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Cheng Hao

Type Figure Region Northern Song China Time 1032–1085 Also known as Bochun、Mingdao、Master Mingdao

A Northern Song Neo-Confucian philosopher styled Bochun and known as Master Mingdao, Cheng Hao was a Luoyang jinshi who with his brother Cheng Yi fou…

Timeline

  1. 1032–1056Huángpí · HuangpiBorn at Huangpi in the first year of Mingdao, he and his younger brother Cheng Yi studied under Zhou Dunyi at Nan'an in their youth, aspiring to the joy of Confucius and Yan Hui, planting the seeds of his later thought on 'recognizing benevolence' and 'heavenly principle.'
  2. 1057–1068Shangyuan · ShangyuanHe passed the jinshi examination in the second year of Jiayou and served successively as registrar of Hu County under Jingzhao Prefecture and magistrate of Shangyuan County under Jiangning Prefecture, renowned for lenient governance and moral transformation, handling litigation and schools in the manner of a Confucian scholar.
  3. 1069–1071Bianjing · Kaifeng PrefectureEarly in the Xining era he entered the capital as Palace Aide and Acting Investigating Censor. Initially on good terms with Wang Anshi, he soon resigned in opposition to the Green Sprouts and other New Policies and was posted to the provinces, marking the divergence of Luoxue from the Xining reforms.
  4. 1072–1085Luoyang · LuoyangResiding in Luoyang, he and his brother Cheng Yi taught students, proposing 'heavenly principle' as the universal law of nature and human relations, and advocating recognition of benevolence and stabilization of one's nature. He died in the eighth year of Yuanfeng; his disciples privately bestowed the name Mingdao, and Luoxue became one of the main currents of Neo-Confucianism.

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