The Lu Tsu-ch'ien Beginnings
In studding the Confucian Discourse it is apparent that the objectives of the book are to show the wide complex interactions of Twelfth century literati and how those interactions shaped the Confucian revival. In the past the focus of scholars has been to view Chu Hsi (1130-1200) as the central figure in a single line of development of neo-Confucian thought. As we have seen through are readings however this is simple not the case. Chu Hsi can be credited has being the mean or the center between philosophical extremes held by his contemporaries. He also with out a doubt was the largest compiler of commentaries on the classical canon. However being at the center of things does not mean that Chu Hsi was the model of Confucian thinkers. In fact there where many different viewpoints on Confucian thought in the Twelfth century and it is this wide variety of them that must be explored in order to understand the evolution of neo-Confucianism and Chu Hsi Ascendancy.
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