Zhu Xi
ZHU XI (1130–1200), philosopher, scholar, and formulator of what would for centuries be regarded as mainstream neo-Confucianism. The son of an official, Zhu Xi passed the highest civil service examination when he was only eighteen. In 1151 he was appointed a district registrar in Fujian province, where he served until 1158. He did not accept another official post until 1172, when he became prefect of Nankang in Jiangxi. Except for a month and a half in 1194, when Zhu Xi served at court, his government service was entirely at the local or regional level.
As a local official he built a strong record of conscientious service looking after the economic as well as moral welfare of the people. One notable acccomplishment was the establishment of communal granaries as a measure to combat famine. Less successful was his attempt to conduct a land survey. Most influential in the long run were his activities on behalf of education, especially the rehabilitation of private academies such as the White Deer Grotto Academy in Nankang. Such academies played a prime role in propagating neo-Confucianism.
In office or out, Zhu Xi was ever mindful of the plight of the Song dynasty, which had lost China's northern heartland to the non-Chinese Jin only three years before his own birth.
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