 Zhu Xi was born in Youqi in Fujian in October 1130. Many anecdotes attest that he was a highly precocious child. It was recorded that at age five he ventured to ask what lay beyond Heaven, and by eight he understood the significance of the Classic of Filiality (Xiaojing). As a youth, he was inspired by Mencius’ proposition that all people could become a sage. In Zhu Xi’s childhood, his father Zhu Song (1097–1143) arranged for several old friends to educate Zhu Xi after his passing. Consequently, Zhu Xi was educated by several eclectic scholars who had delved into Daoism and Buddhism as well as Confucianism, and inclined him to be deep and wide-ranging in his intellectual predilections and cultural interests. Later he studied Chan (Zen) Buddhism with the monk Dao Qian of the Kaishan Temple, and reputedly met with the Chan master Da Hui (Dahui Zonggao,  1089–1163).[2]  Traces of Huayan’s holistic thought can also be discerned in the formation of Zhu Xi’s system (Makeham 2018). Remarkably, Zhu passed the official jinshi exam (the “presented scholar” exam) at just nineteen, drawing on Chan Buddhism in his  answers.[3]  He continued to pursue Daoism and Buddhism until he met the Neo-Confucian master Li Tong (1093–1163) a decade later, and formally became his student in 1160. In fact, Zhu’s father had recommended that he conduct his advanced studies under Li Tong, but Zhu postponed seeing Li for years until he finally admitted to himself that he was no longer making progress in his eclectic cultivation and suffered spiritual doubts. Li Tong was a master in the southern Yang Shi (1053–1135) lineage of the Cheng brothers’ school, partial to the teachings of Cheng Yi. Importantly, Li Tong convinced Zhu of the cogency and superiority of the Confucian Way and cultivation. Meanwhile, having passed the jinshi examination, Zhu was eligible to hold office, and had been assigned to several prefectural administrative posts. But, since he disagreed with central court policy on several major issues, he preferred to hold temple guardianships, which gave him the leisure to conduct Confucian studies and cultivation in earnest, and shielded him from the ruthless court politics. Having chosen this career path, Zhu Xi had the leisure to study and reflect, so over time he made numerous contributions in classical studies, historical inquiries, literary studies, and philosophic reflections. He moreover developed into a man of letters and wrote subtle prose and elegant verse.