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

Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Warring States period (), during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural developmen ...

, known for his research on

Xuanxue Xuanxue (), sometimes called Neo-Daoism (Neo-Taoism), is a metaphysical post-classical Chinese philosophy from the Six Dynasties (222-589), bringing together Taoist and Confucian beliefs through revision and discussion. The movement found its scrip ...

and the ''

I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zho ...

''. 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 was l ...

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 sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

, 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 research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...

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

Early life and education

Yu was born in May 1930 in

Hanyang Hanyang may refer to: China *Hanyang District (漢陽區, 汉阳区, ''Hànyáng Qū''), Wuhan, Hubei :*Hanyang Arsenal (漢陽兵工廠), founded in 1891 as one of the oldest modern arsenals in Chinese history :*Hanyang 88 (漢陽八八式步槍), ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

. In 1951, he entered the Department of Philosophy of

Wuhan University Wuhan University (WHU; ) is a public research university in Wuhan, Hubei. The university is sponsored by the Ministry of Education. Wuhan university was founded as one of the four elite universities in the early republican period of China and i ...

. During the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

'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 research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...

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

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

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 (), was a period from 1956 to 1957 in the People's Republic of China during which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) encouraged citizens to openly express their opinions of t ...

of 1957, Yu wrote four letters that advocated

rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy' ...

, democracy and freedom, and socialist

rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...

. 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 2010 census its population was 1,004, ...

, 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. The Six Dynasties period overlapped with the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms, ...

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 (also called freedom of conscience) 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 ...

and

self-awareness In philosophy of self, self-awareness is the experience of one's own personality or individuality. It is not to be confused with consciousness in the sense of qualia. While consciousness is being aware of one's environment and body and lifesty ...

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 (226–249), courtesy name Fusi, was a Chinese philosopher and politician, expertise in Yijing and Xuanxue Life Wang Bi served as a minor bureaucrat in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was married with a daug ...

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 f ...

Ruan Ji Ruan Ji (; 210–263), courtesy name Sizong (), was a Chinese musician and poet who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. 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 (, "shu" means the 3rd son of the family, "ye" means night), was a Chinese writer, poet, Taoist philosopher, musician and alchemist of the Three Kingdoms period. He w ...

. 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 Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

, 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, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...

. 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, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

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

Selected works

*''History of the Development of Chinese Philosophy'' 中国哲学发展史 (co-author), People's Publishing House (1988) *''New Exploration on the Xuanxue of He Yan and Wang Bi'' 何晏王弼玄学新探, Qilu Shushe (1991) *''Modern Interpretation of I Ching Studies of the Northern Song'' 内圣外王的贯通—北宋易学的现代诠释, Xuelin Publishing House (1997) *''I Ching Studies and Management'' 易学与管理 (ed.), Shenyang Publishing House (1997) *''Collection of Papers on Chinese Philosophy'' 中国哲学论集, Liaoning University Press (1998) *''History of Wei–Jin Xuanxue'' 魏晋玄学史, Peking University Press (2004, Second Edition 2016) *''Religion, Philosophy, Ethics'' 宗教·哲学·伦理, Science Press (2005) *''The Past and Today in I Ching Studies'' 易学今昔, Guangxi Normal University Press (2005) *''Interpretation of I Ching Studies of the Han and Song Dynasties'' 汉宋易学解读, Huaxia Publishing House (2006) *''A Modern Interpretation of the Zhou Yi'' 周易现代解读, 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