Cheng Duanli (, 1271–1345) was a

Neo-Confucian Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a Morality, moral, Ethics, ethical, and metaphysics, metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, which originated with Han Yu (768� ...

scholar of the

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

in China, educator, poet, and philologist. He was also known by the courtesy names 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 Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosp ...

Wèizhāi (畏齋).

Biography

He came from Qingyuan Prefecture (now Yinzhou of

Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...

City in

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

). 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 ( zh, c=朱熹; ; October 18, 1130April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese philosopher, historian, politician, poet, and calligrapher of the Southern Song dynasty. As a leading figure in the development of Neo-Confuci ...

'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 was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

(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 official history of the dynasty. The legacy of his book lasted further through Ming and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, serving as the basis of school curricula.Sources of East Asian Tradition: Premodern Asia,volume 1
/ref>

References

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