Zhen Dexiu (; 1178 – 1235) was a Chinese politician and philosopher during the

Southern Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

. His

Neo-Confucianist Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) in th ...

views were influential at court and together with his colleague

Wei Liaoweng Wei Liaoweng (; 1178–1237) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Southern Song Dynasty. He and his colleague Zhen Dexiu were instrumental in establishing Neo-Confucianism as the dominant political philosophy of the court at the time. ...

he was instrumental in making Neo-Confucianism the dominant political philosophy of his time.

Life and career

Zhen was born in Pucheng (now part of

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

province). His original family name was Shen (), but was changed to Zhen () owing to the

naming taboo A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly r ...

Emperor Xiaozong Emperor Xiaozong of Song (27 November 1127 – 28 June 1194), personal name Zhao Shen, courtesy name Yuanyong, was the 11th emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the second emperor of the Southern Song dynasty. He started his reign in 1 ...

. He earned his ''jinshi'' qualification in 1199. He held a number of court positions, including Prefect of

Quanzhou Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...

, Vice Minister of Rites, Minister of Revenue and eventually Vice Counsellor. He was also appointed to the

Hanlin Academy The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution of higher learning founded in the 8th century Tang China by Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an. Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed sec ...

. During the early part of his political career Zhen enjoyed the patronage of the Prime Minister

Han Tuozhou Han Tuozhou (; November 6, 1152 – November 24, 1207) was a Chinese politician of the Southern Song dynasty, who served as a chancellor under Emperor Ningzong. He was responsible for Southern Song efforts to recover territories lost in north ...

, despite the latter's opposition to the Neo-Confucianist school of thought that Zhen represented (based on political rivalries with the Neo-Confucian philosopher

Zhu Xi Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...

). It was not until Han Tuozhou's death that Zhen started to openly advocate the positions of Zhu Xi. Zhen was widely regarded among his peers as the successor to Zhu Xi's teaching, and was able to overturn the ban on the Cheng-Zhu school implemented during Han's premiership. During the reign of

Emperor Lizong Emperor Lizong of Song (26 January 1205 – 16 November 1264), personal name Zhao Yun, was the 14th emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the fifth emperor of the Southern Song dynasty. He reigned from 1224 to 1264. His original name was ...

, he was known for his uprightness and integrity. Shi Miyuan, then the prime minister, saw Zhen as a potential threat to his political monopoly and removed him from the imperial court. Zhen had not returned to the central government until Shi died. During this time, he served as government official in various counties while gaining positive reputation. He died in the year of 1235, several years after his return to the court.History of Song.vol 437.

Philosophy

Zhen was a student of Zhan Tiren (himself a student of Zhu Xi's school), but adapted Zhan's philosophy to incorporate doctrinal elements of

Daoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, modernising it and making it more palatable to the politicians of his day. He also included elements of

Lu Jiuyuan Lu Jiuyuan (; 1139–1192), or Lu Xiangshan (陸象山; Lù Xiàngshān), was a Chinese philosopher and writer who founded the school of the universal mind, the second most influential Neo-Confucian school. He was a contemporary and the main ri ...

's "School of the Universal Mind", despite the rivalry between this school and Zhu Xi's. As a result, Neo-Confucianism became the primary philosophy of the Song court. His works continued to be influential long after his death; more than a century later,

Song Lian Song Lian (; 1310–1381), courtesy name Jinglian (), was a Chinese historian and politician of the Ming dynasty. He was a literary and political advisor to the Hongwu Emperor. Before that, he was one of the principal figures in the Yuan dy ...

was recommending Zhan's work to the

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...

, the first of the

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 ...

, who was so impressed that he had the text of Zhan's ''Expanded Meaning of the Great Learning'' copied onto the walls of his palace so he could review it daily. The Sinologist

Wm Theodore de Bary William Theodore de Bary (; August 9, 1919 – July 14, 2017) was an American Sinologist and scholar of East Asian philosophy who was a professor and administrator at Columbia University for nearly 70 years. De Bary graduated from Columbia Col ...

regarded Zhen's ''Heart Mind Classic'' as the quintessential expression of the Heart-Mind school of Neo-Confucianism, considering it to be Confucian equivalent to the Heart Sutra. In this work, Zhen advocated strict personal discipline and an ascetic lifestyle, focused on personal morality and social reform. He believed that the moral rectification of one's own spirit was the foundation of correct rulership, and felt that it was the duty of the court to encourage the ruler's efforts in personal moral improvement. Zhen's short primer ''Instructions for Children'' expounds his view on education, showing that he felt the purpose of education was to replace the wild nature of childhood with the dignity and respectability of adulthood as quickly as possible. Taking the form of a selection of short aphorisms and instructions, it was a popular text in schools for many years, though it fell out of favour after Western pedagogical methods were introduced to China. Zhen also touched on literary criticism with his ''Writings of the Orthodox School'', which addressed literature from a Daoist perspective. Unlike other literary critiques of the time, which classified writings in to as many as 100 categories, Zhen felt that there were only four major categories of literature: instruction, discussion, narration and poetry.

List of works

* ''Expanded Meaning of the Great Learning'' (''Daxue yanyi'' ) * ''Heart Mind Classic'' (''Xinjing'' ) * ''The Classic on Government'' (''Zhengjing'' ) * ''Notes of the Secretariat'' (''Du Shu ji'' ) * ''Writings of the Orthodox School'' (''Wenzhang zhengzong'' ) * ''Instructions for Children'' (''Jiaozi zhaigui'' ) * ''Collected works'' (''Zhen Xishan quanji'' )

References

{{authority control Neo-Confucian scholars Song dynasty philosophers 13th-century Chinese philosophers 1178 births 1235 deaths Song dynasty politicians from Fujian Politicians from Nanping Philosophers from Fujian