[4] As the Chair of Chinese at East China Normal University, Xu encouraged students to engage in creative writing and publishing.
He initiated the reform that allowed students of the Chinese Department to submit their literary works as an alternative to the required graduation thesis.
[2][4] A number of Xu's students became well known writers, including Zhao Lihong [zh], Sun Yong 孙颙, Nan Fan 南帆, Wang Xiaoying 王小鹰, Chen Danyan, Mao Shi'an 毛时安, and Chen Bohai 陈伯海.
[4] Xu's major works include Exploring the Heritage of Lu Xun (魯迅遺產探索) and A Treatise on the Creation of Ancient Literature and Art (古代文藝創作論).
[2] When he was 100, he donated his savings of 1 million yuan to establish a scholarship at East China Normal University, as well as his collection of 50,000 books.