What Is the Investigation of Things?

Do you know the meaning of "gewu" (格物), the foundational step in Confucian self-cultivation? Today, let's explore this concept.

Originating from The Great Learning—"Knowledge is attained through the investigation of things; only when things are investigated does knowledge become complete"—"gewu" combines two ideas: "ge" (to scrutinize or penetrate deeply) and "wu" (all phenomena in the world).