Zhou Dunyi (Chinese: 周敦頤; Wade–Giles: Chou Tun-i; 1017–1073) was a Chinese cosmologist, philosopher, and writer during the Song dynasty. He conceptualized the Neo-Confucian cosmology of the day, explaining the relationship between human conduct and universal forces.

Zhou Dunyi (sometimes romanized as Chou Tun-i and also known by his posthumous name, Zhou Lianxi) has long been highly esteemed by Chinese thinkers. He is considered one of the first “ Neo-Confucians,” a group of thinkers who draw heavily on Buddhist and Daoist metaphysics to articulate a comprehensive, Confucian religious philosophy.

Zhou Dunyi was a 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.

Zhou Dunyi (Chinese: 周敦颐/周敦頤; Pinyin: Zhōu Dūnyí; Wade-Giles: Chou Tun-yi; 1017-1073 C.E.), or Zhou Lianxi (周濂溪; Chou Lien-hsi), was a Chinese Neo-Confucian philosopher and cosmologist during the Song Dynasty.

Zhou Dunyi (or Zhou Lianxi, 1017-1073) occupies a position in the Chinese tradition based on a role assigned to him by Zhu Xi (1130-1200), the architect of the Neo-Confucian school that eventually became "orthodox."

ZHOU DUNYI (1017 – 1073), also known as Zhou Lianxi, was the first major neo-Confucian thinker generally credited with formulating a Confucian cosmology and metaphysics. Zhou Dunyi was a native of Daozhou in modern Hunan province in China.

Feb 5, 2023 · Zhou Dunyi (周敦颐), courtesy name Mao Shu (茂叔), was born in the first year of the Tianxi era (天禧元年, 1017 A.D.) of Emperor Zhen Zong (真宗) of the Northern Song Dynasty, and died in the sixth year of the Xi’ning era (熙宁六年, 1073 …

Zhou Dunyi was the first eleventh-century Chinese thinker who argued for the inseparability of metaphysics and ethics. His two works —Taiji tushuo (An Explanation of the Diagram of the Great Ultimate) and Tongshu (Penetrating the Book of Changes) — were major neo-Confucian writings on the metaphysical nature of moral cultivation.

Discusses how Zhou Dunyi's thought became a cornerstone of neo-Confucianism. Zhu Xi, the twelfth-century architect of the neo-Confucian canon, declared Zhou Dunyi to be the first true sage since Mencius.

Apr 22, 2021 · Zhou Dunyi 周敦頤 (1017-1073), original name Dunshi 敦實 (name change in order to avoid the tabooed personal name of Emperor Yingzong 宋英宗), courtesy name Maoshu 茂叔, style Lianxi Xiansheng 濂溪先生, also known as Zhouzi 周子 "Master Zhou", was and one of the five great Neo-Confucian scholars of the Northern Song period ...