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

Southern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

. His Neo-Confucianist views were influential at court and together with his colleague Wei Liaoweng 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 is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern 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 capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

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 ...

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

Quanzhou Quanzhou 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, People's Republic of China. It is Fujian's largest most populous metropolitan region, wi ...

, 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. It has also been translated as "College of Literature" and "Academy of the Forest of Pen ...

. During the early part of his political career Zhen enjoyed the patronage of the Prime Minister Han Tuozhou, 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 ( 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 ...

). 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, 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 by the people. 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 (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, 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 Southern Song court. His works continued to be influential long after his death; more than a century later, Song Lian was recommending Zhan's work to the

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328– 24 June 1398), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Ming, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, courtesy name Guorui, was the List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, founding emperor of the Ming dyna ...

, the founding emperor of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

, 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 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 The ''Heart Sūtra'', ) is a popular sutra in Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the title ' translates as "The Heart of the Prajnaparamita, Perfection of Wisdom". The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (''śūnyatā''), em ...

. 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 courtiers 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 government officials Politicians from Nanping Philosophers from Fujian Poets from Fujian Writers from Fujian