Zheng Xuan wrote at a period when the questions philosophy asked were themselves being renegotiated.
The record lists Zheng Xuan as Chinese philosopher, politician and writer (127–200).
Zheng Xuan was born at Gaomi in 127. His recorded nationality is Eastern Han.
Philosophy then was taught in person and preserved by students; what survives often reaches us through the summaries of opponents.
The recorded fields of work are confucianism, chinese classical studies and confucian literature.
His principal work is Commentary on the Three Ritual Classics. Philosophical influence is measured in the questions a thinker made unavoidable.
That the work was done from Eastern Han matters: philosophical traditions, institutions and the language of publication have never been evenly distributed.
Zheng Xuan died in 200, aged 73. The arguments remain in print, which is the form in which philosophy survives.
Achievements
- Notable work: Commentary on the Three Ritual Classics
- Fields: Confucianism, Chinese Classical Studies and Confucian literature
