Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucian System

Timeline

1. 1085–1107Luoyang · Central PlainsCheng Hao and Cheng Yi proposed concepts such as heavenly principle and human desire, and investigation of things to extend knowledge, forming the core categories of Neo-Confucianism and providing the intellectual source for Zhu Xi's later synthesis of various schools.
2. 1130–1140Youxi · FujianZhu Xi was born in Youxi and received a Confucian education in childhood from his father Zhu Song; Zhu Song studied under later followers of the Chengs, linking Min regional family learning with the Cheng tradition as early as the early Southern Song.
3. 1170–1200White Deer Grotto Academy, Mount Wuyi · FujianIn middle age Zhu Xi integrated the teachings of Zhou Dunyi, Zhang Zai, and the Cheng brothers, wrote the Collected Commentaries on the Four Books, and lectured at academies; his Neo-Confucian system took shape and influenced both court and scholarly circles.