died с 844, China
Chinese scholar and high official of the Tang dynasty, who helped reinvigorate Confucianism at a time when it was severely challenged by Buddhism and Daoism .
Little is known of Li's life, though he is believed to have known Han Yu . He was much influenced by Buddhism, and he helped integrate many Buddhist ideas into Confucianism. He anticipated the ideas of Neo-Confucianism by asserting that human nature and human destiny were central to Confucianism, and he helped establish Mencius as a figure almost equal to Confucius in the eyes of Neo-Confucians.