Zhu Xi

The great synthesizer of Neo-Confucianism, whose "Collected Commentaries on the Four Books" became the examination standard for the next 700 years.

Life

Young jinshi

Zhu Xi passed the jinshi exam at 19, but spent little of his life in office, devoting most of it to teaching and writing. He inherited and developed the teachings of Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, forming "Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism."

Teaching and writing

In 1179, as prefect of Nankang, he rebuilt the White Deer Grotto Academy and drew up its rules. He grouped the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Analects and the Mencius together as the "Four Books" and annotated them in the "Collected Commentaries on the Four Books."

Qingyuan Partisan Ban

In 1196, when Han Tuozhou held power, Zhu Xi's teachings were condemned as "false learning," an episode known as the "Qingyuan Partisan Ban." He died in 1200 while the ban was still in force. From the Yuan dynasty on, the "Collected Commentaries on the Four Books" became the standard text for the civil service examinations, with an influence lasting 700 years.

Legacy

Zhu Xi was the most influential Confucian scholar after Confucius, and Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism profoundly shaped the thought and society of China, Korea and Japan after the Song.

Major works & achievements

• "Collected Commentaries on the Four Books"
• Rebuilt the White Deer Grotto Academy

Did you know? "How is the channel so clear? Because fresh water flows from its source" is a line from one of his poems.

Key dates

• 1148Passed the jinshi exam
• 1179Rebuilt the White Deer Grotto Academy
• 1190Printed "Collected Commentaries on the Four Books"
• 1196Qingyuan Partisan Ban
• 1200Died