Confucius: A Chinese philosopher whose teachings formed the basis of Confucianism, which heavily influenced Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism.
Moral cultivation: The process of developing one's character and ethical values through education, reflection, and practice.
Four Books and Five Classics: Canonical texts in Confucianism that emphasize topics such as ethics, governance, poetry, rites, music, history, and divination. These texts were studied extensively by scholars under Zhu Xi's influence.