Biography

He was born in Jinjiang, Fujian province (in modern Quanzhou). His ancestor by seven generations was Li Nu, the son of Li Lü, a maritime merchant. Li Nu visited Hormuz in Persia in 1376, converted to Islam upon marriage to a Semu girl ("娶色目女") (who was most likely either Persian or Arab), and brought her back to Quanzhou. This was recorded in the Lin and Li genealogy《林李宗谱》. However, the new faith did not take root in his lineage and the family stopped practising Islam during the time of his grandfather. His father made a living by teaching, and Li Zhi was therefore educated from an early age.

In 1551, he passed the village examinations, and five years later was appointed as a lecturer in Gongcheng (in modern Huixian, Henan Province). In 1560 he was then promoted to the Guozijian in Nanjing as a professor, but went into filial mourning, returning to his native Quanzhou. During this time he participated in the defence of the coastal city against Wokou raids. After returning from mourning in 1563, he was assigned to the Guozijian in Beijing.

In 1566, he served in the Ministry of Rites in Beijing, where he became learned in Yangmingism as well as Buddhist thought. He was then assigned as a prefect in Yunnan in 1577, but left his post three years later. After this, he took up a teaching post in Hubei on the invitation of Geng Dingli, but was attacked as a heretic by Dingli's brother, the scholar and official Geng Dingxiang, and eventually moved to Macheng. In 1588, he took the tonsure and became a Buddhist monk, but did not follow the ascetic lifestyle of other monks. Two years later, his work A Book to Hide was printed.

He travelled during the 1590s, visiting Jining and Nanjing, where he met with Matteo Ricci and discussed the differences between Buddhist and Catholic thought. Returning to Macheng in 1600, he was again forced to leave after attacks from the local magistrate for his philosophical views.

In 1602, after being accused of deceiving society with heretical ideas by Zhang Wenda and other officials of the Censorate, he was arrested and imprisoned, where he committed suicide. Having heard that he was to be exiled to his native Fujian, he cut his throat with a shaving knife which he seized from a servant. After his death, he was buried in Tongzhou, where his grave still remains.

Philosophy

Li Zhi's philosophy was based upon Neo-Confucianism, though he was a staunch critic of the then-orthodox Cheng-Zhu School, and indeed identified himself as a heretic. He can be seen as having been influenced by Wang Yangming (1472–1529), as well as the Taizhou School. He denied that women were inferior to men in native intelligence, and argued that many women in Chinese history, such as Wu Zetian, had actually been superior to men. However, he did not believe women should be emancipated and commended widows who chose suicide over remarriage.

The Childlike Heart-Mind (tóng xīn; 童心)The childlike heart-mind is the genuine heart-mind. If one denies the childlike heart-mind, then he denies the genuine heart-mind. The childlike heart-mind is free of all falsehood and entirely genuine; it is the original mind at the very beginning of the first thought. -Li Zhi, 「On the Childlike Heart-Mind」Li Zhi wrote a considerable amount on the 「childlike heart-mind」 (tóng xīn; 童心). Although someone of a childlike heart-mind was once considered to be someone 「naive, immature, and inexperienced in the ways of the world」 – and thus 「bound to come to a bad end」 – Li uses the term in a different sense, as evidenced by his reference to the 13th-century play The Western Chamber (Xixiang ji). In this play, a scholar and a maiden develop a somewhat 「forbidden」 relationship, have a clandestine and passionate love affair, push through 「traditional barriers」 to their love, and finally marry. In the original telling (from the Tang Period, 7th-10th century CE), these same lovers have a short-lived, passionate romance which takes a sharp downward turn when the scholar decides to leave the maiden, leaving them both with no choice but to marry other people, although not out of 「true love」. In referencing this, Li argues for the ideals of the lovers in the Western Chamber, the 「spontaneity, genuineness, abundance in feeling, and passionate desire」. These are all aspects of Li's childlike heart-mind.

Li's works on the childlike heart-mind are thought to be 「innovative」 yet 「muddled and inconsistent」. Some regard his seemingly incompatible ideas on the heart-mind as a relativist ethical structure 「where anything goes." Pauline Lee, however, rejects this interpretation, arguing instead that Li's work is useful in allowing us to understand the cultural milieu in which he lived, and that his 「philosophical vision」 bears great 「intrinsic value and power」.

