ZHUANGZI251and Daoism before returning to Confu-
cianism, ultimately concentrating on the
metaphysical Confucian classic Book of
Changes (Yijing). Influenced by his con-
temporary Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073),
Zhang’s work examined the concept of
the Supreme Ultimate (Ta i j i), a non- the-
istic order or principle mentioned in the
Book of Changes and elaborated by Zhou
Dunyi. Unlike Zhou, who believed that
the Supreme Ultimate was a combination
of li (principle) and qi (matter), Zhang
believed that the Supreme Ultimate con-
sisted solely of qi. In his moral philo sophy
Zhang emphasized ren (benevolence or
humanity) as the basis of all human rela-
tionships. Zhang was the uncle of the
Neo-Confucian philosophers Cheng Hao
and Cheng Yi.
ZHU XI (1130–1200). Zhu Xi was an
official, a historian, and the greatest
commentator on the Confucian classics,
probably the greatest Confucian philoso-
pher after the classical age. Zhu Xi
believed in seeking truth through gewu—
the investigation of things, a phrase he
found in one of the Confucian classics,
the Great Learning. In his case, he sought
truth through investigation of Confucian
classics. He interpreted them, however,
with metaphysical issues on his mind,
and he drew ideas from them that others
had not. He taught that all things have a
fundamental principle of form, called li.
All li together constitute the limitless
Supreme Ultimate, the non-theistic
principle underlying all existence and
manifested in all things. Li provides
the form, but material existence comes
from qi (matter). Neo-Confucianism
applies this scheme to human nature.
Confucius—or more specifically Men-
cius—argued that human nature was
intrinsically good and that human good-
ness is the basis of all virtues. Nonethe-
less, human nature as it really exists is a
manifestation of li through qi. Qi can be
impure, muddied, and dulled. Human
beings can purify their qi through educa-
tion and self-cultivation. Zhu Xi’s philo-
sophy, like classical Confucianism, is
primarily concerned with social harmony
and personal ethics. Zhu Xi emphasized
a particularist, family-centered social
ethic based on the five relations of author-
ity and obedience (ruler-subject, father-
son, husband-wife, elder brother-younger
brother, and friend-friend). His philoso-
phy supported the political status quo,
regarding the state as a large family and
the ruler as a father whose authority is
essentially ethical. After Zhu Xi’s death,
his Neo-Confucian synthesis became
orthodox. His commentaries were the
standard interpretation of the classics
considered authoritative for the civil ser-
vice examinations until they were abol-
ished in 1905.ZHUANGZI. Zhuangzi refers both to a
Daoist philosopher said to have lived in
the fourth century BCE and to the book
attributed to him. The Zhuangzi, along