Zhu Xi
In 1179, after not serving in an official capacity since 1156, Zhu Xi was appointed Prefect of Nankang Military District (南康軍), where he revived White Deer Grotto Academy. and got demoted three years later for attacking the incompetency and corruption of some influential officials. There were several instances of receiving an appointment and subsequently being demoted. Upon dismissal from his last appointment, he was accused of numerous crimes and a petition was made for his execution. Much of this opposition was headed by Han Tuozhou, the Prime Minister, who was a political rival of Zhu's. Even though his teachings had been severely attacked by establishment figures, almost a thousand brave people attended his funeral. After the death of Han Tuozhou, Zhu's successor Zhen Dexiu, together with Wei Liaoweng, made Zhu's branch of Neo-Confucianism the dominant philosophy at the Song Court.
Zhu Xicai
Little is known about Zhu Xicai's background, and it is not known when he was born. According to the Tang Dynasty historian Ping Zhimei (平致美), whose "Jimen Jiluan" (薊門紀亂) is no longer extant but is often cited in other works, he served under Shi Chaoyi, the final emperor of the state of Yan during the An Shi Rebellion against Tang Dynasty rule, and, after Shi Chaoyi had become emperor after assassinating his father Shi Siming in 761, the Yan general remaining at the major city of Fanyang (范陽, in modern Beijing) went through major bloody infighting, at the end of which Li Huaixian emerged the victor. Zhu Xicai was then serving under Li, and he remained at Fanyang to continue to serve under Li after the disturbance. After Li submitted to Emperor Daizong of Tang in 763 and turned against Shi Chaoyi (leading to Shi Chaoyi's committing suicide, ending Yan), Zhu continued to serve under Li.