L19 - Zhu Xi and Neo-Confucianism

In this lecture, we will return to the developments taking place in thought and deal with one of the greatest figures in Chinese intellectual history, Zhu Xi (1130–1200). In the 12 th century, Zhu Xi brought together many elements from the debates of the 11 th century and forged what is sometimes called the Neo- Confucian synthesis. Basically, this was a shift in the way moral values were conceived. Rather than being based on the accumulated historical experience of human society, Zhu Xi’s view of moral values was based in a cosmic order. He emphasized the concepts of li (“pattern” or “principle”) and dao (“the Way”), or the proper order of things. His teaching is known in Chinese as Daoxue, the “Learning of the Way.” Daoxue, especially in the form of Zhu Xi’s commentaries on the Confucian classical texts, became the only officially accepted interpretation of the ideas and concepts at the heart of the examination system.