In Yu's analysis, the works of Eileen Chang and Qian Zhongshu became classics thanks to Hsia Chih-tsing's stamp of approval. "Hsia's excellent judgment of talent came from putting no stock in the leftists or modernists."
余光中分析過，一個張愛玲一個錢鍾書，都因為夏志清欽點而經典化，「夏的慧眼識英雄，在於他不相信左派那一套，也不信現代主義那一套。」