Huang Kan (1152- 1221), was a discip1e of Chu Hsi, the great master of Neo-Confucianism of the Sung dynasty. Because of his diligence and industry, Chu considered Huang the best of his 467 disciples. After Chu's death, Huang himself became an assiduous teacher and was compared by Chen Te-hsiu to Confucius’ disciple Tseng Shen. Huang inherited and promoted the teachings of Chu, making himself a thinker who put learning into practice. Huang’s late entrance into officialdom prevented him from reaching a high position, but he served dutifully in each of his official appointments. As the prefect of Han-yang, he tried every possible method to obtain rice to save famine victims. As the prefect of An-ch’ing, he led able-bodied men in defending the city against the Chin invaders. As the prefect of Ho-chou, he organized local people into Pao-chia (保甲) to protect their land. Moreover, due to his enthusiasm for education, he often spent his spare time lecturing in loca1 government schools in order to perpetuate the philosophy of Confucius and Mencius.