Zhou Dunyi (10 17- 1073), formerly known as Dunshi, also known as Mr. Lianxi, also known as Zhou Yuanhao. He changed his name to Dunyi, because he avoided the old taboo of Song Yingzong, and his name was Uncle Mao. One of the five sons of the Northern Song Dynasty, a representative of Neo-Confucianism in Zhu Cheng, was born in Tianbao, Yingdaolou, Daozhou (now Daoxian, Hunan). Thinker, Neo-Confucianism, philosopher and writer of the Northern Song Dynasty, recognized as the originator of Neo-Confucianism in academic circles, was called "Zhou Zi".

Because of his official career, he often moves. Although he accepted students to preach and teach, he did not follow his disciples, and there were not many influential people. Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi used to be apprentices, but they were actually schoolmates. Zhou's academic thought is based on Confucianism and integrates Taoism and Buddhism. Put forward the cosmology of "infinite Tai Chi".

The main works are Tai Chi Tu Shuo and Tong Shu. Later generations compiled Zhou Ziquan's book.

The life of the character

In the ninth year of Tiansheng in the Northern Song Dynasty (A.D. 103 1), Zhou Dunyi 14 years old (fifteen years old in nominal age), and his father died of illness. So he and his half-brother Lu Dunwen took refuge in Zheng Xiang, the uncle of his mother Hengyang. 1037, Zheng Xiang was transferred to Shancaohe in Zhejiang Province, and Zhou Dunyi moved to Dantu County, Runzhou (now Dantu District, Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province) with his mother. Because of his intelligence, kindness and filial piety, he was deeply loved by Zheng Xiang and loved Bai Lian. Zheng Xiang built a pavilion at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain in the West Lake in front of his home (now Hengyang No.2 Middle School) and planted lotus flowers, during which Zhou Dunyi gained enlightenment. On midsummer night, the lotus flowers are in full bloom, fragrant and beautiful. Zheng's former residence was later changed to Lianxi Zhoushi Ancestral Hall (now the First Affiliated Hospital of South China University).

During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (1587 ~ 1598), Zhou Zi, Li Kuan, Han Yu, Li Shizhen, Zhu, Zhang Qian, etc. all paid homage to the Seven Sages of Shigu Academy, which is known as the Seven Sages of Shigu in the World.

He loved reading since he was a child and was quite famous in his hometown Daozhou Camp. People say that he is "ambitious, knowledgeable, practical and has the demeanor of the ancients."

Because of his extensive reading, Zhou Dunyi came into contact with many different kinds of ideas. He dabbled in Indian Buddhism from hundred schools of thought in the pre-Qin Dynasty to China in the Han Dynasty, which laid the foundation for him to study China's ancient wonderful book The Book of Changes and establish his innate world view.

At the age of fifteen, I went to Beijing with my mother and went to my uncle Zheng Xiang. At that time, he was a college student in Longtuge, Song Renzong. This uncle is very kind to Zhou Dunyi and his mother.

When Zhou Dunyi was twenty years old, his uncle asked the emperor to play things and got him a position of supervising the country.

Zhou Dunyi worked hard during his tenure and won the hearts of the people. In life, Zhou Dunyi began to study Zhouyi, and finally wrote his important book, Too Easy to Illustrate. It puts forward a system of the origin of the universe.

Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties occupies an extremely important position in the history of China's philosophical thought. Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties was mainly based on Confucianism of Confucius and Mencius, and absorbed the essence of Taoism and Buddhism in many ways, and gradually became the dominant philosophical thought in China feudal society.

Zhou Dunyi was the founder of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhou Dunyi's position was discussed in both Song and An: "After Confucius and Mencius, Han Confucianism only learned to pass on the classics. Sex has been whispering for a long time. " When Yuan Gong rose, he inherited it and then returned to Hengqu. Great Confucianists come forth in large numbers, and universities flourish. "

Yuan Gong here is Zhou Dunyi, and Yuan Gong was his posthumous title. This passage clearly affirmed Zhou Dunyi's position as the founder of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty. He often travels with monks and Taoists, playing the piano and reciting poems.

His knowledge and tolerance also moved many people to follow him. Of course, the most famous ones are Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi.

Cheng Yi later recalled that when he was young, he was tired of the official career of the imperial examination because he listened to Zhou Dunyi's sermon. Determined to learn and explore the Confucian Saint Wang Zhidao.

After Zhou Dunyi's death, with the inheritance and development of Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi's philosophy, his reputation became bigger and bigger. In the Southern Song Dynasty, many places began to establish Zhou Dunyi's ancestral temple, and people even held him to a position comparable to Confucius and Mencius, thinking that his "merits overshadowed Confucius and Mencius". Therefore, the emperors respected him as an ethics teacher.

And Zhou Dunyi did achieve the demeanor of a generation of scholars with practical actions before his death. His personality and thoughts have been admired by people for thousands of years.

Masterpieces: Zhu Yuanzhang, Gong Ji, Taiji Illustration and Shu Tong.

Zhou Dunyi, a scholar in Song Dynasty, was the ancestor of Zhou Enlai, Zhou Shuren (Lu Xun) and Zhou Zuoren.