Knowra Zou Yan Zou Yan Zou Yan was a Chinese philosopher of the Warring States period associated with Yin-Yang thought, the five phases, and cyclical accounts of dynastic change.
Yin and yang : A Chinese framework describing complementary, interdependent forces whose interaction accounts for change. Zou Yan’s cosmology linked paired forces to the transformations of the world.
Five Phases theory : A theory that uses the cyclical interactions of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water to explain change. Zou Yan’s political cosmology applied phase succession to the rise and fall of rulers.
Sima Qian : A Han dynasty historian who wrote Records of the Grand Historian, a foundational history of China. His biography is a principal surviving account of Zou Yan’s life and reputation.
Dong Zhongshu : A Han dynasty Confucian scholar who developed theories linking Heaven, rulers, and human conduct. His political cosmology developed correspondences resembling themes associated with Zou Yan.
Five phases : A Chinese system of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water used to describe transformations and correspondences. This system supplied the materials for Zou Yan’s accounts of change and succession.
Dynastic cycle : A model in which ruling houses rise, govern, decline, and are replaced by new dynasties. Zou Yan’s phase sequence offered a cosmic rationale for dynastic succession.
Records of the Grand Historian : A history of China from legendary antiquity through the early Han, compiled by Sima Qian. Its account preserves key details about Zou Yan and his teachings.
Han dynasty cosmology : Han-era systems that related cosmic forces and patterns to government, ritual, and human life. Han thinkers elaborated the cosmological framework to which Zou Yan contributed.
Warring States period : The era of rival Chinese states from 475 to 221 BCE, ending with Qin unification. Zou Yan developed his thought amid competition among states and intellectual schools.
Mandate of Heaven : The Chinese doctrine that Heaven grants rulers authority while they govern justly and withdraws it when they fail. His cyclical account gave political change a pattern beyond moral judgment alone.
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