Lü Liuliang was a Neo-Confucianist in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Histhoughts have been characterized as “Respecting Zhu Xi’s thought and refuting Wang Yangming’s thought” (Zun Zhu Pi Wang). Lü Liuliang, Zhang Lüxiang and Lu Longqi became the driving force behind the revival of Zhu Xi’s philosophy in the early Qing dynasty. Lü Liuliang lived during the transitional periods of the Ming and Qing dynasties, a period of great political turmoil. Throughout his life, Lü Liuliang adhered to national integrity and righteousness, and deliberately took the adherent identity of Ming dynasty as his world outlook and lifestyle. It is his acknowledged integrity that sowed the seeds of future trouble. Forty years after his death, a literary inquisition was instituted by Emperor Yongzheng, and one of the famous cases was the Zeng Jing Case. Yong Zheng’s unexpected handling of it ultimately brought disaster on Lü Liuliang, and as a result his works were banned by the Qing government. There has been little research on Lü Liuliang’s neo-Confucianism, with extant studies mostly focusing on his biography. This article analyzes Lü Liuliang’s neo-Confucianist work, Notes on the Four Books (Sishu Jiangyi), especially Lü’s exposition on the idea of Striving for Perfection in the Great Learning. In his interpretations of the connotation of Three Guiding Principles, Lü Liuliang expounded on Zhu Xi’s ideas of “Zhi Zhishan” (perfectionism) as the foundation of “Tianli” (justice), stressing that perfectionism was the aim of “Ming Mingde” (manifesting virtue) and “Qinmin” (treating people with affection). Lü Liuliang’s interpretation revealed Wang Yangming’s influence, especially Wang’s idea of “Liangzhi” (conscience), with “Zhi Zhishan,” and “Tianli,” revealing different aspects of a common core.This paper proposes that although Lü Liuliang regarded himself as a scholar of Zhu Xi’s Confucianism, and was often regarded as a faithful Zhu Xi’s follower, it is open to discussion to what extent his neo-Confucianism strictly adhered to Zhu Xi’s. A textual analysis of Lü’s discussion of the Three Guiding Principles of the Great Learning shows his compromise of Zhu Xi's and Wang Yangming’s ideas. Lü Liuliang was a unique Confucian in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. His life experiences and thoughts were deeply influenced by the political situation of that time and his philosophy mainly focused on solving the problems of that special period while whether the misunderstanding derived from Zhu Xi’s or Wang Yangming’s works was not so important. Thus we may conclude that Lü Liuliang might be labeled as a “practical Confucianist” rather than a faithful Zhu Xi's follower.