Lecture 04 Cosmology and Ethics I: Shao Yong (邵雍 1012-1077) and Zhou Dunyi (周敦頤 1017-1073)

Understanding the cosmological process as a foundation for people to become a sage
- The cosmology in the Bible
- Neo-Confucian interest in cosmology
- The tradition of the coordination cosmology and that of the Changes (Yi 易)
"Explanation on the Chart of the Great Ultimate" ("Taiji tushuo" 太極圖說) and the Book of Penetrating the Changes (Tongshu 通書)
- Zhou Dunyi as a low-rank official
- Lotus
- The cosmology
- The combination of cosmology and Confucianism
Magnificent Paradigm for Ordering the World (Huangji jingshi 皇極經世)
- Shao Yong as a member of a commoner family
- The world of things
- The four-division schema (sifen fa 四分法)
- Observing things (guanwu 觀物)
Comparison between Zhou Dunyi's and Shao Yong's thought
- The similarity of the cosmological settings
- The differences between the sage's images
- The influence of characters and thought