PHILOSOPHER

Dong Zhongshu

179 BC - 104 BC

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Dong Zhongshu (Chinese: 董仲舒; Wade–Giles: Tung Chung-shu; 179–104 BC) was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer of the Han dynasty. He is traditionally associated with the promotion of Confucianism as the official ideology of the Chinese imperial state, favoring heaven worship over the tradition of cults celebrating the five elements. Enjoying great influence in the court in the last decades of his life, his adversary Gongsun Hong ultimately promoted his partial retirement from political life by banishing him to the Chancellery of Weifang, but his teachings were transmitted from there. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Dong Zhongshu is the 423rd most popular philosopher (down from 420th in 2019), the 276th most popular biography from China (up from 299th in 2019) and the 16th most popular Chinese Philosopher.

Dong Zhongshu is most famous for his "Doctrine of the Mean" which is a Confucian text that is an attempt to reconcile the two major schools of thought in Chinese philosophy, Confucianism and Taoism.

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Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Dong Zhongshu ranks 423 out of 1,267. Before him are Adolf von Harnack, Masanobu Fukuoka, John Toland, Yi Hwang, Étienne Gilson, and Gargi Vachaknavi. After him are Timon of Phlius, Michael J. Sandel, Pavel Florensky, Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples, Antiochus of Ascalon, and Edward de Bono.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 179 BC, Dong Zhongshu ranks 1. After him is Sima Xiangru. Among people deceased in 104 BC, Dong Zhongshu ranks 3. Before him are Jugurtha, and John Hyrcanus. After him is Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus.

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In China

Among people born in China, Dong Zhongshu ranks 276 out of 1,610. Before him are Cao Zhi (192), Emperor Xuan of Han (-91), Emperor Zhao of Han (-94), Emperor Ping of Han (-9), 12th Dalai Lama (1857), and Emperor Yuan of Han (-75). After him are Emperor Dezong of Tang (742), Li Yuanhong (1864), Chen Shou (233), Lü Meng (178), Emperor Zhang of Han (57), and Yijing (635).

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In China

Among philosophers born in China, Dong Zhongshu ranks 16. Before him are Milarepa (1052), Shen Kuo (1031), Wang Yangming (1472), Han Yu (768), Ban Zhao (45), and Guan Zhong (-720). After him are Zhiyi (538), Ge Hong (284), Linji Yixuan (850), Zhang Daoling (34), Huiyuan (334), and Marpa Lotsawa (1012).

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