The school motto of Tsinghua University is "Continuous self-improvement and virtue". Since 1914, it has guided countless Tsinghua students to pursue this gentlemanly spirit. It comes from the first two hexagrams of "The Book of Changes", the Qian hexagram: the heaven is healthy, the gentleman strives to constantly strive for self-improvement; the Kun hexagram: the terrain is Kun, the gentleman carries things with great virtue.

Why are the last four characters in these two hexagrams chosen as the school motto? This originated from the speech entitled "The Gentleman" that Liang Qichao gave to the students of Tsinghua University in 1914 when he visited Tsinghua University.

In his speech, he first mentioned that the educational spirit of Britain and the United States is to cultivate the personality of citizens, and when applied to China, it becomes the personality of a gentleman. He said that it is not easy to clarify the specific standards of a gentleman, but he believes that among the sixty-four hexagrams of the Zhouyi, fifty-three items mention the gentleman, but the two hexagrams of Qian and Kun are its outline. That is to say, if the sky is healthy, a gentleman will strive to strengthen himself; if the terrain is weak, a gentleman will be virtuous.

It is said that "the conditions of a gentleman are almost the same as those of a common man." Then he specifically explained and extended the hexagram meaning of Qianxiang and Kunxiang. According to the Qian hexagram, he said, "A gentleman's self-motivation is like the continuous movement of heaven, and there must be no shortcomings of violence or cold. Scholars must be persevering and persevering in their determination." He feels that life in this world is like a sailboat sailing on the sea. Whether there is a favorable wind or a headwind varies from time to time, and he cannot decide. Therefore, he cannot wait until the wind is favorable before setting sail, because he does not know when he will be able to land ashore.

Only by persevering in self-improvement and not avoiding hardships can we reach the other side of success. According to the Kun hexagram, he warned the students to be like gentlemen and to be generous in dealing with others. A gentleman should impose high standards on himself and strict punishments, while he should set low standards and be tolerant on others. Only in this way can we "have a high reputation and heavy responsibilities, be graceful, and be gentle in looking forward to it." He put forward requirements for Tsinghua students: they must have a mind of unity and cooperation, strict self-discipline, and selfless dedication.

After that, Tsinghua people wrote the eight words "continuous self-improvement and morality" into the Tsinghua school regulations, which later gradually evolved into the Tsinghua motto.