Li Ao (redirected from LEE Ao)

Li Ao

(born 772, China—died 841) Chinese scholar and high official of the Tang dynasty, who helped reinvigorate Confucianism at a time when it was severely challenged by Buddhism and Daoism. Little is known of Li's life, though he is believed to have known Han Yu. He was much influenced by Buddhism, and he helped integrate many Buddhist ideas into Confucianism. He anticipated the ideas of Neo-Confucianism by asserting that human nature and human destiny were central to Confucianism, and he helped establish Mencius as a figure almost equal to Confucius in the eyes of Neo-Confucians.