Changes

Zhu is credited with spurring an explosion of private academies in the 12th-13th centuries, and is known for his emphasis on the importance of the inclusion of practical learning, as well as humanistic values and morality, in formal study. The Song Imperial Court had established hundreds of state-sponsored schools throughout the country, designed to train young men for the [[Chinese imperial examinations]], through which candidates could earn positions in the imperial bureaucracy. Zhu Xi felt that these schools focused too heavily on rote memorization, stifled creative thinking, and lacked sufficient moral purpose and humanistic learning in their curricula. His arguments inspired the establishment of roughly 140 private academies in the 12th and 13th centuries, dedicated to a slightly more flexible mode of teaching the [[Confucian classics]], in which philosophical discussion, creative thinking, and moral purpose occupied a larger space in the curriculum. Many families who agreed with Zhu Xi's ideals, or who believed these methods would lead to greater intellectual & career success, enrolled their children in these academies; many others enrolled their children in private academies chiefly because their children might find greater success in the examinations purely based on the prestige of the names of their teachers.

Zhu is credited with spurring an explosion of private academies in the 12th-13th centuries, and is known for his emphasis on the importance of the inclusion of practical learning, as well as humanistic values and morality, in formal study. The Song Imperial Court had established hundreds of state-sponsored schools throughout the country, designed to train young men for the [[Chinese imperial examinations]], through which candidates could earn positions in the imperial bureaucracy. Zhu Xi felt that these schools focused too heavily on rote memorization, stifled creative thinking, and lacked sufficient moral purpose and humanistic learning in their curricula. His arguments inspired the establishment of roughly 140 private academies in the 12th and 13th centuries, dedicated to a slightly more flexible mode of teaching the [[Confucian classics]], in which philosophical discussion, creative thinking, and moral purpose occupied a larger space in the curriculum. Many families who agreed with Zhu Xi's ideals, or who believed these methods would lead to greater intellectual & career success, enrolled their children in these academies; many others enrolled their children in private academies chiefly because their children might find greater success in the examinations purely based on the prestige of the names of their teachers.

==Teachings==

==Teachings==

Zhu Xi, drawing upon the ideas of the brothers [[Cheng Hao]] ([[1032]]-[[1085]]) and [[Cheng Yi]]<!--程頤--> ([[1033]]-[[1107]]), postulated a universe comprised of ''qi'' 氣 - the material/energy essence that composes all things - and ''li'' 理 - the fundamental guiding principle by which all things are what they are. He identified ''li'' as a "pattern" within the broader, more general path that is The Way (the [[Tao]]), and exhorted his students to understand the fundamental concepts of ''qi'' and ''li'', rather than simply studying how to behave; Zhu is quoted as saying, "Compare this to a person walking along a road ... If he does not see [the road], how can he walk on it?"<ref>Ebrey (trans.) in Ebrey, 173.</ref>

Zhu Xi, drawing upon the ideas of the brothers [[Cheng Hao]] ([[1032]]-[[1085]])<!--号： Mingdao--> and [[Cheng Yi]]<!--程頤, aka号： Yichuan--> ([[1033]]-[[1107]]), postulated a universe comprised of ''qi'' 氣 - the material/energy essence that composes all things - and ''li'' 理 - the fundamental guiding principle by which all things are what they are. He identified ''li'' as a "pattern" within the broader, more general path that is The Way (the [[Tao]]), and exhorted his students to understand the fundamental concepts of ''qi'' and ''li'', rather than simply studying how to behave; Zhu is quoted as saying, "Compare this to a person walking along a road ... If he does not see [the road], how can he walk on it?"<ref>Ebrey (trans.) in Ebrey, 173.</ref>

Aside from his more philosophical or conceptual teachings, politically, Zhu Xi was a powerful advocate for the inclusion of practical knowledge in the education and testing of Confucian scholars. In addition, he suggested a curriculum based not on the broader set of Confucian classics studied previously, but rather on the [[Analects|Analects of Confucius]] (''Lúnyǔ''), the writings of [[Mencius]] (''Mèngzǐ''), and two chapters he excerpted from the [[Book of Rites]] (''Lǐjì''): the [[Great Learning]] (''Dàxué''), and [[The Mean]] (''Zhōngyōng''). Together, these came to be known as "the Four Books."<ref>Valerie Hansen, ''The Open Empire'', New York: W.W. Norton & Company (2000), 357.</ref>  

Aside from his more philosophical or conceptual teachings, politically, Zhu Xi was a powerful advocate for the inclusion of practical knowledge in the education and testing of Confucian scholars. In addition, he suggested a curriculum based not on the broader set of Confucian classics studied previously, but rather on the [[Analects|Analects of Confucius]] (''Lúnyǔ''), the writings of [[Mencius]] (''Mèngzǐ''), and two chapters he excerpted from the [[Book of Rites]] (''Lǐjì''): the [[Great Learning]] (''Dàxué''), and [[The Mean]] (''Zhōngyōng''). Together, these came to be known as "the Four Books."<ref>Valerie Hansen, ''The Open Empire'', New York: W.W. Norton & Company (2000), 357.</ref>