 While he was concerned with many of the standard Confucian issues, such as the efficacy of ritual, the need for moral self-cultivation, and creating proper moral motivation (among others), his most unique contribution was in the area of language, particularly in the consideration of the connection between language, reality, and moral behavior. Xu followed the kind of critical evaluative methodology developed by philosophers such as Huan Tan and Wang Chong. A number of the essays of his major work, Zhonglun (Discourses Hitting the Mark), focus on criticisms of common views and practices Xu saw as ultimately harmful to the individual and society, such as “disputing” without aiming at truth. In a passage reminiscent of Wang Chong, in his chapter Hebian (“An Examination of Disputation”), Xu writes: