Although Neo-Confucianism was not monolithic, what separated the new Confucian school from the classical Confucian writers was the belief in ultimate moral metaphysical truths. These were represented by the terms ‘heaven’ (tian), ‘principle’ (li), ‘the great ultimate’ (taiji), the basic element or energy (qi), and the way of things (dao), which explained the unfolding reality-principle […]| The Confucian Weekly Bulletin