Abstract
Abstract Lu Jiuyuan (1139-1193) is one of the most prominent philosophers of the Song dynasty. He belonged to the School of Mind (Xin-Xue), one of the two main schools of Neo-Confucianism - the other being the School of Principle (Li Xue), of which Zhu Xi (1130-1200) is the outstanding figure. This essay investigates the onto-logical and epistemological teachings of Lu Jiuyuan and compares them with the thought of other Neo-Confucian thinkers such as Zhu Xi. The most important term in Zhu Xi's philosophy is li (universal principle). Lu Jiuyuan equated li with the mind of man. He developed his philosophy on the basis of li- present in and apprehended by the mind - as the moral criterion of human conduct. For him, the purpose of study is to recognize li and return to the originally pure condition of the mind. Every man, he said, is responsible for the condition of his mind and must strive to attain knowledge of the truth. Lu refused to consider as important the acquisition of factual knowledge by external investigation, emphasizing instead that li is to be known intuitively. The realization of li is the result of inner, subjective self-examination.
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