This concept of the childlike heart-mind is not unlike concepts of Li's contemporaries on similar subjects. In fact, Li may have even considered his contemporaries』 terms, namely the 「original heart-mind」 (ben xin), the 「genuine heart-mind」 (zhen xin), 「pure knowing」 (liang zhi), and 「the infant heart-mind」 (chizi zhi xin).

The term 「ben xin」 comes from a passage in the Mengzi that says that if a person acts in accordance with their 「appetitive parts,」 even if it is to save their own life and even if the decision is difficult for them, then they have 「lost contact」 with their original heart-mind, something which Mengzi believed is a person's 「greatest moral resource." Li Zhi makes a conscious decision not to use this term, preferring instead to use tong xin. This may be due in part to the fact that, while Mengzi believed that the heart-mind was something to be cultivated and nurtured, Li saw the heart-mind as something to be 「preserved,」 since, in his view, it is innately perfect from birth. Mengzi also thought that there was a specific 「path of moral self-cultivation」 and that those who had followed this path correctly would all have the same ethical attitudes, whereas Li held that there were many different ways that one could cultivate the heart-mind, particularly through the reading of certain texts or engagement in certain practices.

「Zhen xin」 is found in the Buddhist text the Platform Sutra, in which it is said to be analogous to the 「deep concentration of oneness,」 something to practice while also maintaining a lack of attachment to things. However, the heart-mind, in this view, runs the risk of becoming enmeshed with the Dao if ever it lingers in anything, if it becomes too attached. Ultimately, the heart-mind in this conception is considered to be functioning properly if it is doing things with natural ease, rather than struggling against the natural way of things (or Dao). Self-cultivation plays a role in this idea of the heart-mind, as well, through deep concentration.

「Liang zhi」 comes from Wang Yangming's idea of the heart-mind as something that is known through a discovery-based self-cultivation method and as being 「directly manifested in a faculty of 『pure knowing』」 (a term which Mengzi used but which Wang means differently). Wang regarded pure knowing as something innately perfect, just like Li's heart-mind, but which was 「clouded over」 at birth, akin to the sun being obstructed by clouds. This 「clouding」 could be caused by one's qi if it had somehow become corrupted or soiled, so the aim was to have clear qi by exercising one's pure knowing, something which could be accomplished only through the will.

「Chizi zhi xin」 is a term used by Luo Rufang meaning 「infant heart mind」. This idea held the 「free expression of one's natural desires」 in high regard. Luo believed that a person's feelings 「are their human nature,」 and so the feelings should not be 「repressed」 in any way. Spontaneous expression (expression without thinking about it) is also a part of the human nature, and as long as 「artificial obstructions」 (such as 「false teachings or excessive meditation」) do not interfere, the feelings can thrive.

To Li, losing the genuine mind could result in losing the genuine self, and anyone who failed to be genuine would never recover their genuine heart-mind. The childlike heart-mind is lost when anything from the outside – be those 「aural and visual impressions」 (even of the 「Principles of the Way」), 「knowledge and perceptions,」 or the favor of a good reputation while masking a bad one – interferes with it. Li also believed that if a person's childlike heart-mind was 「obstructed,」 then whatever that person said would not come from the childlike heart-mind, and so would lack 「foundation」 and would not be truthful. This is because, 「when childlike heart-mind is obstructed, the Principles of the Way that come from outside the self become one's heart-mind." This is a problem because, in this case, everything a person encounters and does with their physical senses is of the Principles of the Way, and so is not arising spontaneously from the childlike heart-mind. Words  inspired by the Principles of the Way might sound nice or flow well, Li thought, but they wouldn't have anything to do with the person themselves. Their words would be 「phony」 and so the person themselves will be 「phony,」 and so too for everyone else until the whole world became like this, eventually leaving people unable to determine between 「good」 and 「bad."

Li felt that the childlike heart-mind's 「genuine feelings and desires,」 as well as the expression of these, could 「connect one to an abundant and powerful source」 which is too great for 「phony」 individuals to comprehend. Because of this, such individuals would turn away from opportunities to deepen their spiritual "vision," and face instead a life of comfort and 「blindness."

Li notes that early sages had so securely preserved their heart-minds that, when they read and studied the moral teachings of the Principles of the Way, they were able to protect their heart-minds. However, Li was concerned that many students would allow these same teachings to interfere with their heart-minds. This seems contradictory, given that it was the sages themselves who wrote the books of these teachings that, when read and studied, would cause the students to lose their childlike heart-mind. However, Li's justification for this reasoning is that the sages』 teachings were specific to each student, not necessarily to be used universally. He likened the teachings to medicine, not only in that each one is tailored specifically to the 「patient's」 needs, but also in that what helps one person might worsen the condition of another. For Li, writings such as the Analects and the Six Classics were not to be understood as the 「ultimate standard for thousands of generations,」 because, he proposed, these texts would not then be direct products of the childlike heart-mind.

