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Sima Tan
Sima Tan (; 165–110 BCE) was a Chinese astrologist, astronomer, and historian during the Western Han dynasty. His work ''Records of the Grand Historian'' was completed by his son Sima Qian, who is considered the founder of Chinese historiography. Education & career Sima Tan studied astronomy with Tang Du, the ''I Ching'' under Yang He, and Daoism under Master Huang. He was appointed to the office of Court Astronomer () at age 25 in 140 BCE, a position which he held until his death. Although Sima Tan began writing the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' (''Shiji''), he died before it was finished; it was completed by his son, Sima Qian. The year of Sima Tan's death (110 BCE) was the year of the great imperial sacrifice ''fengshan'' ( :zh:封禅) by Emperor Han Wudi, for which the emperor appointed another person to the rank of fangshi, bypassing Sima, probably causing him much consternation. Six schools An essay by Sima Tan has survived within the ''Records ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sima (Chinese Surname)
Sima (, ) is a Chinese family name. It is one of the rare Chinese compound surname, two-character Chinese family names; most Chinese family names consist of only a single Chinese character, character. It is an occupational surname, literally meaning "control" (sī) "horses" (mǎ), or "horse officer". The family name originated from Sima (office), one of the offices of the Zhou dynasty. History The Sima clan were said to be the descendants of the mythological figures Zhuanxu, Gaoyang and Zhu Rong (god), Chongli (Gaoyang's son). They served as ''xiaguan'' (夏官; "officers of summer") in the reigns of the mythical emperors Emperor Yao, Yao and Emperor Shun, Shun and through the Xia dynasty, Xia and Shang dynasty, Shang dynasties. During the Zhou dynasty, officials holding the appointment of ''xiaguan'' oversaw military affairs and were collectively known as "''xiaguan sima''". Cheng-bo Xiufu (程伯休甫), a descendant of Chongli (Zhurong), helped King Xuan of Zhou, King Xuan of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mingjia
The School of Names, or School of Forms and Names, is a school of thought in Chinese philosophy that grew out of Mohist logic. Sometimes termed Logicians, "dialecticians" or sophists modernly, Han scholars used it in reference to figures earlier termed Disputers in the Zhuangzi, as a view seemingly dating back to the Warring States period (221 BC). Rather than a unified movement like the Mohists, it represents a ''social category'' of early linguistic debaters. Some arguments in later, more orthodox Mohist texts, with their own logicians, would appear directed at their kind of debates. Figures associated with it include Deng Xi, Yin Wen, Hui Shi, and Gongsun Long. A Three Kingdoms era figure, Xu Gan, is relevant for discussions of names and realities, but was more Confucian and less philosophically relativist. Including figures referenced by the Zhuangzi, some likely served as a bridge between Mohism and the relativism of Zhuangzi Daoism. Hui Shi is noted for relativism, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Of Han
The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), an Eastern Han court official, with the help of his sister Ban Zhao, continuing the work of their father, Ban Biao. They modelled their work on the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' (), a cross-dynastic general history, but theirs was the first in this annals-biography form to cover a single dynasty. It is the best source, sometimes the only one, for many topics such as literature in this period. The ''Book of Han'' is also called the ''Book of the Former Han'' () to distinguish it from the '' Book of the Later Han'' () which covers the Eastern Han period (25–220 CE), and was composed in the fifth century by Fan Ye (398–445 CE). Contents This history developed from a continuation of Sima Qian's ''Records of the Grand Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military control over territories centered on the Wei River valley and North China Plain. Even as Zhou suzerainty became increasingly ceremonial over the following Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC), the political system created by the Zhou royal house survived in some form for several additional centuries. A date of 1046 BC for the Zhou's establishment is supported by the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project and David Pankenier, but David Nivison and Edward L. Shaughnessy date the establishment to 1045 BC. The latter Eastern Zhou period is itself roughly subdivided into two parts. During the Spring and Autumn period (), power became increasingly decentralized as the authority of the royal house diminished. The Warring States ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liu Xin (scholar)
Liu Xin (23 CE), courtesy name Zijun, was a Chinese astronomer, classicist, imperial librarian, mathematician, and politician during the Han dynasty#Western Han, Western Han and Xin dynasty, Xin dynasties. He later changed his name to Liu Xiu () due to the naming taboo of Emperor Ai of Han. He was the son of Imperial librarian Liu Xiang (scholar), Liu Xiang and an associate of other eminent thinkers such as the philosopher Huan Tan. Liu was a prominent supporter of the Old Text classics. Early life Liu Xin was the son of Confucian scholar Liu Xiang (scholar), Liu Xiang (77–6 BCE). Liu was a distant relative of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han dynasty, and was thus a member of the ruling dynastic clan (the Liu (surname), Liu family). Liu Xin's paternal grandfather ranked as a ''hou'' (, roughly 'Ranged Marquis#Han dynasty, marquess'). As a young man, Liu helped his father in cataloguing the contents of the imperial library, and his friendship with the well-connected mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liu Xiang (scholar)
