ABSTRACT
DA XUE 大學 Great Learning Originally a chapter of the Liji, this became one of the Four Books chosen by Zhu Xi as a basic syllabus of Confucianism. The title refers to learning for the adult, as opposed to children’s learning, and the work suggests the steps people should take to develop their moral character in order to become fit for their role in society. It begins with a definition of the three aspects of the Great Learning (manifesting clear character, loving the people and dwelling in the highest good) and then goes on to recommend a multi-stage process of acquiring knowledge and cultivating the mind in order to develop the moral sense and humanity required for correct behaviour in public life. All people from the ruler to the commoner should regard cultivation of the personal life as the foundation. The text had remained in obscurity as part of the Liji until Sima Guang produced a commentary on it (now lost); Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao both took it up and Zhu Xi followed with his own elucidation. He affirmed that the brief main text was by Confucius and the following commentaries were by his disciples; there is no evidence for this attribution but the origins of the text remain obscure. Wing-tsit CHAN, A Sourcebook in Chinese Philosophy (Princeton University Press, 1963); Daniel K. GARDINER, Chu Hsi and the Ta-hsueh. Neo-Confucian Reflection on the Confucian Canon (Harvard University Press, 1986).