Although Li does say that the childlike heart-mind cannot return once it is lost, the aforementioned metaphor of 「healing」 might suggest that anyone is capable of recovering their childlike heart-mind, though perhaps not in its original condition. This is partially because our phoniness is our own doing and our own decision, and therefore is not entirely out of our control. The metaphor also reminds people that this particular kind of 「health,」 the recovery of the heart-mind, is relative. Each individual person has certain things that they need to do in order to remain healthy, and these practices are different from person to person.

Ethics

Li did not believe in rule-based ethics, but in using one's innate and sensitive 「faculty of knowing」 (or the 「child-like heart-mind」) to read and evaluate each situation as it came and to determine from this which action to take. This does not mean that Li regarded all judgments as being entirely subjective. Consistent with his view that one should follow their heart-mind, their most genuine and spontaneous nature, he was highly critical of any actions that were taken or works which were written that did not come from this nature.

While Li advocates for spontaneity and 「immediate」 action 「without prior reflection or thought,」 this does not mean that he favors completely reckless behavior. For Li, such spontaneity was possible and favorable only because the subject had (ideally) worked to preserve their childlike heart-mind. Without an intact heart-mind, such spontaneous action could be mis- or uninformed.

Opinions on Fiction Writing

Many of Li Zhi's contemporaries regarded fiction with disdain; true to form, however, Li disagreed and held it in high esteem. He argued that the 「most exquisite literature in the world」 comes from the childlike heart-mind because, if something is written from this heart-mind, then nothing is obstructed and no one is 「forcing」 the 「structure」 or 「style」 of their writing. Therefore, if someone composes a written work of fiction that originates from their childlike heart-mind, then this work is indeed 「exquisite.」 He took issue with the more popular idea that 「good」 prose is that which is written in a 「classical」 style (such as from the 「pre-Qin period」). He claimed that all of the 「exquisite」 literature from past periods could not be seen through the lenses of their own preceding periods, and that they were notable because they were, indeed, originals. To Li, what defined the quality of certain literature was not the time in which it was written, but rather the faculty within its author from which it arose.

In fact, in general Li vehemently discouraged people from regarding 「ideas of antiquity」 as solid, 「unchanging」 truth without first critically examining them, as he believed truth to be 「context-dependent」 and, therefore, was subject to change with one's environmental variables. He did not believe that people should adhere to 「universal truths,」 since, in his particularist view, there likely were none.

The "Good Death"

Li Zhi once wrote to his friend Kong Ruogu regarding his own death, saying, 「Under no circumstances should you leave my bones for others to take care of." This is a reference to a passage of Kongzi's on what constitutes a 「good death." According to Kongzi, such a death is 「genuine in feeling」 (therefore not 「deceptive」), occurs with friends and loved ones around, and is 「supported by relations and rituals constructed by culture,」 not alone and away from people and social customs. The Xunzi also discusses what constitutes the 「good death,」 describing it as an event which is both 「genuine in feeling」 and 「social in nature." Though Li does not employ the importance of ritual, 「formality,」 「social relations,」 and 「reverence」 as part of his own ideas on the 「good death,」 he does incorporate some Confucian aspects of it, namely the qualities of genuineness and 「sincere generosity." This comes as no surprise given that Li believed that a necessary quality of a good life is the 「attendance to our genuine desires」. However, Li acknowledged the roles of culture and social relationships in people's daily lives, and so also believed that this single quality was not enough to secure a good life. In fact, during his periods of mourning, he followed the traditional customs, and appears to have meant it genuinely. For instance, when he returned home to bury both his grandfather and second eldest son, he expressed to Kong Ruogu his guilt over having delayed the burial of his great-grandparents by fifty years. Although this was due to insufficient funds rather than carelessness, Li insists that this is a 「crime」 for which 「nothing can atone,」 as it goes against "custom".

Among Confucians, disfigurement in death was considered to be unacceptable and something to be avoided. In fact, among Confucian families it was considered a filial duty to keep the body from disfigurement. However, Li writes as if unfazed by the idea, saying that, should he die 「on the road」 (already an unfavorable death by Confucian standards), he should like for his body to be cremated or thrown into a river.

