朱熹與張栻兩位學術領袖，同輩論交，一生欣賞，於學術分歧之際，剔除疑義，糾舉偏失，進而於日用之間察識，化解動靜紛擾，開展儒學系譜，二程歧異得以釐清，張栻引介與啟發，具有關鍵作用。只是以往以道南與湖湘學脈是相互競逐的關係，將朱熹思想發展視為湖湘學沒落原因，不免見其異，不見其同；或是標舉存有，認為張栻不能發其師精蘊，只能順從朱熹說法，不免見其偏，不見其全，說法皆與理學發展脈絡相違背。朱熹從「中和」之辨，建立心統性情架構；釐清由〈太極圖〉而《通書》關係，綰合天道與道德；進行「仁」說辨論，最終以「仁者，愛之理，心之德也」確立經典詮釋內容，理學得以成立，有賴兩人無私分享，學術為公，可為典型，意義所在，固不可以門戶論之。

The two academic leaders, Zhu Xi and Zhang Shi, discussed Confucianism and appreciated each other. They resolved doubts and corrected errors together when there were discrepancies in academics in order to settle disputes and then develop the pedigree of Confucianism. In fact, Zhang’s argument inspired Zhu to clarify the differences between Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao’s opinions. However, the development of Zhu’s thoughts was considered to have resulted in the decline of the Huxiang School because people had supposed that the Daonan School was in competition with the Huxiang School. This way of thinking reveals that people only saw their differences but did not know their similarities. Moreover, some people believed that Zhang could not enhance, but only followed his teacher Zhu’s theory. This belief shows that they did not understand the context of development of philosophy of principle (lixue) fully. Zhu not only built up the system of “the mind unites human nature and feelings (xintong xingqing)” through pondering over “moderation” but also explained the relationship between “Diagram of the Supreme Polarity (Taiji tu)” and Penetrating the Classic of Changes (Tongshu). Furthermore, he studied “benevolence (ren)” and concluded that “benevolence is the principle of love and morality of mind.” This explication confirmed the significance of the Classics. All in all, the philosophy of principle was constructed base on Zhu Xi and Zhang Shi’s communication, the significance of which cannot be misrepresented by sects.