In his reply letter to the faculty and students of the four Jiaotong Universities， General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to adhere to the school‑running tenet of “Seek True Learning， Serve Practical Industry”， setting forth earnest expectations for the universities’ development. An examination of the educational history of Beijing Jiaotong University reveals that this tenet has undergone an evolutionary process spanning intellectual origins， paradigm establishment， disciplinary expansion and value integration. Its core connotations can be encapsulated as a truth‑seeking and pragmatic scholarly paradigm， a practice‑oriented ethos of applying knowledge to real‑world needs， and an educational philosophy premised on the unity of knowledge and action. As the shared spiritual underpinning of the four Jiaotong Universities， the tenet “Seek True Learning， Serve Practical Industry” has run through their 130‑year course of educational development. Furthermore， it provides historical insights and theoretical references for Chinese universities to develop world-class universities rooted in China’s national conditions and promote the diversified development of global engineering education， thereby boosting the construction of a leading country in education.