Searching for knowledge is an important concept in ancient Chinese Confucianism. It originates from the eight items in "Book of Rites and Great Learning" - studying things, seeking knowledge, sincerity, righteousness, self-cultivation, ordering the family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world. It is discussed that "If you want to be sincere in your intention, you must first know it; to know things, you must study things." After observing the object, you will know it, and after you know it, you will be sincere." This paragraph. However, this is the only paragraph in "The Great Learning" that mentions "investigating things to achieve knowledge", without any subsequent explanation, and there are no pre-Qin ancient books that use the terms "investigating things" and "achieving knowledge" for reference. Therefore, the true meaning of "investigating things to gain knowledge" has become a difficult mystery in Confucian thought.
Zheng Xuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty was the first to annotate "the study of things to achieve knowledge". Since the Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty separated "The Great Learning" from the "Book of Rites" and became a part of the "Four Books", the significance of "the study of things to achieve knowledge" has gradually It became a hot topic of debate among later generations of Confucian scholars even today. The popular interpretation in society today about "investigating things to achieve knowledge" is based on part of the views of Zhu Xi's theory in the Southern Song Dynasty. It is believed that "investigating things to achieve knowledge" means studying things to obtain knowledge and principles.
The fifth edition of "Modern Chinese Dictionary" published in 2005 explains "investigating things to achieve knowledge" as: "studying the principles and laws of things and summarizing them into rational knowledge." “Studying things to achieve knowledge” includes what is now called the spirit of “seeking truth from facts”, but its connotation is far richer than “seeking truth from facts”. The difference between today's popular views and Zhu Xi's views lies in the explanation of "zhizhi". Zhu Xi's so-called "knowledge" refers to intelligence - including wisdom and knowledge - while in the modern popular view, "knowledge" only refers to knowledge. This change in concept may be due to the influence of the popular materialist views in today's society.
Although Zhu Xi was a great Confucian in the history of Confucianism, the reason why his view of "investigating things to gain knowledge" became mainstream in later generations was not because he was generally agreed by later Confucian scholars. In fact, Zhu Xi's teachings were criticized as "pseudo-science" during the Southern Song Dynasty due to political partisanship. Many Confucian scholars in later generations also vigorously criticized Zhu Xi's theoretical views on "investigating things to achieve knowledge." However, because Zhu Xi's "Collected Commentary on the Four Books" was officially adopted as the criterion for selecting scholars in the mid-Yuan Dynasty, and since Ming Taizu began to respect Zhu Xi's theory as the only official ideological authority in the "Four Books", Zhu Xi's theory became even more important in the Ming Dynasty. The official dogmatic views on imperial examinations lasted for more than 500 years during the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, Zhu Xi's views on "investigating things to achieve knowledge" became a generally popular view in later generations under the authority of official dogma for hundreds of years. Therefore, in the Westernization School in the late Qing Dynasty, subjects such as physics and chemistry were called "Gezhi", which is the abbreviation of "Studying things to achieve knowledge".