Zhu Xi's philosophy is classified under which tradition?

• A. Daoism
• B. Buddhism
• C. Neo-Confucianism
• D. Legalism

Answer: (C)

This question tests how Zhu Xi reframed Confucian thought into a distinct philosophical tradition. Zhu Xi, a prominent Song dynasty scholar, developed Neo-Confucianism—a revival and reformulation of Confucian ethics that adds a systematic metaphysical framework. He argued that the world is ordered by li, the underlying principle, with qi as the material force that expresses that order. True knowledge comes from disciplined study and the investigation of things (gewu), which leads to moral self-cultivation and proper conduct in everyday life. He also elevated the Four Books as core texts for cultivating virtue, shaping education and civil service for generations.

These ideas—ethical self-cultivation, emphasis on ritual and social harmony, and a metaphysical structure connecting moral order to the cosmos—define Neo-Confucianism. It is not Daoism, which centers on harmony with the dao and spontaneous action; nor Buddhism, which focuses on enlightenment and cyclic rebirth; nor Legalism, which emphasizes strict state power and codified rules.