Zhu Xi (1130–1200) was the preeminent Confucian thinker of the Song dynasty (960–1279). His teachings profoundly influenced China, where for centuries after his death they formed the basis of the country’s educational system. In Korea, Japan, and Vietnam as well, elites embraced his inspired and authoritative synthesis of Confucian thought.

In Zhu’s eyes, the great Way of China was in decline, with its very survival threatened by external enemies and internal moral weakness. In his writings and teaching, Zhu took as his mission the revival of the Confucian tradition, the source of China’s greatness, and its transmission to future generations. For him, restoring Confucianism to its rightful place required drawing on the tradition’s whole sweep, from the sacred texts of the sages and worthies of antiquity to the more recent writings of the great thinkers of the tenth and eleventh centuries.

This book presents the essential teachings of the new Confucian (“Neo-Confucian”) philosophical system that Zhu Xi forged, providing a concise introduction to one of the most important figures in the history of Chinese thought. It offers selections from the Classified Conversations of Master Zhu (Zhuzi yulei), a lengthy collection of Zhu’s conversations with disciples. In these texts, Zhu Xi reflects on the Confucian teachings of the past, revising and refining his understanding of them and shaping that understanding into a cohesive system of thought. Daniel K. Gardner’s translation renders these discussions and sayings in a conversational style that is accessible to new and more advanced readers alike.

"Superbly translated." - Journal of Chinese History

"This is a book of which at least one copy should be on the shelves of every university library. It is the book I would recommend to any student who would ask for a short introduction to Zhu Xi’s philosophy and thought. It is a little masterpiece." - Journal of Chinese Religions

"An ideal resource for classes on Confucianism and East Asian religions." - Religious Studies Review

"Gardner’s translations from the Zhuzi yulei constitute a most welcome contribution on the study of so-called Neo-Confucianism and the man and his work that informed this philosophical system that still reverberates through contemporary Chinese discourses." - Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies