 The epistemology of the “realistic” current followed the paradigms of the Great learning (Da xue 大學), which postulates the exploration of things (gewu) for the purpose of attaining ultimate knowledge (zhi zhi 致知 ). These approaches were previously advocated by Han Yu (768–824), a precursor of Neo-Confucianism, and by most of the above mentioned Neo-Confucians such as Zhou Dunyi, Cheng Yi and especially Zhu Xi (Zhu 1999: 14, 48). However, in Zhu Xi’s understanding the exploration of things (gewu) was not limited to the process of investigation. In order to explore a thing one should exhaustively recognize all of its qualities (Zhu 1999: 15, 3). For him, exploring things (gewu) and attaining ultimate knowledge (zhizhi) form a unity (Zhu 1999: 15, 17).