In the letter to the students of the the Central Conservatory of Music in Feb 1964, Chairman Mao Zedong wrote, "Make the past serve the present, and make the foreign things serve China". All culture and arts are inherited; the evolution is based on predecessors' contributions. To learn the essence from predecessors and use it to serve current circumstances, this is the definition of "making the past serve the present"; and to "make the foreign things serve China" is to adopt good qualities of foreign cultures to enrich Chinese culture. It was Mao's belief to be discriminating in learning, we must absorb the good and reject the rest. Xu Bing has applied the aphorism of learning from his predecessors in his artistic expression by writing English words using typical Chinese character forms and making them into couplets. Such an act is also a reflection of the essence of "making the foreign things serve China, and making the past serve the present".

Xu Bing's artworks are stern and disciplined, and yet there is often a childlike sense of humor within his works. It is a great delight to see a presentation of neat and tidy English words composed into couplets similar to those in ancient Chinese traditional writing. According to Xu Bing art itself is a language. "It is my belief, an ultimate goal of a successful artist is to illustrate their expressions and thoughts through an unprecedented technique with specific vocabulary. Artists must have a powerful mind. History has well documented the contribution to those artists possessing the ability in artistic language." (Dialogue: Hu Jiujiu vs. Xu Bing, Jan 30, 2010)