Neo Confucianism, Lu Xiangshan: Introductory Lecture

Lu Xiangshan (Lu Hsiang-Shan 陸象山; Lu Jiuyuan陸九淵, 1139-1193) is most famous for his philosophical disagreement with Zhu Xi, which led to the formation of the school of the heart/mind (xingxue 心學) founded by Wang Yangming. Lu and his brother met up with Zhu Xi at the Goose Lake and later exchanged numerous letters, which became more and more heated. This exchange later became known as the Goose Lake Meeting (erhuzhihui 鵝湖之會). Their philosophical disagreement centered on their different methodology of becoming a sage. Lu criticized Zhu Xi for overemphasizing the investigation of all sorts of things, and claimed that such pursuit of external knowledge is too “trivial” and fragmented to truly benefit the learner. Instead, as he argues, one should focus on one’s own mind to seek true wisdom in dealing with worldly affairs. Zhu Xi, on the other hand, thought that Lu’s teaching is too simplified and too idle. Lu’s famous slogan is “The Universe is my mind; my mind is the Universe.” His teaching greatly influenced Wang Yangming, who later advocated the learning of the heart/mind, which became a dominant view in late Ming dynasty.