About Zhou Dunyi’s thoughts

Zhou Dunyi, also known as Maoshu.

He has loved reading since he was a child and is quite famous in his hometown of Yingdao, Daozhou. People say that he has "lofty aspirations, erudition and practice, and the style of the ancients".

Due to extensive reading, Zhou Dunyi was exposed to many different kinds of ideas. He was involved in various schools of thought from the pre-Qin era to Indian Buddhism, which was introduced to China in the Han Dynasty. This laid the foundation for his subsequent intensive study of the ancient Chinese book "Book of Changes" to create the idea of ??innate cosmology.

When he was fifteen years old, he and his mother went to the capital to seek refuge with his uncle Zheng Xiang, who was a bachelor of Longtuge in the Hongrenzong Dynasty at that time. This uncle cared very much for Zhou Dunyi and his son.

When Zhou Dunyi was twenty years old, his uncle reported to the emperor and found him a position as supervisor.

Zhou Dunyi worked hard during his tenure and won the hearts of the people. In life, Zhou Dunyi began to study "The Book of Changes" and finally wrote his important work "Tai Chi Hui·Yi Shuo". It proposed a system of cosmogenesis.

In the history of Chinese philosophy and thought, Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming dynasties occupies an extremely important position. Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming dynasties was based on the Confucianism of Confucius and Mencius. It also absorbed the essence of Taoism and Confucianism in many ways, and gradually became the dominant philosophical thought in Chinese feudal society.

Zhou Dunyi was the founder of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty. "Gongan of the Song and Yuan Dynasties" has this discussion about Zhou Dunyi's status: "After Confucius and Mencius, Han Confucianism only had the study of passing on the classics. Xingdao has been talked about for a long time. The rise of Yuan Gong, the second Cheng succeeded him, and Hengqu was restored. Great Confucians emerged in large numbers in the Qing Dynasty, and holy learning flourished. \"

The Yuan Gong referred to here is Zhou Dunyi, and Yuan Gong was originally his posthumous title. This passage clearly affirms Zhou Dunyi's status as the founder of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty. He often traveled with eminent monks and Taoists, played the piano and recited poems.

His knowledge and magnanimity have moved many people to study with him. The most famous among them are of course the two brothers Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao.

Cheng Yi later recalled that when he was young, he was tired of the imperial examination career because he listened to Zhou Dunyi's sermons. Determined to learn and explore the Confucian way of becoming a sage king.

After Zhou Dunyi's death, as Cheng Yi and Cheng Bin inherited and developed his philosophy, his reputation gradually grew. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhou Dunyi's ancestral halls began to be built in various places. People even praised him to a status comparable to that of Confucius and Mencius, thinking that his "contribution was equal to that of Confucius and Mencius." The emperors also respected him as a model of human ethics.

During his lifetime, Zhou Dunyi indeed used his practical actions to become a great Confucian. His character and thoughts have been admired by people for thousands of years.

Reference: .com/Zxyw/Zwsb/2006-6/5/20060108165541428.html