ‘taste’ not only represents the deep relationship between the aesthetic experience and the material life, but also shows that artistic enjoyment can transcend material satisfaction. Second, having a dual compatibility, ‘taste’ can interpenetrate the fields of the theory of poetic works and the theory of poetry reading. A masterpiece of poetry has its own ‘taste’, so it must be read by ‘tasting’ it. More importantly, the ‘taste’ and ‘tasting’ disclose the poem’s aesthetic characteristics in an effective manner. The present article tries to explain and describe ‘taste’ with regard to its characteristics, so as to grasp completely the significance of ‘taste’.