Q0296
“To extend knowledge lies in investigating things: if one wishes to extend…” — Zhu Xi (Commentary on the Great Learning)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Commentary on the Great Learning. Theme: knowledge.
English
To extend knowledge lies in investigating things: if one wishes to extend one's knowledge, one must approach things and exhaust their principle.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Commentary on the Great Learning and files it under Neo-Confucianism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi (1130–1200) was the Southern Song synthesizer of Neo-Confucianism whose commentaries on the Four Books became imperial orthodoxy for centuries. He organized cosmology of li (principle) and qi (vital stuff) and built academy pedagogy.
How to read this passage
Epistemology asks whether knowledge is justified true belief, reliable tracking of the world, or something else; it also asks how perception, testimony, memory, and reason contribute. This passage enters that discussion through knowledge.
Concepts in this quote
- Knowledge
- Knowledge is the philosophical study of what we can justifiably claim to know—and where certainty ends.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Zhu Xi. (n.d.). To extend knowledge lies in investigating things: if one wishes to extend one's knowledge, one must approach things and exhaust their principle. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0296
MLA: Zhu Xi. “To extend knowledge lies in investigating things: if….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0296.
Chicago: Zhu Xi. “To extend knowledge lies in investigating things: if….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0296.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “To extend knowledge lies in investigating things: if…”?
The passage is attributed to Zhu Xi, Commentary on the Great Learning. The archive attributes this English wording to Commentary on the Great Learning and files it under Neo-Confucianism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Zhu Xi mean by knowledge?
Epistemology asks whether knowledge is justified true belief, reliable tracking of the world, or something else; it also asks how perception, testimony, memory, and reason contribute. This passage enters that discussion through knowledge.