A Research Of The Relationship Between Zhou Dunyi And Er Cheng

Zhou Dunyi and Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi two brothers, lived in the Northern Song Dynasty, have an important place in neo-Confucianism history, the former known as "Taoism leader", while the latter is the founders of Song Ming Neo-Confucianism.Er Cheng had learned from Zhou Dunyi when they were young,but their philosophy established by themselves. Since Southern Song Dynasty, there have existed different opinions about the relationship between Zhou and Cheng.The relationship between Zhou Dunyi and two brothers has the nature of objectivity and historic. From the objectivity view, it is a "point" of the historical fact; from historic speaking, it is a "line" development process. Firstly, this paper explored the relationship’s objectivity through the literature Analysis. Through inspection of the time that two brothers learned after Zhou Dunyi, the study contents and the impact from Zhou Dunyi,this paper has ultimately established the facts Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi two brothers had learned from Zhou Dunyi. Then, through analysis of the Song, Yuan, Ming leading scholars’opinions of the relationship between Zhou Dunyi and two brothers, this paper hackled the historical development of the relationship between Zhou Dunyi and two brothers. Finally, this paper looked for the cause of the paradox that two brothers had learned from Zhou Dunyi, but all of their life, they were not followers of Zhou Dunyi.