Biography of Zhang Hengqu

Zhang Hengqu: A Biography is an academic critical biography by Mr. Ma Subin, written with rigorous historiographical method and profound humanistic concern, of Zhang Zai (known as Mr. Hengqu), one of the founders of Northern Song Neo-Confucianism. Rather than a simple chronology of his life, the book situates Zhang Zai within the grand intellectual-historical context of the Northern Song Confucian revival and the rise of the Guan School, offering a deep analysis of the formation of his expansive spiritual world and philosophical system, embodied in his celebrated words: "To establish the heart of Heaven and Earth, to establish the life of the people, to continue the lost learning of past sages, and to open peace for all generations." The author, Ma Subin, has long devoted himself to the study of Chinese intellectual history, and this book is the fruit of his accumulated scholarship. He not only sorts out the core tenets of Zhang Zai's "qi-based" philosophy and its profound influence on later Neo-Confucianism, but also vividly portrays Zhang Zai as a great Confucian in his political practice, educational ideals, and personal self-cultivation. The interpretations of classical texts such as Zhengmeng and Ximing are accessible yet profound, displaying scholarly depth while remaining readable. In reading this book, readers will not only gain a systematic understanding of Zhang Zai's life and thought but also, through the perspective of this master of the Guan School, appreciate the Song-dynasty scholar-officials' spirit of responsibility—"taking the world as one's own"—and their ideal of inner sageliness and outer kingliness. This is a major work that helps readers deeply understand the core spirit of traditional Chinese culture and the intellectual contours of Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism.