Zhu Xi: Basic Teachings

Zhu Xi (1130–1200) was the preeminent Confucian thinker of the Song dynasty (960–1279). His teachings profoundly influenced China, where for centuries after his death they formed the basis of the country’s educational system. In Korea, Japan, and Vietnam as well, elites embraced his inspired and authoritative synthesis of Confucian thought.

In Zhu’s eyes, the great Way of China was in decline, with its very survival threatened by external enemies and internal moral weakness. In his writings ...