劉向是西漢末年為「擁漢安劉」而戮力以赴的學者，他的著作有強烈的「諫書」屬性，尤其表現在《說苑》、《新序》之中。在他有計畫的撰述中，除了對時政的弊端有所針砭，同時也次序井然地建構君王的治民之道。因此，其著作不僅有益於時用，同時也值得留傳後世，做為安邦治國的重要參考書籍。儒家《禮記．大學》八條目：「格物、致知、誠意、正心、修身、齊家、治國、平天下」，是普遍被接納的由內而外、層層修為的政治思想；劉向的政治思想正符合此一重要架構。劉向也有濃厚的「無為而治」的道家思想，此外，還雜揉少部分墨家、法家等其它思想。儒道兩家思想為主的思想結合之後，呈現了劉向崇尚道德、自我約束、恩威互濟、以德為主，以法為輔，最終臻於「清靜無為」的治民思想。其特色是：心思縝密，面面俱到，以古人古事的案例印證和宣揚王者推展強國致治的理想。

Liu Xiang is a scholar who worked hard to "maintain the stable rule of the Liu regime in the Han Dynasty" in the late Western Han Dynasty. His works have the characteristics of strong loyalty and satire, especially in Shuoyuan and Xinxu. In his planned writing, in addition to correcting the drawbacks of current politics, he also constructed a set of methods for kings to govern the people in order. Therefore, his works are not only beneficial to the use of the Han Dynasty, but also worthy of being handed down to future generations as an important reference book for the security of the country. The eight items in the Confucian Book of Rites: "studying the truth of things, acquiring knowledge, being sincere, correcting the mind, cultivating behavior, family harmony and happiness, governing the country, and making the world peaceful". This is a widely accepted set of political thoughts that should be cultivated at all levels from the inside out. Liu Xiang's political thought is in line with this important framework. Liu Xiang also has a strong Taoist ideology of "governing by doing nothing", and in addition, he also mixed a small number of other schools of thought such as Mohism and Legalism. After the combination of the two main thoughts of Confucianism and Taoism, the thought of governing the people advocated by Liu Xiang was presented: advocating morality, self-restraint, mutual aid between grace and power, giving priority to morality, supplemented by law, and finally reaching the "quiet and inaction". Its characteristics are: careful thinking, considering many levels and angles, verifying and publicizing the ideal of the king to promote the prosperity of the country and the well-being of the people with the cases of ancient people and events.