Tung Chung-shu (ca. 179-104 BC) was a Chinese man of letters best known for his work in formulating a mode of thought which was to become known, somewhat loosely, as Confucianism.

Well versed in Chinese literature, Tung Chung-shu made his name at court during discussions with the Emperor (Han Wu-ti) and held official posts in the provinces. Tung's writings are preserved in the Standard History of the Western Han dynasty (Han-shu) and in a collection of essays entitled Ch'un-Ch'iu fan-lu, or Luxurious Gems of the Spring and Autumn Annals.

Very little of Tung Chung-shu's work was due to original thinking; his importance lies in his synthesis of a number of elements under a single system which could be adopted as the ideological basis for the exercise of imperial authority. He venerated Confucius as one of the earliest of China's teachers, who had clearly linked the exercise of temporal...