Chéng Hào (, 1032–1085),

Courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Bóchún (), was a Chinese philosopher and politician from

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. In his youth, he and his younger brother Cheng Yi were students of

Zhou Dunyi Zhou Dunyi (; 1017–1073) was a Chinese cosmologist, philosopher, and writer during the Song dynasty. He conceptualized the Neo-Confucianism, Neo-Confucian cosmology of the day, explaining the relationship between human conduct and universal ...

, one of the architects of

Neo-Confucian Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a Morality, moral, Ethics, ethical, and metaphysics, metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, which originated with Han Yu (768� ...

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...

. His

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

was dualistic (between all that is tangible and all that is intangible) and

pantheistic Pantheism can refer to a number of Philosophy, philosophical and Religion, religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arise ...

(believing that all that is intangible is the same thing, such as

god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

, the

human nature Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote ...

feelings According to the '' APA Dictionary of Psychology'', a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations, thoughts, or images evoking them". The term ''feeling'' is closel ...

, actions (we see things acting, but not the action itself), movement (likewise), social roles and relations (likewise), chance, etc., and that such a unified, universal principle is ''in'' everything that is sensible an external reality as in Analogy of the divided line">an external reality as in Platonism">Platonism.html" ;"title="Analogy of the divided line">an external reality as in Analogy of the divided line">an external reality as in quotes are "outside ''Li (Neo-Confucianism)">dao'' there are no Qi#Philosophical roots">things and outside things there is no ''dao''", "we call it god to emphasize the wonderful mystery of principle in ten thousand things, just as we call it lord (''di'') to characterize its being the ruler of events" and "in terms of the reality, it is change; in terms of principle, it is ''dao''; in terms of its function, it is god; in terms of its destiny in a human being, it is human nature".

Life

Hao's grandfather was a county magistrate in Huangpi and died there while in that capacity. Hao's father Cheng Xiang () was still young at the time and was unable to return to Luoyang, so he was forced to grow up in Huangpi instead. He later became county magistrate (), at which time his two sons Hao and Yi were born. In 1057 Hao passed the Imperial examinations and became an entered scholar. He successively served as an administrative clerk in Hu County,

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

, as an administrative clerk in Shangyuan County (an area now in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

), as an administrative director in Zezhou, as well as a minister of ceremony, a Censor, a

tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

and

tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

official, a ceremony minister to the military, and various other positions. Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi were among the pioneers of Song dynasty Neo-Confucianism, and they are often credited with its formal creation along with

Zhu Xi Zhu Xi ( zh, c=朱熹; ; October 18, 1130April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese philosopher, historian, politician, poet, and calligrapher of the Southern Song dynasty. As a leading figure in the development of Neo-Confuci ...

and several other scholars. The two brothers were sometimes referred to as "The Two Chengs" (), or individually as "Cheng the Elder" () and "Cheng the Younger" (). They dealt extensively with cosmology in their studies, applying Neo-Confucian principles to their studies of

celestial bodies An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists within the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are of ...

. In particular, the brothers identified and applied the principle of Divine or Natural Order, called '' li'', to that of ''

Tian Tian () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and cosmology. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their highest god as '' Shangdi'' or ''Di'' (, ...

'', the Heavens, as their original and guiding power. Hao established schools at Fugou and Songyang (in modern Dengfeng). Throughout his life he promoted the view that study and scholarship were means to making men sages, once writing: "The studies of a superior man must arrive at sagacity age-hoodand ''then'' upon his own intellect; in the case of not arriving at sage-hood but upon his own intellect, all is lost." Hao died in 1085 at the age of fifty-three.

Legacy

Hao was known as an outgoing, laid-back, and lively man, in contrast to his stern and severe younger brother. As Neo-Confucianism's popularity grew throughout the early second millennium AD, the two Cheng brothers along with Zhou Dunyi,

Zhang Zai Zhang Zai () (1020–1077) was a Chinese philosopher and politician. He is best known for laying out four ontological goals for intellectuals: to build up the manifestations of Heaven and Earth's spirit, to build up good life for the populace, t ...

, Shao Yong, and

Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the ''Zizhi Tongjian'', a monumental work of history. B ...

became known as "The Six Masters of Northern Song" for their philosophical contributions. Hao also received several

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

titles: in 1220 he was given the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

"Lord of Purity" () by the emperor. In 1241 he was given the posthumous title of "''Bo'' arlof

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

". In 1330, an imperial decree made Hao the posthumous "Lord of Yu Kingdom enan. Cheng Hao's offspring held the title of Wujing Boshi ( 五經博士; ''Wǔjīng Bóshì''). In 1452 Wujing Boshi was bestowed upon the offspring of Mengzi-Meng Xiwen (孟希文) 56th generation and

Yan Hui Yan Hui (–481 BC) was a Chinese philosopher. He was the favorite disciple of Confucius and one of the most revered figures of Confucianism. He is venerated in Confucian temples as one of the Four Sages. Names Yan Hui is also known by his c ...

-Yan Xihui (顔希惠) 59th generation, the same was bestowed on the offspring of

-Zhou Mian (週冕) 12th generation, the two Cheng brothers (Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi-Chen Keren (程克仁) 17th generation),

-Zhu Ting (朱梴) 9th generation, in 1456–1457, in 1539 the same was awarded to

Zeng Can Zeng Shen (505–435 BC), better known as Zengzi (Master Zeng), courtesy name Ziyu (), was a Chinese philosopher and disciple of Confucius. He later taught Zisi (Kong Ji), the grandson of Confucius, who was in turn the teacher of Mencius, thus b ...

's offspring-Zeng Zhicui (曾質粹) 60th generation, in 1622 the offspring of Zhang Zai received the title and in 1630 the offspring of Shao Yong.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, Hao 1032 births 1085 deaths 11th-century Chinese philosophers 11th-century politicians Chinese Confucianists Educators from Henan Educators from Hubei Neo-Confucian scholars Philosophers from Henan Philosophers from Hubei Politicians from Wuhan Song dynasty philosophers Song dynasty government officials