Having been arrested in Tongzhou for behaving as a heretic and a traitor (such as by bathing with prostitutes and inviting high-class women to attend his various philosophical discussions), Li ultimately decides his own death as he awaits his trial. Still in prison, he slits his throat with a razor borrowed from a prison guard, though does not die until two days later. Whether this act was one of desperation or of courage has long been disputed, but Li's friend Yuan Zhongdao notes that, either way, Li's qi (「life energy」) must have been considerably robust in order to sustain him for those two days.

Toward the end of his life, Li claimed that his having taken the tonsure did not make him feel that he was living in a way that was 「superior」 compared to others, as this way of life was, in his words 「the only way." His reasons for having done this had nothing to do with its supposed 「desirability」 or with practicing the Dao, but with his aversion to being controlled. Believing that people are controlled their whole lives – and even after death (such as in burial) – Li chose to break free of this restraint by adopting the tonsure rather than returning home. He writes of this in his essay 「Testimony,」 assuring the reader that this decision was the 「genuine intention」 of his 「original heart,」 or his childlike heart-mind.

Gender Equality

Confucian feminism focused mainly on self-cultivation as a means of approaching patriarchal issues, primarily through 「reading classical texts, writing poetry, engaging in discourse and debate,」 and 「meditation」. Li Zhi felt that, because women are inherently just as capable as men are of achieving 「intellectual and spiritual development,」 men and women should both have 「opportunities」 for self-cultivation available to them.

Pauline Lee describes Li as a 「particularist」 in that he believes that anyone can 「work to achieve」 「moral knowledge,」 but also that all moral judgments are relative to their 「specific conditions and time." However, she notes that this does not mean that Li is content to leave women's problems of inequality as they are, as he argues against standard Confucian practices such as the 「cloistering of women」 in the home, or customs that denounced the remarrying of widows, or the overall subservience of women.

Chinese Confucian cosmology, describing not just the order of the universe but also the order of relationships between people (the latter mirroring and even influencing the former, and vice versa), was one particular area of Confucianism which Li attacked. This cosmology involved the 「elements」 yin and yang which are often associated with other opposing energies, including masculine and feminine. Lee argued that yin-yang relationships, at least by the third century, were 「hierarchical,」 with yin as yang』s secondary subordinate. While Li maintains the traditional Confucian idea of the cosmos as emanating from one original source, he sees this creation as 「cooperative,」 with yin and yang working together to produce the universe rather than one force being the initiator for the secondary force to follow. He also held the Confucian idea of the family and society as reflections of the cosmos (and vice versa), but again his view was more binary than monistic, believing there to be no hierarchy in creation and, therefore, no hierarchy in male-female or husband-wife relationships. Li also challenges the hierarchical notion of the five essential Confucian relationships (father-son, ruler-subject, husband-wife, old-young, and friend-friend), all of which, aside from friendship, were based on power imbalance. He does this by arguing in his letter 「Discussion on Husband and Wife」 that societal order is dependent upon the husband-wife relationship as its 「ultimate source,」 and so this particular relationship should be seen as one between friends who have willingly decided to work together.

Not surprisingly, Li had a more egalitarian view of gender relationships than did traditional Confucian thinkers, regarding such relationships as 「complementary." He saw men and women as intellectual and spiritual equals, with equal capabilities for self-cultivation in these areas. It is worth it to note that Li did not discuss gender equality in the area of moral development, though this may be due to the fact that, for much of Chinese history, women appeared to have superior moral capacities by nature.

Although the popular belief at the time was that women could not understand the Way due to their supposedly inherent 「shortsightedness,」 Li Zhi disagreed. To Li, someone who is shortsighted is concerned only with what happens within their lifetime, such as the events of their offspring and what happens to their physical body. A farsighted person, however, considers what is beyond that, 「transcending」 not only the body but also the 「superficial appearances of life and death」 while also turning their attention away from mindless chatter and prejudices and toward the teachings of the sages, which encouraged a more unbiased perspective.

