Huang Tsung-hsi (1610-1695) was a Chinese scholar and political philosopher who, with other Chinese intellectuals, sought to provide a philosophical framework that would open up new vistas of scholarship and restore morality and equity to Chinese politics.

Huang Tsung-hsi was the son of Huang Tsun-su, a prominent official in Peking and a member of the Eastern Grove Society (Tung-lin), which opposed the rapacious activities of Wei Chung-hsien, a powerful and unscrupulous eunuch, who managed to dominate the young emperor and thus rose to almost absolute control in the court. The Tung-lin group advocated a return to political morality, and they often held secret meetings in Huang's home to discuss political problems and strategy.

In 1625 Huang Tsun-su was dismissed from office and killed in prison during the following year for criticizing Wei Chung-hsien. Huang Tsung-hsi set forth for the capital, determined to avenge his father's death by killing the...