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Dong Zhongshu

Western Han scholar of the Gongyang Commentary whose policy answers to Emperor Wu urged the court to favour Confucian learning over all other schools

Also known as Dong Zi

Dong Zhongshu came from Guangchuan (modern Jing County, Hebei) and studied the Gongyang tradition of the Spring and Autumn Annals, becoming an Erudite under Emperor Jing; he is said to have taught behind a curtain for three years without glancing at his garden. Answering Emperor Wu's call for men of worth, he submitted three policy essays, arguing that teachings outside the six classics and the way of Confucius should be cut off. He then served as chancellor to Liu Fei, King of Jiangdu, but his private essay reading omens into a fire at the Liaodong ancestral temple was stolen by Zhufu Yan and shown to the emperor, and he was condemned to death before being pardoned. Later chancellor of Jiaoxi, he retired to write, and on major questions the court sent Zhang Tang to consult him at home. The History of the Han lists essays such as Luxuriant Dew, which gave its name to the surviving Chunqiu fanlu, and quotes Liu Xiang calling him fit to assist a king.

Life and times

  1. c. 179 BCEBornHan
  2. 134 BCEState-Sanctioned ConfucianismTook partConfucian learning gained stature in court education and politics under Emperor Wu; the formula “reject the hundred schools, honor Confucianism alone” is a later summary, not a contemporary edict.
    1. Tui'en Decree and Confucian Orthodoxy127 BCEEmperor Wu enacted the Decree of Extending Grace to fragment vassal realms and adopted Confucianism as the sole state orthodoxy.
  3. c. 104 BCEDied

Works

  1. Literature · Prose19
    1. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and AutumnHanGongyang exegesis ascribed to Dong Zhongshu, binding politics to yin-yang and Heaven's will
    2. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 1–2Han
    3. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapter 3Han
    4. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 4–5Han
    5. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapter 6Han
    6. +14 more
      1. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 7–13Han
      2. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 14–20Han
      3. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 21–26Han
      4. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 27–30Han
      5. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 31–34Han
      6. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 35–40Han
      7. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 41–47Han
      8. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 48–54Han
      9. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 55–61Han
      10. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 62–65Han
      11. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 66–71Han
      12. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 72–77Han
      13. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: Chapters 78–82Han
      14. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn: The Basis of Rightness (Chapter 53)Han
  2. Literature · Sayings2
    1. The Three Bonds and Five Constant VirtuesHanIdiom rooted in Dong Zhongshu's thought: the moral code of imperial-era ritual teaching
    2. Pointing at White and Calling It BlackHanLine from Dong Zhongshu's fu on the unrecognised scholar: schemers call white black
  3. Literature · Rhapsodies1
    1. Rhapsody on the Scholar's Failure to Meet His TimeHanDong Zhongshu's sao-style rhapsody on a scholar born out of his time, first of a long tradition

Connections

  1. Rulers and officials1
    1. Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che)Sovereign · 156 BCE–87 BCE

Records

Dong Zhongshu and the Six Arts and Confucius's way

Western Han period

The Book of Han biography says Dong Zhongshu came from Guangchuan, studied the Spring and Autumn Annals in his youth, and became an erudite under Emperor Jing. He taught behind a lowered curtain, with pupils passing the lessons on in order of seniority, so that some never saw his face, and he did not look at his garden for three years. In his answers to the throne he held that whatever lay outside the Six Arts and the way of Confucius should have its path cut off and not be allowed to advance alongside. When the answers were finished the emperor made him chancellor of Jiangdu under Prince Yi. He also discussed the gains and losses shown in the Annals in writings such as Wenju, Jade Cup, Luxuriant Dew, Clear Brightness and Bamboo Grove, all handed down to later ages.

References (1)