Before heaven and earth existed, there was, ultimately, principle (li) first.
未有天地之先、畢竟先有理。

Philosophers
Zhu Xi
Southern Song Confucian (1130-1200), the systematizer of Neo-Confucianism. His Four Books commentaries served as China's civil-service exam basis from 1313 to 1905, shaping East Asia's governing class for six centuries.
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Source: 朱熹『朱子語類』巻1 (黎靖徳編、1270年)Verified
Zhu Xi's Other Quotes
Related Quotes
All is number.
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You will not find thinking apart from Being, in which it is expressed.
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Philosophy is the knowledge of beings qua beings.
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All determination is negation.
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There is no envy in the good.
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I had to deny knowledge in order to make room for faith.
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