CHOU TUN-I

born 1017, Ying-tao, Tao-chou, China died 1073, Nan-k'ang-ch'ing Pinyin Zhou Dunyi, also called Chou Lien-hsi, Pinyin Zhou Lianxi Chinese philosopher considered the most important precursor of Neo-Confucianism, the ethical and metaphysical system that became the officially sponsored mode of thought in China for almost 1,000 years. Ideas he derived from Neo-Taoism led him to a reformulation of Confucianism. Chou was born into a highly influential official family and served in high governmental capacities throughout most of his life. He successively held the posts of magistrate, prefectural staff supervisor, professor of the directorate of education, and assistant prefect before resigning from office only a year before he died. He pursued his philosophical speculations while performing official duties. In his reformulation of Confucianism, Chou drew from Taoist doctrines and elaborated on the I Ching, or Book of Changes. One of his two major works was the short treatise T'ai-chi-t'u shuo ("Explanation of the Diagram of the Great Ultimate"), in which he developed a metaphysics based on the idea that "the many are [ultimately] one, and the one is actually differentiated into the many." Chou combined Taoist schema of the universe with the I Ching's concept of an evolutionary process of creation: originating from the Great Ultimate (which is simultaneously the Non-Ultimate) are yin (tranquillity) and yang (movement). The interactions of yin and yang then give rise to the Five Elements (fire, earth, water, metal, and wood), and the integration and union of all of the preceding entities give rise to the male and female elements, which in turn are the cause of the production and evolution of all things. According to Chou, human beings receive all the aforementioned qualities and forces in their "highest excellence," and when man reacts to the external phenomena thus created, the distinction between good and evil emerges in his thought and conduct. In the longer treatise entitled T'ung-shu ("Explanatory Text"), Chou's restatement and reinterpretation of Confucian doctrines laid the basis for the ethics of later Neo-Confucianism. According to Chou, the sage, or superior man, reacts to external phenomena according to the principles of propriety, humanity, righteousness, wisdom, faithfulness, and tranquillity. Chou viewed sincerity as the foundation of man's moral nature, the source of his ability to distinguish good from evil, and thus also of one's ability to perfect oneself. Chou's grounding of Confucian ethics in an impressive metaphysical scheme had a reviving and purifying influence on Neo-Confucianism. Chou laid the foundation for the more systematic exposition of Neo-Confucianism provided by his later disciples, especially Chu Hsi (1130-1200). Because of his efforts the I Ching was revered as a great Confucian classic by Chu and other Neo-Confucianists of the late Sung dynasty.