''A Book to Burn'' () is a late 16th-century philosophical work by the late-

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

thinker and historian Li Zhi. A critique of the social, philosophical and cultural norms of his time, the book was highly controversial and cemented Li Zhi's reputation as a heretic at the time.

History

Li Zhi began compiling the book in 1588, while living in a Buddhist monastery. It was first published in 1590 in

Macheng Macheng () is a city in northeastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering the provinces of Henan to the north and Anhui to the northeast. It is a county-level city under the administration of Huanggang City and abuts the south sid ...

, with a foreword by Mei Guozhen. The title was chosen by Li Zhi, who was aware that the book would be highly controversial, and that calls for its burning would be inevitable. Indeed, soon after its publication, it incited a vitriolic response from the exponents of Cheng-Zhu orthodoxy, accusing Li of heresy and poisoning minds; this controversy, however, only served to heighten Li Zhi's reputation. In 1602, after the imprisonment and suicide of Li Zhi, the book was proscribed and all copies were burned; this ban proceeded even into the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. Yet, while officially banned, it continued to be printed and distributed in private.

The book is divided into six chapters. Chapters one and two are responses to other books and philosophical works, while chapters three and four are essays on assorted topics. Chapter five deals with the study of history, and the last chapter contains poetic works. The book contains Li's defences of the School of Heart, influenced by the teachings of the earlier scholar Wang Yangming, against the Cheng-Zhu school. Among other arguments, it derided the ritual worship of

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

as superstition, as well as the study of the classics in pursuit of understanding an 'absolute morality'. Instead, Li argued for a more intuitive understanding of virtue and morality, and of giving greater space for individualism, instead of 'taking Confucius' (idea of) right or wrong as the only idea of right or wrong'.

History

Contents

References

Further reading