Yu Dunkang (; May 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Chinese philosopher and historian of

Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy (Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 中国哲学; Traditional Chinese characters, traditional Chinese: 中國哲學) refers to the philosophical traditions that originated and developed within the historical ...

, known for his research on

Xuanxue Xuanxue (), sometimes called Neo-Daoism (Neo-Taoism), is a metaphysical Post-classical history, post-classical Chinese philosophy from the Six Dynasties (222-589), bringing together Taoist and Confucianism, Confucian beliefs through revision and di ...

and the ''

I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...

''. Denounced as a "rightist" during the

Anti-Rightist Campaign The Anti-Rightist Campaign () in the People's Republic of China, which lasted from 1957 to roughly 1959, was a political campaign to purge alleged " Rightists" within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the country as a whole. The campaign w ...

in 1957, he was banished from academia for twenty years. After the end of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, he became a research professor at the Institute of World Religions of the

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese state research institute and think tank. It is a ministry-level institution under the State Council of the People's Republic of China. The CASS is the highest academic institution and c ...

(CASS), and was elected an honorary academician of the CASS.

Early life and education

Yu was born in May 1930 in Hanyang,

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. In 1951, he entered the Department of Philosophy of

Wuhan University Wuhan University (WHU; 武汉大学) is a key comprehensive public university in Wuhan, Hubei, China. It is directly affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China. The un ...

. During the

People's Republic of 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 ...

's nationwide reorganization of higher education in 1952, his department was merged into the philosophy department of

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

, from which he graduated in 1955. After teaching at a high school in

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

for a year, Yu returned to Peking University to pursue graduate studies in philosophy.

Banishment

During the

Hundred Flowers Campaign The Hundred Flowers Campaign, also termed the Hundred Flowers Movement ( zh, s=百花齐放, p=Bǎihuā Qífàng) and the Double Hundred Movement ( zh, labels=no, s=双百方针, p=Shuāngbǎi Fāngzhēn), was a period from 1956 to 1957 in the ...

of 1957, Yu wrote four letters that advocated

rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...

, democracy and freedom, and socialist

rule of law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...

. As a result, he was denounced as a "rightist" during the ensuing

and sent to Beijing's countryside to perform manual labour. After his rehabilitation in 1969, he was assigned to teach middle school in

Zaoyang Zaoyang () is a city in the north of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan province to the north. Administratively, it is a county-level city under the administration of Xiangyang. At the 2020 census its population was 888,79 ...

, Hubei for the next eight years. During his two-decade-long banishment from academia, Yu focused on self-study of

, the philosophy of China's

Six Dynasties Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD, between the end of the Eastern Han dynasty and the beginning of the Sui ...

period (third to sixth centuries), an era of division and turmoil. In his autobiography, he reminisced that he found solace in the ancient philosophers' reflections on fate, and their pursuit of

freedom of thought Freedom of thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints. Overview Every person attempts to have a cognitive proficiency by developing knowledge, concepts, theo ...

and

self-awareness In philosophy of self, philosophy, self-awareness is the awareness and reflection of one's own personality or individuality, including traits, feelings, and behaviors. It is not to be confused with consciousness in the sense of qualia. While ...

in the face of adversity.

Academic career

After the end of the

, Yu returned to academia in 1978 and became a researcher at the Institute of World Religions of the

. In the 1980s, he carried out comprehensive studies on Xuanxue, and published a series of papers on such concepts as ''youwu'' (being and non-being) and ''benmo'' (root and branches), as well as the ideas of philosophers

Wang Bi Wang Bi ( zh, 王弼; 226–249), courtesy name Fusi ( zh, 輔嗣), was a Chinese philosopher and politician. During his brief career, he produced commentaries on the ''Tao Te Ching'' and ''I Ching'' which were highly influential in Chinese ph ...

He Yan He Yan ( 195 – 9 February 249), courtesy name Pingshu, was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a grandson of He Jin, a general and regent of the Eastern Han dynasty. His ...

Ruan Ji Ruan Ji (210–263), courtesy name Sizong, was a Chinese musician, poet, and military officer who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period. He was one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. The guqin melody ''Jiukuang'' ( ...

and

Ji Kang Ji Kang (, 223–262), sometimes referred to as Xi Kang, courtesy name Shuye (), was a Chinese composer, essayist, philosopher, and poet of the Three Kingdoms period. He was one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove who held aloof from the dan ...

. His Xuanxue research culminated in the book ''History of Wei–Jin Xuanxue'' (), published by Peking University Press in 2004, which was followed by a second edition in 2016. At the Institute of World Religions, Yu's research interest gradually shifted to the ''

'' and the history of its studies. He wrote papers on the ''I Ching'' studies of the Zhou, Han, Wei, and Jin dynasties, before publishing ''Modern Interpretation of I Ching Studies of the Northern Song'' in 1997. Yu held the view that Chinese civilization originated from ancient Chinese religions and is "genetically" different from Western civilization from the very beginning. A major focus of Chinese culture is family and clan relations. In the 20th century, many scholars judged Chinese culture from the Western perspective and criticized this as a negative characteristic, but Yu sought to focus on its positive aspects and considered it the source of Chinese culture's vitality. In 1992, Yu was awarded a special pension for distinguished scholars by the

State Council of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

. He was elected an honorary academician of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. From 1993 to 2002, he was a member of the 8th and 9th

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

. On 14 July 2019, Yu died at his home in Beijing, aged 89.

Selected works

*''History of the Development of Chinese Philosophy'' (co-author), People's Publishing House (1988) *''New Exploration on the Xuanxue of He Yan and Wang Bi'' , Qilu Shushe (1991) *''Modern Interpretation of I Ching Studies of the Northern Song'' , Xuelin Publishing House (1997) *''I Ching Studies and Management'' (ed.), Shenyang Publishing House (1997) *''Collection of Papers on Chinese Philosophy'' , Liaoning University Press (1998) *''History of Wei–Jin Xuanxue'' , Peking University Press (2004, Second Edition 2016) *''Religion, Philosophy, Ethics'' , Science Press (2005) *''The Past and Today in I Ching Studies'' , Guangxi Normal University Press (2005) *''Interpretation of I Ching Studies of the Han and Song Dynasties'' , Huaxia Publishing House (2006) *''A Modern Interpretation of the Zhou Yi'' , Huaxia Publishing House (2006) :Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Dunkang 1930 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Chinese philosophers 21st-century Chinese philosophers Writers from Wuhan Wuhan University alumni Peking University alumni Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 20th-century Chinese historians 21st-century Chinese historians Scholars of ancient Chinese philosophy Philosophers from Hubei Victims of the Anti-Rightist Campaign Members of the 8th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the 9th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference I Ching Xuanxue