As an intellectual, Mr. Xiao pursued democracy and freedom from his youth and actively participated in the democratic movement in the late1940s. Life is bumpy, always paying attention to the fate of the country and mankind; From the anti-rightist movement to the "Cultural Revolution", he was criticized by others in all previous political movements. In his own words, he was "dazzled and lost himself". After the "Cultural Revolution", learn from bitter experience and reflect on yourself; In his later years, he criticized and guided the real intellectuals more and more resolutely. He not only inherited the Confucian tradition of refusing the position by virtue, but also absorbed western modern values; It not only actively promotes modernization from the aspects of culture and education, but also keeps alert to the negative aspects of modernization and fashion culture, keeps a distance from the power structure and has the consciousness and ability of rational criticism. In his later years, he repeatedly called for rebuilding the independent and meticulous personality of intellectuals, advocating the character of scholars, never kitsch, and practicing it. He was criticized by Brown Huai Yu, and Brown Huai Yu ended the trend of learning from scholars with lofty integrity, and never bent down to serve the dignitaries for immediate fame and wealth. Mr. Xiao taught and educated people all his life, worked hard and devoted himself to it. Spare no effort to support backwardness. His education for students is a combination of words and deeds, emphasizing words and deeds. He emphasized putting moral education and sound personality education in the first place.
At a party, we knew that Mr. Xiao was going to die soon, and everyone looked dignified. Zhang Kaiyuan, a historian, told me personally: With Mr. Xiao's academic education and influence, the province is sorry for him (accordingly, the province often neglects or even suppresses Mr. Xiao intentionally or unintentionally). I said: Mr. Xiao belongs to human beings and China, not only to this province where he has lived and served for more than half a century. Mr. Zhang added: In a sense, a comprehensive intellectual like Mr. Xiao will become a masterpiece. On the seventh anniversary of Xiao Shixian's death, before the farewell ceremony, Mr. Zhang was interviewed by a reporter and sighed: "Mr. Xiao's persistence in truth, personal integrity, pursuit of academic freedom and maintenance of the dignity of scholars have influenced generations of intellectuals. A generation of scholars died to learn. "Mr. Zhang is Mr. Xiao's confidant, so he ended up with his evaluation.