The aesthetic concept “Yi” occupies an important position in the history of Chinese art. The concept “Yi” is closely associated with the free spirit from the ancient literati and intellectuals. Additionally, the concept “Yi” does not have the same meaning in different dynasties. Meanwhile, the art theory about the aesthetic concept “Yi” had undergone no substantial changes from the Qin dynasty to the Yuan dynasty. During the late Ming and early Qing dynasty, due to the development of art theory and the highly personalized art style, different literati developed different understandings towards the concept “ Yi”. Based on the analysis of the art theories of several well-known literati, this article aims to study how the literati understand the aesthetic concept “Yi” during the late Ming and early Qing dynasty from three perspectives: yipin, yibi, and yiqi. The art theory about the concept “Yi” becomes more popular and complicated at this time.