Quotation
Last reviewed:
Investigate the principle in each thing, one after another, and after long effort understanding will one day connect everything.
Zhu Xi · Neo-Confucianism · Medieval · c. 1190
What does it mean?
Understanding is built by patient, piece-by-piece study, and then it suddenly joins up.
Did Zhu Xi really say this?
The library’s label is Summary. Restates his added commentary on 'investigating things'. Not a direct quotation.
Where it comes from
Supplementary commentary on the Great Learning, ch. 5, summary
Approximate date: c. 1190.
How to use it
Learning the Highway Code feels like scattered rules until one day the logic of the road clicks.
A mindset reading
Breadth comes from many small, careful steps, not one leap.
Understand the philosophy
Wang Yangming famously tried this on bamboo for a week and fell ill, then turned to the mind instead.
- knowledge
- virtue
FAQ
What does it mean?
Understanding is built by patient, piece-by-piece study, and then it suddenly joins up.
Did Zhu Xi really say this?
Summary. Restates his added commentary on 'investigating things'. Not a direct quotation.
Which work is it in?
Supplementary commentary on the Great Learning, ch. 5, summary Approximate date: c. 1190.