Scholars add chronology, notes to Zhu Xi’s poems

Zhu Xi, an eminent Chinese thinker, philosopher, educator and a Neo-Confucian master living from 1130 to 1200, exerted a considerable influence on traditional Chinese thought and culture.

In the 13th century, his doctrines were introduced to Korea and Japan and once became the ruling ideology of the two countries. Later, they also had a profound impact in Southeast Asia. In modern times, his doctrines were introduced to Europe and America.

As an important part of Oriental culture, Zhu's theory has developed into a worldwide one. Nowadays, international studies of Zhu are in the ascendant and continue to develop in depth.

However, readers find a large number of his poems hard to understand because they do not know which years the poems were written and they have no ideas of the poems' background.

To solve the problems, Zhu Xi's Anthology with Chronology, Notes and Commentary compiled and annotated by Guo Qi and Yin Bo, two scholars at Sichuan University in the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu, has been recently published by the Fujian People's Publishing House.

According to the two scholars, more than 20 existing editions of important anthologies of Zhu have been collated. Zhu Xi's Anthology with Chronology, Notes and Commentary has collected Zhu's 1,218 poems, with relevant background materials for all the poems and time when the poems were written.

Scholars throughout history have studied Zhu's poems, leaving behind a large number of comments. However, these comments were not systematically collected and sorted out, and they were scattered in books since the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1276) in which Zhu was born and lived. And readers had difficulty finding the comments.

For the first time, Zhu Xi's Anthology with Chronology, Notes and Commentary has collected 1,284 comments on his poems by scholars in different dynasties. The comments on a certain poem are attached to the poem, which greatly facilitates the readers.