They were leaders of an old text revival movement in terms of the history of literature, and they criticized the annotation and interpretation learning, that fixated, word for word, on the sacred literature telling religious teachings, claiming that the so-called 'text' for old text activists was a tool for 'loading Tao,' and that it was not the appearance of the sentences, but the moral spirit placed in it that was important.
また彼らは文学史上、古文復興運動の担い手であるが、古文運動家のいわゆる「文」とは「載道」（道を載せる）の道具であり、文章の字面ではなく、そこに込められた道徳的な精神こそが重要であるとして経文の一字一句にこだわる注疏の学をも批判した。