ABSTRACT
Mou Zongsan (1909-1995) has been considered the most original and probably the most influential thinker in the second generation of contemporary neo-Confucianism (Xin Ruxue). He was raised as a farm boy, with his roots deep in the soil. He was a graduate of Peking (Beijing) University, but he was not impressed by the trend of liberalism, positivism, and pragmatism promoted by Hu Shi (1891-1962) and did not go along with the tide. On the contrary, he was attracted by Xiong Shili (1885-1968), who was then an obscure teacher but would later be honored as the founder of the contemporary neo-Confucian philosophical movement.
