Refining rhetorical skills is inseparable from nurturing the body and mind. In The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, the Southern Dynasties literary critic Liu Xie (465?-520? or 532?) summed up three main functions of rhetorical skills, pointing out that they are essential to political and educational affairs, to government operation and its efficacy, and to individual’s self-cultivation of body and mind. Be it governance of the world or personal cultivation, rhetorical skills matter. This view dates straight back to Confucius (551-479 BC), who observed that “poorly prepared discourses neither spread far nor last long,”casting little influence on others. Therefore, a man of virtue should not only engage in self-cultivation, keep improving his morality, and accumulate various forms of knowledge, but also attach importance to the effective communication of his thoughts and emotions. In other words, he should take his language use seriously and be eloquent. His thoughts and emotions lay the basis for the cultivation of his character, and excellent rhetorical skills help sublimate his morality. Such self-cultivation is comprehensive and practical. When it comes to writing, one should develop substantial ideas and deliver them gracefully.

Confucius spoke highly of Zichan, saying, “His language proves fit for expressing his ideas, and his rhetorical skills suffice to retouch his language.” Concerning general people with talent and virtue, Confucius commented, “Their emotions should be sincere, and their words clever.” He was stressing the improvement of one’s rhetorical skills in the cultivation of body and mind. (Liu Xie: The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons)