Lü Zuqian

Lü Zuqian (呂祖謙) (1137-1181), also known by his courtesy name Bogong (伯恭), was a writer, historian, and philosopher during the Southern Song dynasty in China. Lü Zuqian's philosophical teachings are known as the "School of Lü," "School of Wuzhou," or "Donglai School.".

Philosophy Lü Zuqian was greatly influenced by Zhou Dunyi, the Cheng brothers, and Zhang Zai in his thinking, especially regarding moral understanding and terms like "rite" (li), "Supreme Ultimate" (taiji), and "nature" (xing). However, Lü's exact views on these concepts are not well-documented, as he has not received much attention from scholars. Some modern scholars believe that Lü aimed to combine the Cheng brothers' different ideas: Cheng Hao's focus on the "heart/mind" (a more personal approach) and Cheng Yi's focus on "pattern" (a more analytical approach).

Historiography Lü Zuqian believed that a great philosopher should merge Confucian teachings with practical uses. He wrote many books exploring how Confucianism could be applied in real life. These included titles like Donglai boyi and Gu Zhouyi. He wrote on the imperial court's history and compiled and edited prose writings from the year 960 to 1126. Lü felt studying history was vital to learn from past successes and failures. He thought the Confucian Classics could provide practical guidance, though this view was criticized by Zhu Xi, who rejected his interpretation of the Classics as historical texts. Due to Zhu Xi's criticism of Lü's literary works after his death, Lü's works has not been thoroughly studied by scholars.