Resonance between Heaven and man
Dong held that Heaven and humankind respond to each other, so a ruler’s misconduct brings down calamities as warnings — a doctrine that both sanctified the throne and gave scholars a language to check it.
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Dong Zhongshu
Han Confucian of "resonance between Heaven and man"
Those Who Ground an Idea Into a Whole System · Disciples & School-Builders
Han ConfucianismHeaven–man resonanceGrand unity
Who they are
Dong Zhongshu (179–104 BC), the great synthesizer of Han Confucianism, fused yin-yang and the five phases into a doctrine of "resonance between Heaven and man" — the ruler holds a mandate from Heaven, and calamities are Heaven’s warnings. His advice to Emperor Wu to "reject the hundred schools and honor only Confucianism" made Confucianism state orthodoxy for two millennia.
Primary sourcesDong Zhongshu, Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn AnnalsBook of Han, Biography of Dong Zhongshu
Key stories
Relationships
Mentor
Echoes today
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
State Confucianism"Reject the hundred schools, honor only Confucianism" made Confucianism state orthodoxy for two millennia.