Learning to be a sage is the ideal shared by scholars in the Song and Ming dynasties. How to construct the lineage of Confucian Orthodoxy, how to understand the principles of heaven and conscience, and how to lead and serve the society, has become the subject of their learning. The neo-Confucianists of the Song and Ming dynasties not only reformed the classical system from the Six Classics to the Four Books, but they also absorbed numerous resources from Buddhism and Taoism, creating a unique self-cultivation effort that is rich and diverse yet strict and detailed. This system of cultivation has had a profound impact on Chinese society up to today.

Professor Hui Yin, China Centre Academic Visitor, is a Professor at the Yuelu Academy of Hunan University. She has a PhD in History. Her main research interests include the history of Chinese thought, the history of Chinese classics， especially the study of the history of Neo-Confucianism and ritual studies in the Song and Ming dynasties.