For example, prior to the Song dynasty, The Great Learning was not a very influential work in China. Zhu Xi made a point of extolling the interlinked elements of that work's philosophy: correct identification of objects; knowledge of underlying truths; cultivation of individual character; sound regulation of the family; correct governance of the nation; tranquility under Heaven.
政大哲學系教授曾春海解釋，宋代知識份子希望找出可大可久的制度，但制度的改革根源於人心，因此理學家對所謂人心、道心有無普遍性、有無共同基礎，進行了精微的討論。