Dong Zhong-shu董仲舒温海明

Prof. WEN Haiming

Associate Professor, School of Philosophy

Renmin University of China 中国人民大学哲学院副教授Ph.D. University of Hawaii夏威夷大学哲学博士

23/5/3Prof. Haiming Wen, School of Philosophy, Renmin

University of China1

Dong Zhong-shu Lived from about 179-104 BCE Instrumental in making Confucianism

the Han dynasty’s orthodox belief Tried to justify current socio-political

order Human beings are the image of Heaven Justification of human’s behavior found

in tian

Dong Zhong-shu’s Cosmology

The universe has ten constituent elements: heaven, earth, yin, yang, wood, fire, soil, metal, water, man

Order of the five processes (wuxing) Human is immersed in the ever-

present yin and yang, like a fish in water

Yin and yang wax and wane and affect seasons, preside over them

Human Nature Humans are replicas of tian and can

achieve perfection like heavens through li and yue, essentially culture and civilization

Xing (human nature) and qing (emotions) give birth to human-heartedness

Goodness does not lie within, only cultivated through culture

Dong Zhong-shu: we are “not yet good”

Social Ethics Everything has a correlate Including human relationships Three gang relationships sovereign-subject, husband-wife, father-

son Five chang, or constant virtues: ren, yi,

li, zhi, xin Chang are individual virtues, gang are

societal virtues

Political Philosophy Humans must cultivate culture and

civilization by knowing the moral laws Government must help do this The Four Ways of Government beneficence, rewards, punishments,

execution King is co-equal with Heaven Bad ruling brings about natural

disasters

Historical Philosophy The Three Reigns: Black, White, and

Red Three pervious dynasties Unchanging nature of regimes The Mandate of Heaven

823/5/3Prof. Haiming Wen, School of Philosophy, Renmin

University of China