- Lived:
- 1139–1193 · Jinxi, Jiangxi province, southern Song China; taught on Elephant Mountain; died in office at Jingmen
- Tradition:
- Neo-Confucianism — founder of xinxue, the "learning of the mind," the great rival school to Zhu Xi's orthodoxy
- The Big Idea:
- The moral pattern of the universe is not something you must study your way toward — it is already complete in your own mind, waiting to be uncovered.
- In their words:
- "The universe is my mind; my mind is the universe."
- If you remember one thing:
- In the most book-centered civilization on earth, one teacher stood up and said the books are commentary — on you. "The Six Classics are all my footnotes."