Zhang Zai (12—December 6, 177), Zihou, was born in Hengqu Town, Yixian County, Fengxiang (now Meixian County, Shaanxi Province), and was one of the founders of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty. Known as Mr. Hengqu in the world, he is honored as Zhang Zi, and he is a sage, and he is the 38 th in the west of Confucius Temple. His famous saying of "making a heart for heaven and earth, making a life for the people, inheriting the past and learning from the past, and opening up peace for all generations" is called "four sentences in a horizontal canal" by contemporary philosopher Feng Youlan.
Zhang Zaijin was an official, and retired as a country sage, which opened up a new situation for Confucianism under the historical conditions at that time with practical actions. Zeng Guofan, the "first minister of ZTE" in the late Qing Dynasty, once wrote The Portrait of the Sage, and selected 32 great men in Chinese history who have been shining like stars for thousands of years as the gateway for future generations to study:
Wen Zhou Confucius and Mencius, Ban Ma Zuo Zhuang, Ge Lu Fan Ma, Zhou Cheng Zhu Zhang,
Han Liu Ou Zeng, Li Du Su Huang, Xu Zheng Duma, Gu Qin Yao Wang.
Among them, "Zhou Cheng Zhu Zhang" refers to Zhou Dunyi, Cheng Hao Cheng Yi brothers (regarded as one person), Zhu Xi and Zhang Zai respectively. In the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, Zhang Zai gave lectures in Guanzhong, and his academic thought was called "Guan Xue", which was called the four schools of the Song Dynasty together with Zhou Dunyi's "Lian Xue", Er Cheng's "Luo Xue" and Zhu Xi's "Min Xue" in the Southern Song Dynasty.
"Meng Ke died, and in a thousand years, only Zhou Cheng, Zhang Zhu and several others were handed down by Confucius." This is the * * * knowledge of China in the past 8 years. "Luo Guan Min" and "Zhou Cheng Zhang Zhu" have become the mantra of people's addressing Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty. In order to rhyme, Zeng Guofan changed it to "Zhou Cheng Zhu Zhang".
Extended information:
The sentence of "four sentences in a horizontal canal" has been settled, which provides a useful reference for building philosophy and social sciences with China characteristics.
For Zhang Zai, one of the founders of Neo-Confucianism, the biggest challenge at that time was the prosperity of Buddhism, especially Buddhism. The smartest minds in the world were attracted to the past. As the backbone of Chinese local culture, Confucianism was greatly challenged in its cultural self-confidence.