Zhu Xi and Neo-Confucianism

Zhu Xi. Click [1] for original source

Who was I?

I, Zhu Xi, also known as Chu Hsi, was a philosopher and Confucian scholar during the Song Dynasty. I lived from 1130-1200 C.E., and I was one of the most influential Neo-Confucians China has ever had. I lead the Confucian revival during the Song dynasty, bringing new metaphysical ideas and answers to problems faced by many in China using ideas addressed in Taoism and Buddhism.

Background

My father was a local official and educated me in the Confucian tradition. I was well raised and taught and was able to pass the Imperial Examination, the highest civil service examination, at the age of 18 or 19, a feat accomplished usually at the age of 35. I was lucky enough to have my father and several of his friends as guides and mentors.

Neo-Confucianism

Neo-Confucianism is a Chinese philosophy based largely on Confucianism. However, it addresses many concerns not taught in Confucianism, such as problems of being and ultimate reality. These ideas are taken largely from Taoism and Buddhism.

One of the stresses in ancient Confucianism was upon “perfecting one’s moral qualities to become a chun tzu, or true gentleman.” Neo-Confucianism takes that a step further and lays an even loftier goal: “to embody a profound metaphysical and ontological reality.” Meaning that the ideal person had not only knowledge and possessed moral and social virtues, but they are a person who “ha[s] reached the ultimate potential of complete identification with all creation, whose thought and action flowed in effortless harmony with the cosmic Tao” (Palmer 104).

Citations

1. Palmer, Spencer J., Roger R. Keller, Dong Sull Choi, and James A. Toronto. Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint View. Provo: Brigham Young University, 1997. Print.

2. Berthrong, John H.. "To Catch a Thief: Zhu Xi (1130-1200) and the Hermeneutic Art . Journal of Chinese Philosophy 33 (2006): 145-149. Web.