The Long ConversationA timeline of world philosophy

Philosopher

Zhu Xi

1130–1200

The leading Neo-Confucian philosopher, whose synthesis and commentaries on the Four Books became the basis of Chinese state examinations for centuries.

Ink rubbing of an elderly man in a scholar’s cap, with a thin beard and moles beside one eye
Rubbing of a Qing-dynasty stone engraving, kept by Zhu Xi’s descendants, of what is said to be his self-portrait. Scholars regard it as the most reliable likeness.Photo: 向史公哲曰 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · See the original

Zhu Xi drew together the ideas of earlier Song dynasty thinkers into a systematic Neo-Confucian philosophy. He explained the world in terms of principle (li), the pattern that makes each thing what it is, and vital energy (qi), the stuff of which things are made. Self-cultivation, for Zhu Xi, meant investigating the principle in things. His commentaries on the Four Books were made the standard for the imperial examinations in 1313.

Tradition
Chinese
Region
Southern Song China
Influenced by
Confucius
Mencius

Key works

  • Reflections on Things at Hand (Jinsilu), 1175

Sources

  1. Kirill Thompson, Zhu Xi, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy