(born Oct. 18, 1130, Yu-hsi, Fukien province, China—died April 23, 1200, China) Chinese philosopher and proponent of Neo-Confucianism. The son of a minor government official, he was educated in the Confucian tradition and entered government service.
Interested in history, he revised Sima Guang's famous history so that it would illustrate moral principles in government. In 1189 he began a commentary on the Daxue; he continued working on the Daxue all his life. Philosophically, his thought incorporated the ideas of Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073), and Zhang Zai, whose works he compiled. His commentaries on the Four Books, notably on the Lunyu (Analects) of Confucius and on Mencius (both 1177), were enormously influential. His philosophy emphasized logic, consistency, observance of classical authority, and the value of inquiry.
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