Guan means “pass” in Chinese. The concept Guanzhong, literally “among the passes,” refers to the area of central Shaanxi Province, including cities like Xi’an and Xianyang. Surrounded by the Tong Pass (east), San Pass (west), Wu Pass (south) and Xiao Pass (north), Guanzhong has had strategic significance throughout history.

为天地立心，为生民立命，为往圣继绝学，为万世开太平

wei tiandi li xin, wei shengmin li ming, wei wangsheng ji juexue, wei wanshi kai taiping

Wei means “for” while li means “to build up.” Tiandi means “heaven and earth.” Shengmin means “the people.” Wangsheng means “the past sages.” Ji means “to inherit, to develop.” Juexue means “great or endangered scholarship.” Wanshi means “tens thousands of generations.” Taiping means “peace and tranquility.”

This doctrine means “building up the manifestations of Heaven and Earth’s spirit, building up good life for the people, developing the endangered scholarship of past sages, and opening up eternal peace for the world.”

This famous Four-sentence Doctrine proposed by Zhang Zai (1020-77), the founder of the Guan School of Confucianism in Song Dynasty, lays out four ontological goals for Chinese intellectuals.
Building up the manifestations of Heaven and Earth’s spirit proposes understanding laws of things beneath what they present to the world.

Building up a good life for the people means that Confucian scholars should dedicate themselves to relieving the suffering of the people.

Endangered scholarship refers to Confucian teachings represented by Confucius and Mencius. For Zhang, no one truly developed Confucianism after the demise of Mencius. He advocated further developing Confucianism and realizing its ideals.

Opening up eternal peace for the world is a great goal of Confucianism. It is Great Harmony where the whole world becomes one community, a similar saying to China’s idea of a community of shared destiny for humanity.

This Four-sentence Doctrine has become a maxim for many Chinese intellectuals. President Xi Jinping also quoted this doctrine on several occasions. It shows the senses of mission and responsibility of the Chinese people.