Late Ming thinker who attacked Neo-Confucian orthodoxy, defended personal desire and praised novels such as 水浒传; his 童心说 held that true writing comes from a child's unspoiled heart. He died in prison.
Li Zhi was one of the most critical-minded thinkers of the late Ming dynasty.
Tips
culture
His two best-known books warn you in their titles: 《焚书》, 'a book to burn', because its letters hit scholars' sore spots and would make them want him dead, and 《藏书》, 'a book to hide', to be stored away for later readers.
