Abstract: According to the standard of judging eight-part essays in Qing Dynasty, and experience in teaching and selecting eight-part essays, Xue Shiyu put forward three creative principles, namely, "abide by the principle of 'natural' and 'elegant'","the rules of writing should follow the law of ancient prose, but not stick to the ancient", "clean" and "adorned". In the aspect of learning eight-part essay, he advocated "not just reciting Confucian classics", "knowing the joy of mountains and rivers", "seeing and feeling dependence" and "encouraging each other", and his ultimate goal was to promote the cause of Confucianism. The study of his eight-part essay thought is of significance to the research on the style and features of eight-part essays in Qing Dynasty and Xue Shiyu's literary and educational views.

Key words: Xue Shiyu, eight-part essay, academy