Initially trained in classics as a fourth-generation follower of Confucian philosopher Zhu Xi, he decided to pursue a career in medicine after failing his civil examinations twice.
[4] In 1325,[4] after traversing Zhejiang and the Yangtze Delta in search of a mentor,[5] he became the protégé of Hangzhou physician Luo Zhiti (羅知悌),[4] a second-generation follower of Liu Wansu who was also well-versed in the medical philosophies of Zhang Congzheng and Li Gao (李杲).
[6] Bearing in mind his mentor Luo's advice on "borrowing the best methods" from various specialists,[3] Zhu took note of Li Gao's emphasis on digestive health and Zhang Congzheng's use of laxatives.
[6] As his reputation as both a physician and a teacher grew, Zhu began to take in more students, including his son Yuru (玉汝) and his nephew Sifan (嗣氾).
The same year, he wrote another essay that summarised his key medical beliefs, titled Gezhi yulun (格致餘論) or Further Views on Extending Knowledge.
[7] In Gezhi yulun, possibly sharing Zhang Congzheng's views on insanity, Zhu argues that possession-like symptoms are typically "no more than confusion caused by mucus".
He advised the Pujiang-based Zheng (鄭) family, which at the time comprised ten generations and a hundred-odd members all living in the same compound,[10] on matters as funerals, sacrificial ceremonies, and weddings.
[7] Regardless, in modern histories of medicine in imperial China, Zhu is referred to as one of the "four great masters of the Jin-Yuan scholarly medical tradition", alongside his predecessors Liu Wansu, Zhang Congzheng, and Li Gao.