Zhang Juzheng - Zhang's Commentary On The "Four Books"

Zhang's Commentary On The "Four Books"

In 1573, Zhang presented the young Wanli Emperor with a commentary on the Four Books of the Confucian canon, entitled "Colloquial Commentary on the Four Books" ("四书直解", Si Shu Zhijie). It was published some time between 1573 and 1584. The book was not destroyed during the posthumous disgrace of Zhang, and enjoyed a measure or renown among the Chinese literati almost a century later, during the early decades of the Qing Dynasty, when several editions of it appeared between 1651 and 1683.

In the assessment of modern scholars (e.g. D.E. Mungello), Zhang's commentary was, in its content and meaning, not that different from the commentary written by Neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi, the Jesuits rejected the Neo-Confucianism but found Zhang's book more consonant with their view of Confucius' teaching. As a result, there are numerous references to Zhang's work in Confucius Sinarum philosophus, the pioneering Latin translation and commentary of the Confucian classics, which had been gradually created by a large group of Jesuits over several decades and published in Paris in 1687.