Li argued that, although men and women are different, their vision is not; that is, there is no vision that is either 「male」 or 「female,」 as 「vision" in the way that Li meant it, is not gendered. This means that shortsightedness is not inherently female, nor is farsightedness inherently male. Li illustrates this point by describing a hypothetical situation in which there is someone with 「a woman's body and a man's vision,」 someone who is both female and not only values engaging in conversation of the 「transcendent,」 but also understands that attachment to the ever-changing things of the material world is not worthwhile. He makes reference to notable 「farsighted」 women of the past, such as Yi Jiang (King Wu's ninth minister) and Wen Mu (also known as Tai Si, King Wen's consort and a 「sage」 whose 「virtuous behavior」 set such a high standard that it 「rectified」 the customs of the southern regions).

Li Zhi asserts that it is only a shortsighted man who would anger at the idea of women being farsighted, and that a truly farsighted man would neither engage with nor desire the approval of shortsighted men (for, if he did, it would only make him one such shortsighted, 「small-minded」 man himself).

Literary works

Li was a notable author of the xiaopin, a form of short essay. His philosophical works included A Book to Burn and A Book to Keep (Hidden).

A Book to Burn and A Book to Keep (Hidden)

A Book to Burn is composed of Li's responses to questions from friends (「soul friends,」 he calls them) in which he offers criticism of what he considers to be mistakes of the contemporary scholars of the day. Li wanted to print this book because of the possibility that it would make its way to those who might be interested in his ideas. Though he feared being killed by dissenters for what he'd written, he was nevertheless optimistic that someone might read his work and understand what he meant.

Li also writes of the relationship between married couples in this text, describing 「loving-kindness」 as being particularly 「profound." He discusses how the intimacy that is cultivated within such a relationship extends beyond sex and even friendship by virtue of both parties having struggled and 「sacrificed」 together. He waxes poetic about his late wife, praising her 「feminine」 virtues, which, in Confucianism, referred to 「womanly virtue, womanly speech, womanly appearance, and womanly work."

A Book to Keep (Hidden) gives accounts of thousands of years of good and bad deeds from antiquity to the current age. By Li's own advice, it cannot be read by those who possess 「eyes of flesh」 (a Buddhist term indicating the 「most mundane form of vision」 characteristic of someone unenlightened).

生平

李贽于明世宗嘉靖六年（1527年11月19日）农历十月廿六日出生于福建泉州府南门外。六世祖林驽是泉州巨商，从事远洋贸易，乘船往来于泉州与忽鲁模斯（今伊朗的阿巴斯港）之间，娶色目女为妻，改信伊斯兰教。

李贽父亲李钟秀以教书为业，李贽七岁时便随父亲读书、学习礼仪。自幼倔强，善于独立思考，不受儒学传统观念束缚，具有强烈的反传统理念。他在社会价值导向方面，批判重农抑商，扬商贾功绩，倡导功利价值，符合明朝中后期资本主义萌芽的发展要求。

嘉靖三十年（1551年）中举人，五年后，授河南共城县教谕。嘉靖三十九年（1560年），擢南京国子监博士，数月后，父白斋公病故于泉州，回乡守制。时值倭寇攻城，他带领弟侄辈日夜登城击柝巡守，与全城父老兵民同仇敌忾。

嘉靖四十二年（1563年）出任北京国子监博士。嘉靖四十五年（1566年），补北京礼部司务，浸淫阳明学、佛学。隆庆四年（1570年），转任南京刑部员外郎。

万历五年（1577年），任云南姚安府知府，三年后弃官，故人称「李姚安」。

万历九年（1581年）春，应湖北黄安耿定理之邀，携妻子女儿到耿的家乡黄安天台书院讲学论道，住耿定理家中充当门客而兼教师，但和耿定理做大官的哥哥耿定向意见冲突。定理死后，迁居麻城，住维摩庵，过著半僧半俗的「流寓」生活。后迁至麻城龙潭湖芝佛院，读书著述近二十年。

万历十六年（1588年），剃发为僧，虽身入空门，却不受戒、不参加僧众的念佛、诵经。他有洁癖，衣服一尘不染，经常扫地，以至「数人缚帚不给」。

万历十八年（1590年）其《藏书》在麻城刻印出版。万历二十年（1592年）作《童心说》，批点《西厢记》民间文学，刊印《卓吾评点水浒传》。

万历二十五年（1597年）至二十八年（1600年），到山西、通州、济宁、金陵游历。在济宁、金陵曾两次与利玛窦见面，讨论天主教与佛教教义。二十八年回到麻城。同年冬天，湖广佥事冯应京以「维护风化」为名，指使歹徒烧毁龙湖芝佛院，又毁坏他预为藏骨的卒塔婆。李贽被迫避寓麻城东北商城县黄檗山中。

