If the Tang Dynasty was the first peak period of Chinese cultural development since the pre-Qin Dynasty, then the period between the two Song Dynasties can be called the second peak period.

The cultural glory of the Tang Dynasty should be, to be precise, the heyday of Buddhist culture. In particular, Master Xuanzang returned from India, translated Buddhist scriptures, and spread them widely in the Tang Dynasty. Coupled with the rise of Zen and other Buddhist sects, Buddhism played a supporting role in the entire Tang culture.

Zhou Dunyi

Although Confucianism and Taoism also developed in the Tang Dynasty, they pale in comparison to the vigorous Buddhist movement. The Tang Dynasty regarded itself as a descendant of Laozi. According to legend, Laozi was called Li Er, and the Li family regarded him as their ancestor. In terms of academic rigor, Laozi's "Tao Te Ching" is still inferior to Buddhism. In the early days of the imperial court, we could still see Taoist priests standing on the right and monks standing on the left. The Taoists were still a head taller. In the later period, it evened out and even gave way to Buddhism.

Representative Confucian figures in the Tang Dynasty, such as Han Yu, were very pro-Buddhist at first and rejected Buddhism. They felt that Buddhism was foreign academic knowledge and was different from orthodox Confucian thought. But in the later period, Han Yu's thoughts also changed. However, people who wrote cultural history in later generations all had orthodox Confucian thoughts. They believed that Han Yu was a representative figure of Confucianism and was famous for his rejection of Buddhism, but they ignored the influence of Buddhism in his later period.

From the perspective of Chinese cultural history, it was Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming Dynasties that truly established the Confucian theory of mind, and its founder was Mr. Zhou Dunyi.

Mr. Zhou Dunyi’s activities occurred during the period when the Northern Song Dynasty had settled down slightly after the early wars. He is about 20 years older than Su Dongpo. In Zhou Dunyi's era, giants in the history of Chinese culture appeared at the same time. Although they were very independent, each had their own academic thoughts and achievements, and sometimes had arguments, they were friends with each other and could communicate and learn from each other.

At the same time as Zhou Dunyi and a little later, the Northern Song Dynasty produced five great Confucian scholars, who were later called the "Five Scholars of the Northern Song Dynasty". They were Zhou Dunyi, Er Cheng, Shao Yong, and Zhang Zai.

It is said that at that time, "five stars gathered in Kui, corresponding to the celestial phenomena", which was a harbinger of the prosperity of humanities in the entire Song Dynasty. Zhou Zi, also known as Zhou Dunyi, was the ancestor of the Song Dynasty acting school and was a native of Daoxian County, Hunan. His two students, Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao, were known as Er Cheng in history, and they were both academically outstanding. Shao Yong was a philosopher in the Northern Song Dynasty. He was unique in the study of the "Book of Changes" and was known as Shao Zi. The other one is Zhang Zai, Mr. Hengqu. His famous saying: "Establish a mind for the heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, inherit the unique knowledge for the saints, and create peace for all generations." has become an inspirational benchmark for later generations of Confucian scholars.

Zhou Dunyi was not well known during his lifetime. He served as an official, and after his retirement, he lived in seclusion beside Lianxi River in Lushan Mountain to give lectures, calling himself Mr. Lianxi. The father of the two Cheng brothers, Cheng Jue, the Prime Minister of Dali Temple, met Zhou Dunyi in Nan'an. He saw that he had "a very human appearance" and talked with him. He also learned that he was "a scholar of knowledge", so he became a good friend with him, and the two soon became friends. His two sons, Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, were sent to Nan'an to worship Zhou Dunyi as their teacher. Therefore, Zhou Dunyi's academic thoughts were still developed here in Ercheng.

The most important academic works left by Zhou Dunyi are "Zhou Zi Tong Shu" and "Tai Chi Pictures". Tai Chi and Tai Chi diagram were created by Zhou Dunyi.

"Tai Chi Diagram" is a highly condensed theoretical development of Tai Chi Diagram. Some people say that the idea of ??Tai Chi has a long history and was spread from Laozi. In fact, the idea of ????the "Book of Changes" was earlier. It's just that the expression of Tai Chi theory in concise images started with Zhou Dunyi.