What years did Zhu Xi live?
Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi ([ʈʂúɕí]; Chinese:朱熹; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), also known by his courtesy name Yuanhui (or Zhonghui), and self-titled Hui'an, was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer of the Song dynasty. He was a Confucian scholar who was the leading figure of the School of Principle and the most influential rationalist Neo-Confucian in China. His contributions to Chinese philosophy including his assigning special significance to the Analects, the Mencius, the Great Learning, and the Doctrine of the Mean (the Four Books), his emphasis on the investigation of things (gewu), and the synthesis of all fundamental Confucian concepts, formed the basis of Chinese bureaucracy and government for over 700 years. He has been called the second most influential thinker in Chinese history, after Confucius himself.[1]
Yang Xi
Few historical facts are known about Yang Xi's life, and most information comes from his own revealed texts. The "Zhen'gao", for instance, is the only early record of Yang's birth and death dates; it says that when he was betrothed to the heavenly Consort An in 365, he told her that he had been born in October of 330 and was 36 (Smith 2013: 61). The actual date of his death is unknown; Tao Hongjing accepts the revelatory prediction that Yang would ascend to the heavens "in broad daylight" in 386, thus avoiding death in the forthcoming end of the world in 392 (Smith 2013: 104, Strickmann 1977: 47). Yang had an early connection with Daoism in 350 when Wei Huacun's eldest son, Liu Pu (劉璞) gave Yang a manuscript of the Lingbao School "Wufu xu" (五符序, Prolegomena to the Five Talismans of the Numinous Treasure) (Espessett 2008a: 1147). Although Tao had copies of the Xu's "jiapu" (家譜, Family Genealogy), he preferred to rely upon the prophetic contents of the revelations themselves; the family records said Xu Mi died in 373, but Tao said 376 when it was predicted that he would enter Shangqing heaven (Strickmann 1977: 42). 