Liu Xiang (77–6BCE), born Liu Gengsheng and bearing the courtesy name Zizheng, was a Chinese astronomer, historian, librarian, poet, politician, and writer of the Western Han dynasty. Among his polymathic scholarly specialties were history, literary bibliography, and astronomy. He is particularly well known for his bibliographic work in cataloging and editing the extensive imperial library. Life Liu Gengsheng was born in Xuzhou. Being a distant relative of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han dynasty, he was a member of the ruling dynastic clan (the Liu family). Liu Xiang's father ranked as a marquess. Liu Xiang's son, Liu Xin, would continue the scholarly tradition of his father and his relative Liu An (the Prince of Huainan). By the beginning of Emperor Yuan's reign, Liu Xiang was a member of a group of Confucian officials, including Xiao Wangzhi, who wished to limit the power of the emperor's female family members relatives' clans, the Shi and the Xu. He ended up on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wu Wei
''Wu wei'' () is a polysemous, ancient Chinese concept expressing an ideal dao, practice of "inaction", "inexertion" or "effortless action", as a state of personal harmony and free-flowing, spontaneous Improvisation, creative manifestation. In a political context, it also refers to an ideal form or principle of governance or government. ''Wu wei'' appears as an idea as early as the Spring and Autumn period, with early literary examples in the Classic of Poetry. It became an important concept in the Confucian Analects, linking a Confucian ethic of practical morality to a state of being harmonizing intention and action. It would go on to become a central concept in Chinese Legalism, Legalist statecraft and Daoism, in Daoism as a concept emphasizing alignment with the natural Dao in actions and intentions, avoiding force or haste against the natural order. Sinologist Jean François Billeter describes wu-wei as a "state of perfect knowledge (understanding) of the coexistence of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zou Yan
Zou Yan (; 305 BC240 BC) was a Chinese philosopher and spiritual writer of the Warring States era, Warring States-era. He was best known as the representative thinker of the Yin and Yang School (or School of Naturalists) during the Hundred Schools of Thought era in Chinese philosophy. Biography Zou Yan was a noted scholar of the Jixia Academy in the state of Qi (Shandong), Qi. The British biochemist and sinologist, Joseph Needham, describes Zou as "The real founder of all Chinese scientific thought." His teachings combined and systematized two current theories during the Warring States period: Yin-Yang and the Wuxing (Chinese philosophy), Five Elements/Phases (Metal (wuxing), metal, Wood (wuxing), wood, Water (wuxing), water, Fire (wuxing), fire, and Earth (wuxing), earth). All of Zou Yan's writings have been lost and are only known through quotations in early Chinese texts. The best information comes from his brief biography in the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' (1st century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
School Of Naturalists
The School of Naturalists or the School of Yin-Yang () was a Warring States-era philosophy that synthesized the concepts of yin-yang and the Five Elements. It was one of the Nine Schools of Thought. History The School of Naturalists did not have any one ethos and came from separate schools. K.C. Hsiao believed that they were an off-shoot of Confucianism, but the discovery of the Mawangdui Silk Texts includes various Daoistic texts. Overview Chinese philosopher Zou Yan (; 305240 BCE) is considered the founder of the school, and is the best known as the representative thinker of the Yin and Yang School (or School of Naturalists) during the Hundred Schools of Thought era in Chinese philosophy. Zou Yan was a noted scholar of the Jixia Academy in the state of Qi. Joseph Needham, a British biochemist and sinologist, describes Zou as "The real founder of all Chinese scientific thought."Needham, Joseph. 1978. The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China. Colin A. Ronan, ed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
School Of Names
The School of Names, or School of Forms and Names, is a school of thought in Chinese philosophy that grew out of Mohist logic. Sometimes termed Logicians, "dialecticians" or sophists modernly, Han scholars used it in reference to figures earlier termed Disputers in the Zhuangzi, as a view seemingly dating back to the Warring States period (221 BC). Rather than a unified movement like the Mohists, it represents a ''social category'' of early linguistic debaters. Some arguments in later, more orthodox Mohist texts, with their own logicians, would appear directed at their kind of debates. Figures associated with it include Deng Xi, Yin Wen, Hui Shi, and Gongsun Long. A Three Kingdoms era figure, Xu Gan, is relevant for discussions of names and realities, but was more Confucian and less philosophically relativist. Including figures referenced by the Zhuangzi, some likely served as a bridge between Mohism and the relativism of Zhuangzi Daoism. Hui Shi is noted for relati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mohism
Mohism or Moism (, ) was an ancient Chinese philosophy of ethics and logic, rational thought, and scientific technology developed by the scholars who studied under the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi (), embodied in an eponymous book: the '' Mozi''. Among its major ethical tenets were altruism and a universal, unbiased respect and concern for all people, stressing the virtues of austerity and utilitarianism. Illuminating its original doctrine, later Mohist logicians were pivotal in the development of Chinese philosophy. Mohism developed at about the same time as Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism, and was one of the four main philosophic schools from around 770–221 BC, during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period. During that time, Mohism was seen as a major rival to Confucianism. While its influence endured, Mohism almost disappeared as an independent school of thought as it transformed and integrated into sects of Taoism in the wake of the cultural transformat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
