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
Everything that is capable of turning back upon itself is incorporeal.
-- Porphyry
Every unity either participates in the One or is itself the One.
-- Proclus
All is number.
-- Pythagoras
You will not find thinking apart from Being, in which it is expressed.
-- Parmenides
There is no envy in the good.
-- Plato
Investigate things to extend knowledge.
-- Zhu Xi