Ye Shi

Ye Shi (simplified Chinese: 叶适; traditional Chinese: 葉適; pinyin: Yè Shì; Wade–Giles: Yeh Shih, 1150–1223), courtesy name Zhengze (正则), pseudonym Mr. Shuixin (水心先生), was a Chinese neo-Confucian of the Song dynasty. A native of Wenzhou, Zhejiang, he was the most famous figure of the Yongjia School, a neo-Confucianism School composed mostly of philosophers from today Wenzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang province. In contrast to other scholars in the same period like Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan, he stressed practical learning and applying Confucian doctrine to real world problems. This school had important influence on later thinkers from Zhejiang province, including Wang Shouren and Huang Zongxi, who were the most important philosophers in the Ming and Qing periods. Ye Shi was born in 1150 and, in 1178, earned his jinshi degree. At the age of 28, he was placed second place in the civil service examinations. In Huaixi, Ye became a legal advisor and iron and salt supervisor. He also served as prefect of Qizhou, prefect of Jiankang (now Nanjing), and Director of Studies in the Directorate of Education during the reign of the Southern Song dynasty. Despite his philosophical differences with Zhu Xi, Ye wrote a letter to the imperial court in support of Zhu against accusations of political motives in 1188. By 1190s, the Yongjia School experienced difficulties following the abdication of Emperor Xiaozong.