Scholars › Philosopher / Thinker
Li Zhi
Jinjiang thinker who resigned as prefect of Yao'an to write at Macheng, author of A Book to Burn and A Book to Hide, who cut his own throat in prison in 1602
A thatched pavilion open on three sides stands among tall bamboo; one person sits with their back turned at the veranda rail beside a zither and a stack of bamboo slips, while a stone path runs to a calm pond reflecting clouds and distant hills.
Also known as Zi Hongfu · Hao Zhuowu · Hao Wenling Jushi
Li Zhi, born into a family surnamed Lin and later known as Li Zhuowu, came from Jinjiang in Quanzhou and passed the provincial examination in 1552. He served as a county instructor, an erudite of the Imperial Academy, a clerk in the Ministry of Rites and a vice director in the Nanjing Ministry of Justice, and from 1577 to 1580 he was prefect of Yao'an in Yunnan before resigning. He then lived in Huang'an and Macheng in Huguang, writing at the Zhifo monastery, shaving his head without taking monastic vows and carrying on a long dispute with Geng Dingxiang. His books A Book to Burn (Fenshu) and A Book to Hide (Cangshu) set out his theory of the childlike heart and judged historical figures against received opinion, and local opponents once drove him from Macheng. In 1602 the supervising secretary Zhang Wenda impeached him; arrested at Tongzhou, he cut his throat with a razor in prison. His books were banned repeatedly under the Ming and Qing.
Life and times
Dates 1527 CE–1602 CE