Abstract: Within the extended framework of pragmatics as a linguistic regulation theory, this paper attempts to examine the pragmatic features of 30 poem recitation activities from Zuozhuan, usually characterized as “implicit words and mental interaction”. The research first analyzes the activity constraints, semantic features and pragmatic functions of this activity type from a speaker perspective, and then, from the perspective of the hearer, it investigates the identification of reference and topic relevance involved in activity interactions. The paper concludes that poem recitation as a form of abstruse language is a pragmatic strategy chosen within the li-based activity constraints and its understanding based on a mental and behavioral interaction between the interactants involves a series of referent and topic shifts.