Dong Zhongshu, probably the most influential Confucian scholar of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), laid an institutional basis for the Confucian orthodoxy and for the recruitment of able scholars as government officials through the examination system. He was an expert in the Gongyang commentary of the Confucian classic Spring and Autumn, and he gave the classic a new interpretation that combines the ethical and political teachings of Confucius with the supernatural view of the metaphysicians.

After having received the degree of eruditus (boshi) in the Confucian classics, Dong Zhongshu became a public instructor during the reign (156–140 BCE) of Emperor Jing. It has been recorded that he lectured from behind a curtain, and although he had many students, few were admitted to his presence. He was also said to have been so engrossed in his scholarly pursuits that for...