Li Zhi was a heterodox Confucian who championed individual desire, attacked Neo-Confucian moralism, and praised vernacular novels like 《
水浒传》 (Water Margin) — radical positions in a Ming literary establishment that scorned popular fiction. Imprisoned for 'heretical' writings in 1602, he committed suicide in jail. Rediscovered in the 20th century as a precursor to modern Chinese individualism.