万历二十九年（1601年），前御史马经纶闻讯将李贽接到通州，住莲花寺。

万历三十年（1602年），都察院左都御史温纯及都察院礼科给事中张德允，上疏奏劾李贽，明神宗见疏即下诏，以「敢倡乱道，惑世诬民」之罪，逮捕李贽下狱，著作被通令烧毁。入狱后，李贽听说朝廷要押解他回原籍福建，感慨道：「我年七十有六，死耳，何以归为？」又说：「衰病老朽，死得甚奇，真得死所矣。如何不死？」写遗言诗曰：「志士不忘在沟壑，勇士不忘丧其元。我今不死更何待？愿早一命归黄泉！」

三月十五，呼侍者剃发，夺其剃刀割喉，气不绝者两日，三月十六日（公历5月7日）子时气绝，享年76岁。东厂锦衣卫写给皇帝的报告，称李贽「不食而死」。马经纶葬之通州，墓今犹存，在北京市通州区海子公园燃灯塔西侧。

万历三十八年（1610年），李贽的学生汪可受，以及梅掌科、苏侍御捐银钱为李树碑。据说「卓吾血流二日以殁，惨闻晋江，士庶甚闵，于晋江西仑作『温陵先师』庙，颇奉香火，后毁于兵燹。」

李贽生有4子3女，除大女儿外，其他都不幸夭殇。

思想

李贽深受「阳明学」支流「泰州学派」影响，是罗汝芳学生，把王阳明与罗汝芳的学说推向极端，鼓倡狂禅最激烈。黄宗羲说：「李卓吾鼓倡狂禅，学者靡然从风。」针对当时官学和知识阶层独奉儒家程朱理学为权威的情况，贬斥程朱理学为僞道学，提出不能「以孔子之是非为是非」。朱国桢提及：「今日士风猖狂，实开于此。全不读《四书》本经，而李氏《藏书》、《焚书》人挟一册以为奇货。坏人心，伤风化，天下之祸，未知所终也。」诗文多抨击前七子、后七子复古之主张，认为《西厢记》、《水浒传》就是「古今至文」。公安派三袁兄弟受其影响较深。

晚年颇好史学，据历代正史纂《藏书》，又广泛收集明代资料撰写《续藏书》，对传统史学观点有所突破。李贽承认个人私欲，「私者，人之心也，人必有私而后其心乃见」。「天尽世道以交」，认为人与人之间的交换关系、商业交易合乎天理。

自述

李贽自称「不信道，不信仙、释，故见人则恶，见僧则恶，见道学先生则尤恶。」

在《自赞》一文中，他毫不掩饰自己的个性：

关于落发为僧，在《与曾继泉》一文中，李贽写道：

坦然入狱：

遗言：

著作

• 《李氏藏书》六十八卷。明·万历二十七年（1599年）刻于金陵。

• 《李氏续藏书》二十七卷。明·万历三十七年（1609年）刻。

• 《史纲评要》三十六卷。明·万历四十一年（1613年）霞猗阁刻。

• 《李氏焚书》六卷。明·万历十八年（1590年）刻于麻城。

• 《李氏续焚书》五卷。明·万历四十六年（1618年）新安海阳虹玉斋刻。

• 《初潭集》十二卷、三十卷。明刻。

• 《卓吾老子三教妙述》（又称《言善篇》）四集。明·万历四十年（1612年）宛陵刘逊之刻。

• 《李卓吾遗书》十二种二十三卷。明·继志斋刻（包括《道古录》二卷、《心经提纲》一卷、《观音问》一卷、《老子解》一卷、《庄子解》二卷、《孔子参同》三卷、《墨子批选》二卷、《因果录》三卷、《净土诀》一卷、《暗然录最》四卷、《三教品》一卷、《永庆答问》一卷）。

• 《李氏文集》十八卷。明刻。

• 《易因》二卷。明刻。

• 《李氏六书》六卷。明·万历四十五年（1617年）痂嗜行刻（包括《历朝藏书》一卷、《皇明藏书》一卷、《焚书书答》一卷、《焚书杂述》一卷、《丛书汇》一卷、《说书》一卷）。

