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Zhan Ruoshui Edit Profile

湛若水

philosopher

Zhan Ruoshui, was a Chinese philosopher, educator and a Confucian scholar.

Background

Zhan was born in Zengcheng, Guangdong.

Career

He was appointed the president of Nanjing Guozijian (南京國子監, the Imperial Nanjing University) in 1524. He was later appointed the Minister of Department of Li (禮部, Li Bu, which mainly administers national ceremony, sacrifice, imperial examination, education, diplomacy, etc), Minister of Governmental Personnel (吏部), and then Minister of Military Affairs for War (兵部) at Nanjing of Ming Dynasty. As a scholar, Zhan is famous for mind theory.

He was also a famous educator.

In his life he founded and jointly founded more than 40 Shuyuan (書院, Confucian academies). Zhan was a lifelong friend of the philosopher, general, and administrator Wang Yangming.