or Lu Hsiang-shan or Lu Jiuyuan
born 1139, Kiangsi, China
died Jan. 10, 1193, China
Chinese Neo-Confucian philosopher of the Southern Song dynasty .
A government official and a teacher, he was the rival of the great Neo-Confucian rationalist Zhu Xi . Lu taught that the highest knowledge of the way ( dao ) comes from constant inner reflection and self-examination. In this process, one develops or recovers the fundamental goodness of one's nature. Lu's writings were published after his death, and his thought was revised three centuries later by Wang Yangming , who established the Xinxue school of Neo-Confucianism , often called the Lu-Wang school.