• 《阳明先生道学钞》八卷。明·万历三十七年（1609年）武林继锦堂刻。

• 《龙溪王先生文录钞》九卷。明·万历二十七年（1599年）刻。

• 《枕中十书》六卷。明·刻本（包括《精骑录》、《筼窗笔记》、《贤奕贤》、《文字禅》、《异史》、《博识》、《尊重口》、《养生醍醐》、《理谈》、《吟坛千秋诀》）。

• 《批评忠义水浒传》100卷、100回。明容与堂刊、芥子园刊（另《批判忠义水浒传全传》121回，明·杨定见刻）。

• 《批点西厢真本》二卷、《批评红拂记》二册、《批评幽闺记》二卷、《批评洗纱记》二卷，明刻。

• 《评选三异人集》二十四卷。明·俞允谐刻（包括《方正学文集》十一卷、《传状》一卷、《于节暗奏疏》四卷、《文集》一卷、《诗集》一卷、《文集》一卷、《自著年谱》一卷、《传状》一卷）。

• 《读升庵集》二十卷、《世说新语补》二十卷、《四书评》、《坡仙集》十六卷、 《九正易因》二卷、《李氏说书》八卷、《姑妄编》七卷、《李温陵集》二十卷、《禅谈》一卷、《龙湖闲话》一卷、《文字禅》四卷、《左德机缘》三卷、《李氏因果录》三卷、《业报案》二卷，明刻。

《焚书》

《焚书》（意为不容于世，早晚必将付之一炬）是李贽最为著名且争议最大的一部书，是他反程朱理学思想、政治、哲学、社会思想及耿介性格的集中体现。近来，更被评论界誉为「影响中国的百部书籍」之一。

万历四十六年（1618年），门人汪本钶辑录李贽遗文编成《续焚书》五卷。分《书汇》、《序汇》、《读史汇》、《杂著汇》、《诗汇》。其中《题孔子像于芝佛院》最为脍炙人口。

影响

晚明文人中，李贽对社会影响最大。他提出「童心说」，强调真诚，鼓励人根据直觉，表达内在真实的自我，对晚明艺术影响深远。戏曲家汤显祖和书画家董其昌都与李贽交往，并赞赏其学说。汤显祖认为，「奇士」的作品自然会出类拔萃，其说与李贽的「童心说」相似。

评论

褒

• 李廷机《祭李卓吾文》：「心胸廓八肱，识见洞千古。孑然置一身于太虚中，不染一尘，不碍一物，清净无欲，先生有焉。盖吾乡士大夫未有如先生者，即海内如先生者亦少矣」。

• 池方显《谒李卓吾墓》：「半生交宇内，缘乃在玄州。闽楚竟难得，佛儒俱不留。世人同喜怒，大道任恩仇。我亦寻知己，依依今未休。」

• 汪本钶《续藏书》序：「先生一生无书不读，无有怀而不吐。其无不读也，若饥渴之于饮食，不至于饫足不已；其无不吐也，若茹物噎不下，不尽至于呕出亦不已。以故一点撺自足天下万世之是非，而一咳唾实关天下万世之名教，不但如嬉笑怒骂尽成文章已也。盖言语真切至到，文辞惊天动地，能令聋者聪，瞆者明，梦者觉，醒者醒，病者起，死者活，躁者静，聒者结，肠冰者热，心炎者冷，柴栅其中者自拔，倔强不降者亦无不意俯而心折焉。」

• 袁宗道：「不佞读他人文字觉懑懑，读翁片言只语，辄精神百倍，岂因宿世耳根惯熟乎？云中信使不断，幸以近日偶笔频寄，不佞如白家老婢，能读亦能解也。」

• 袁宏道：「发挥天真自心，扫荡酸腐之气，慨然醒世，勃然通民。」

• 袁中道《李温陵传》：「……骨坚金石，气薄云天；言有触而必吐，意无往而不伸。排拓胜己，跌宕王公，孔文举调魏武若稚子，嵇叔夜视锺会如奴隶。鸟巢可复，不改其凤咮，鸾翮可铩，不驯其龙性，斯所由焚芝锄蕙，衔刀若卢者也。嗟乎！才太高，气太豪……」

• 冯元仲《吊李卓吾先生墓诗》：「手辟洪蒙破混茫，浪翻古今是非场。通身是胆通身识，死后名多道益彰。」

• 许自昌《樗斋漫录》：「（冯梦龙）酷爱李氏之学，奉为蓍蔡。」

• 吴虞《李卓吾别传》：「张问达、王雅量能焚毁卓吾之书于一时，诬陷卓吾之身于一日……卓吾书盛行，咳唾间非卓吾不欢，几案间非卓吾不适，朝廷虽焚毁之，而士大夫则相与重锓，且流传于日本」。

