WU Cheng’s heaven-earth theory from the vision of neo-Confucianism

WU Cheng was a famous neo-Confucianist, expert in the Confucian Classics Studies, and Yi-ologist of the Yuan Dynasty. In the image-numberology in his Yi studies, he united the Han Yi and Song Yi and set forth his own opinions. In the philosophical connotations studies, he interpreted Zhouyi from a completely new Confucianism and established his unique Yi-ology,a heaven-earth theory from the vision of neo-Confucianism. The basic contents of the theory include: the Dao of heaven is the ultimate basis of value; man should deal with human affairs and establish humanities by the Dao of heaven; the Dao of heaven and human nature are inherently linked and the variety of phenomena are correlated and make up an indefinite organic entity which possesses one noumenon with various specific manifestations; the entity within which the world constantly changes dwells in man’s world of life; man should transform temperament by self-cultivation, fully exhibit the innate nature inseparable from the heaven-earth principle, awaken the self-sufficient humanistic rational consciousness of life to make the life attain to the heaven-earth realm which embodies the heaven-earth principle and further erects one’s own subjectivity of life, establishes man’s sense of cosmic obligation to improve the flow of the heavenly principle and the establishment of an organic, harmonious world of life.