 The Song Neo @-@ Confucian philosophers , finding a certain purity in the originality of the ancient classical texts , wrote commentaries on them . The most influential of these philosophers was Zhu Xi , whose synthesis of Confucian thought and Buddhist , Taoist , and other ideas became the official imperial ideology from late Song times to the late 19th century . The basis of his teaching was influenced by the Cheng brothers , but he greatly extended their teachings , forming the core of Neo @-@ Confucianism . This included emphasis on the Four Books : the Analects , Mencius , Doctrine of the Mean , and the Great Learning ( the latter two being chapters in the ancient Book of Rites ) . His viewpoint was that improvement of the world began with improvement of the mind , as outlined in the Great Learning . His approach to Confucianism was shunned by his contemporaries , as his writings were forbidden to be cited by students taking the Imperial Examinations . However , Emperor Lizong of Song found his writing to be intriguing , reversing the policy against him , and making it a requirement for students to study his commentaries on the Four Books . 
