Zhan Ruoshui

Zhan Ruoshui (1466–1560) was a prominent Chinese philosopher, educator, and Confucian scholar during the Ming dynasty. Born in Zengcheng, Guangdong, he rose to hold several high-ranking positions in the imperial government, including the presidency of Nanjing Guozijian (Imperial Nanjing University), Minister of Rites, Minister of Personnel, and Minister of War in Nanjing. As an academic, Zhan made significant contributions to the field of mind theory, a branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of the mind and its relationship to the body and the external world. He was also a dedicated educator, founding or co-founding over 40 Shuyuan (Confucian academies) throughout his life. Zhan shared a close intellectual relationship with the philosopher Wang Yangming, with whom he appreciated Lu Xiangshan's idealism, Daoism, and Buddhism, although their philosophical paths eventually diverged.