 Xu Gan uses the structure of ben-mo 本末 (roots and branches) developed in earlier Han texts such as the Huainanzi to explain the relationship between virtue (de 德) and human arts (yi 藝). He reverses what we see in thought of Jia Yi, who takes virtue to be an adornment and guide for governing. Xu argues that the arts (including ritual and even presumably governing) cannot be perfected without virtue. At the same time, he asserts that virtue also cannot be completed (cheng 成) without the arts. The two are interdependent (Zhonglun 7.1).