Cheng Duanli (, 1271–1345) was a

Neo-Confucian 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 t ...

scholar of the

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...

in China, educator, poet, and philologist. He was also known by the

courtesy names A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Jìngshū (敬叔) and Jìnglǐ 敬禮, and the

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ''ho'' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by East Asian artists, poets and writers. The ...

Wèizhāi (畏齋).

Biography

He came from Qingyuan Prefecture (now Yinzhou of

Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...

City in

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

). Cheng Duanli was very talented in the childhood, at the age of 15 he was able to recite the " Six Classics" and had a good knowledge of the Cheng-Zhu school. He studied under Shǐ Méngqīng (史蒙卿) and spent a lifetime teaching scores of students. He became the director of Jiandong Academy. He also served in official educational positions. He wrote a book ''Chronological Syllabus for Study in the Cheng Family School'', which used

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 ...

's educational ideas to understand the canon. He supported a focused reading method and a graded approach to learning, which had to begin with Elementary learning and continue to studying of history and prose. Cheng Duanli's writings strove to enshrine Confucian orthodoxy. His best-known work was ''The Graded Everyday Schedule of Study'' (程氏家塾讀書分年日程). Published in 1315, it corresponded with the re-opening of the system of

Imperial Examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

(that had mostly been defunct during the Yuan Dynasty rule) and was adopted officially across China posthumously earning its author an entry in the

History of Yuan The ''History of Yuan'' (''Yuán Shǐ''), also known as the ''Yuanshi'', is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' of China. Commissioned by the court of the Ming dynasty, in accordance to political ...

, the official history of the dynasty. The legacy of his book lasted further through

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

and Qing, serving as the basis of school curricula.Sources of East Asian Tradition: Premodern Asia,volume 1
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References

Yuan dynasty writers Neo-Confucian scholars Writers from Ningbo 1271 births 1345 deaths Educators from Ningbo 14th-century educators {{edu-bio-stub