Revisits Zhu Xi's philosophy from a broader intercultural perspective and considers the relevance of his thought to our contemporary moment.

As the chief architect of Neo-Confucian thought, the philosopher Zhu Xi (1130-1200) brought about a momentous transformation in Chinese philosophy, drawing strands of Confucian thought together with Daoism and Buddhism to form a coherent, holistic system. Moreover, his editions and commentaries on the Confucian classics were the standard for the imperial examination system for over five centuries, until the late Qing dynasty. The present volume takes a new route in Zhu Xi studies by revisiting his thought and scholarship from a broader, intercultural perspective. Bringing together East Asian and Western scholars in history and philosophy to reveal the relevance and application of Zhu Xi's thought across a variety of cultures--East Asian, Southeast Asian, and American--the book confirms his status as a major world philosopher with a timely cosmopolitan spirit sorely needed in the twenty-first century.