LU CHIU-YAN

born 1139, Kiangsi, China died Jan. 10, 1193, China Pinyin Lu Jiuyuan, courtesy name (tzu) Tzu-ching, literary name (hao) Ts'un-chai, also called Master Hsiang-shan Idealist Neo-Confucian philosopher of the Southern Sung and rival of his contemporary, the great Neo-Confucian rationalist Chu Hsi. Lu's thought was revised and refined three centuries later by the Ming dynasty Neo-Confucianist Wang Yang-ming. The name of their school is Hsin Hseh, often called the Lu-Wang school, after its two great proponents. It was opposed to the other great school (and the one that was dominant), the Li Hseh, often called the Ch'eng-Chu after its leading philosophers, Ch'eng I and Chu Hsi. Lu held a number of government posts, but he devoted most of his life to teaching and lecturing. In contrast to Chu Hsi's emphasis on constant inquiry and study, Lu taught that the highest knowledge of the Way (Tao) comes from the constant practice of inner reflection and self-education. In this process, man develops his original goodness, for human nature is basically good, or regains his goodness if it has been corrupted and lost through material desires (wu y). After his death, Lu's works were collected and published under the title of Hsiang-shan Hsien-sheng ch'an-chi (Complete Works of Master Hsiang-shan). In 1217 he was canonized as Wen-an, and in 1530 a tablet in his honour was placed in the central Confucian temple of the Ming dynasty.