 A similar critique of classical Confucian moral epistemology was—although from a different perspective—formulated already by his teacher Xiong Shili (1885–1968). Based on his central thesis dealing with the inseparability of substance and function (Rošker 2009a: 377), Xiong created an ethical system rooted in the classical Confucian paradigm of the nobleman (junzi 君子), defined as someone who possesses the qualities of the “inner sage” and the “outer ruler.” The concept of the inner sage refers to spiritual adjustment, while the concept of the outer ruler has to do with that person’s social and political activities. While this moral directive, which was expressed in the ancient phrase nei sheng wai wang 內聖外王, was based on classical Confucian political studies, Xiong criticized classical Confucianism, especially the Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming dynasties, precisely in this regard, accusing them that their epistemologies exaggeratedly emphasized the principle of inwardness and ignored the social aspects of the binary category.