• 宋恕以李贽为知音。1899年写有四首《读松阴<幽室文稿>》绝句，其中第三首为：「李氏微宗世莫传，荒凉谁复问遗编，何期海外高人赏，从此卓吾万万年」

贬

• 顾宪成《束高景逸书》：「李卓吾大抵是人之非，非人之是，又以成败为是非而已。学术到此，真是涂炭，惟有仰屋窃叹而已！如何如何！」

• 《四库全书目录提要》：「贽非圣无法，敢为异论。虽以妖言逮治，惧而自到，而焦竑等盛相推重，颇荣众听，遂使乡塾陋儒，翕然尊信，至今为人心风俗之害。故其人可诛，其书可毁，而仍存其目，以明正其名教之罪人，诬民之邪说。」

• 《四库全书总目·别史类存目》：「贽书皆狂悖乖谬，非圣无法，惟此书抨击孔子，另立褒贬，凡千古相传之善恶，无不颠倒易位，尤以罪不容诛者。其书可毁，其名亦不足以污简牍，特以贽大言欺世，至今乡曲陋儒，震其虚名，如置之不论恐贻害人心，故特存其目，以深曝其罪。」

其他观点

• 沈瓒在《近事丛残》中说：（李贽）「好为惊世骇俗之论、务反宋儒道学之说。……儒释从之者几千万人。其学以解脱直截为宗，少年高旷豪举之士，多乐慕之。后学如狂，不但儒教溃防，即释宗绳检，亦多所清弃。」

• 沈铁《李卓吾传》说：「载贽再往白门（南京），而焦竑以翰林家居，寻访旧盟，南都士更靡然向之。登坛说法，倾动大江南北。北通州马经纶以御史谪籍，延载贽抵舍，焚香执弟子礼、而燕冀人士望风礼拜尤盛。」

• 李敖在《李敖快意恩仇录》里写道：「人物中我偏好『性格巨星』式，像东方朔、像李贽、像金圣叹、像汪中、像狄阿杰尼斯（Diogenes）、像伏尔泰、像斯威夫特（Swift）、像萧伯纳、像巴顿将军（Gen.George Patton），我喜欢他们的锋利和那股表现锋利的激情。」

• 黄仁宇在《万历十五年》的最后一章专论李贽说：「李贽的悲观不仅属于个人，也属于他所生活的时代。传统的政治已经凝固 ，类似宗教改革或者文艺复兴的新生命无法在这样的环境中孕育。社会环境把个人理智上的自由压缩在极小的限度之内，人的廉洁和诚信，也只能长为灌木，不能形成丛林。」

近代

李贽的著述，自明朝以来，先后数次被禁毁，民间盗印、甚至假托其文章者不绝，门人汪本钶说：「（卓吾）一死而书益传，名益重……渐至今日，坊间一切戏剧淫谑刻本批点，动曰卓吾先生。」

值得一提的是，在1974年的批林批孔运动中，李贽被当作尊法反儒的英雄，被中共加以推崇，他的著作被划归「法家」。

传记、事迹辑录

• 卓吾论略（《焚书》）

• 自赞（《焚书》）

• 感慨平生（《焚书》）

• 袁中道：李温陵传（《珂雪斋近集文钞》）

• 汪可受：卓吾老子墓碑（《畿辅通志》）

• 沈鈇：李卓吾传（《闽书》）

• 何乔远：李贽传（《闽书》）

• 钱谦益：卓吾先生李贽（《列朝诗集》）

• 谈迁：李贽传（《国榷》）

• 查继佐：李贽、袁黄（《罪惟录》）

• 傅继鳞：李贽传（《明书·异教传》）

• 王鸿绪：李贽（《明史稿》）

• 彭际清：李卓吾传（《居士传》）

• 《麻城县志》：李贽传

• 《泉州府志》：李贽传

• 《福建通志》：李贽传

• 《云南通志》：李贽传

• 吴虞：《明李卓吾别传》

• 焦竑：《澹园集》

• 汪本钶：卓吾先师告文

• 沈德符：《万历野获编》

• 朱国桢：《涌幢小品》

• 沈瓒：《近事丛残》

• 谢肇淛：《五杂俎》

• 刘侗、于奕正：《帝京景物略》

• 黄宗羲：《明儒学案》

• 顾炎武：《日知录》

• 《明实录》

• 《李卓吾年谱》（铃木虎雄 著）

• 《林李宗谱》

注释