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Li Zhi

Type Figure Region China Time 1527–1602 Also known as Li Zhuowu、Li Zaizhi、Lay Buddhist of Wenling

Li Zhi (1527–1602) was a renowned Ming thinker, writer, and historical critic, styled Zhuowu, a native of Jinjiang, Fujian.…

Timeline

  1. 1527–1561Jinjiang County, Quanzhou Prefecture · Quanzhou PrefectureLi Zhi was born in Jinjiang, Quanzhou Prefecture, passed the provincial examination in the 31st year of Jiajing, and served as instructor in Huixian, Henan, and as erudite at the Nanjing Imperial Academy; his official career gave him a keen sense of court hypocrisy and the emptiness of Neo-Confucian learning, planting the seeds of his later intellectual turn.
  2. 1562–1590Nanjing · Yingtian PrefectureAfter resigning his post he lived in Nanjing and elsewhere, teaching and writing, proposing the "Theory of the Childlike Heart" and composing the Book of Burning, Sequel to the Book of Burning, the Book of Storage, and Sequel to the Book of Storage, using a sharp pen to critique Daoist learning and affirm fiction, drama, and popular culture, influencing late Ming literati circles.
  3. 1590–1602Tongzhou · TongzhouIn his later years his writings, including the Book of Burning, were banned by the authorities; in 1602 he was arrested at Tongzhou and imprisoned, cutting his own throat there that June. His works were repeatedly proscribed and destroyed, yet his thought's influence extended into the Qing dynasty.

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