When the predecessors criticized the literary style of the Ming Dynasty, they generally described it as empty and superficial. This was because most literati in the Ming Dynasty liked to promote their reputations and establish factions, yet few knew national welfare and the people’s livelihood or contacted with social reality. As a result, the literary circle seemed bustling with different schools rising and falling, and they did not last long with little achievement. The three great scholars of the late Ming and early Qing periods, Huang Zongxi (1610–1695), Gu Yanwu (1613–1682), and Wang Fuzhi (with art name Jiangzhai, 1619–1692), sought to examine the gain and loss of literature and education in the Ming Dynasty with the pain of national subjugation. They recriticized several outstanding bad style of studying literature in the Ming Dynasty. Although their academic achievements and literary views were different from each other, their starting point had something in common, so there were many similarities in their theories.