“女（汝）為君子儒，無為小人儒”、“君子不器”、“游於藝”等是先秦以來儒門教學培養學生的目標與要求，禮、樂、射、禦、書、數“六藝”是儒家弟子需要掌握的六種基本技能。清華學人正是在某種意義上秉承了這種從古至今的求學和修身原則。而他們之所以能夠成為一個時代知識份子的典型代表，不僅僅在於他們在推動國家社會進步做出的專業方面的傑出貢獻，同時也在於他們的學識淵雅、視野寬廣、修養全面，不以一己之專而摒棄其他。在從傳統語境向現代社會過渡的過程中，古趣盎然的學術行文與著作，酬唱應答時信手拈來的古文詩詞，問詢聯絡中信筆寫就的書法條幅，均把這些知識精英的日常素養表現得淋漓盡致。

Confucius said: “One should be a scholar in the style of a superior man rather than that of a mean man;” “The accomplished scholar is not a utensil;” “Let relaxation and enjoyment be found in the polite arts.” Since the Pre-Qin Period, these dictums have informed the Confucian methods of developing “accomplished scholars,” based on the mastery of the “six arts” (ritual, music, archery, chariot-riding, calligraphy, and mathematics). Tsinghua scholars inherited these principles, promoting the country’s development with the help of their specialized knowledge as well as with their broad intellectual vision and overall accomplishments. Because they did not limit themselves to their narrow disciplines, they became intellectual models for the new era. Their academic accomplishments capture the transition from the traditional to the modern, visible in their writing’s classical elegance, combination of poetry and prose, and refined calligraphy.