Zhan Ruoshui (Chinese:湛若水;pinyin:Zhàn Ruòshuǐ;Wade–Giles:Chan Joshui, 1466–1560) was aChinese philosopher,educator and aConfucian scholar.

Zhan was born inZengcheng, Guangdong. He was appointed the president ofNanjingGuozijian (南京國子監, the Imperial Nanjing University) in 1524. He was later appointed theMing dynastyMinister of Rites (禮部, which mainly administers national ceremony, sacrifice, imperial examination, education, diplomacy, etc.), Minister of Personnel (吏部), and then Minister of War (兵部) atNanjing.

As a scholar, Zhan is famous formind theory (a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of the mind and its relation to the body and the external world). He was also a famous educator. During his life, he founded or jointly founded more than 40Shuyuan (書院, Confucian academies).

Zhan was a lifelong friend of the philosopher, general, and administratorWang Yangming. They shared an appreciation ofLu Xiangshan idealism (xinxue),Daoism, andBuddhism, although their intellectual paths ultimately diverged.^[1]

• Ming dynasty philosophers
• 16th-century Chinese philosophers
• Chinese Confucianists
• Educators from Guangdong
• 1466 births
• 1560 deaths
• Politicians from Guangzhou
• Ming dynasty government officials
• Philosophers from Guangdong

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