辛棄疾並未給後人留下直接和系統地表述其文學思想和觀念的文字，然而從他在作品 的一些零星的論述及他的許多作品本身，我們卻不難看出他對詞體的重視，以及他是如何利用時人以詞為小道，故與詩相比，作詞罹禍的概率也要小得多的觀念，以詞為陶寫之具並取得偉大成就的；不難看出他在以詞抒寫胸臆和反映社會現實、描摹客觀景物時所體現出的兼融剛柔的審美理想和情趣以及細緻綿密的藝術創作特徵，而這種審美情趣與特徵，是與其思想上的融合兵、儒和性格上的兼備剛強果毅與謹嚴細密有著密切聯繫的。

　　　　　 Hsin Ch'i-chi never wrote about his literary theories. However, by analyzing his literary works, we can notice how he devoted great attention to the formal aspect of tz'u. Furthermore, turning to his advantage the contemporary view that underestimated tz'u (thus the possibility of becoming unpopular through writing tz'u was less likely than when composing classical style poetry), he achieved great success with this form by pouring his out his heart. His unique aesthetics consisted in charming and meticulous artistry that mirrored real life and described scenery. His aesthetic approach is closely intertwined with his idea of merging the ancient military strategy with Confucianism, or, in other words, coupling hardness with softness.