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Zou Yan
Chinese philosopher
Also known as: Tsou Yen
Zou Yan (born 340ādied 260? bce) was a Chinese cosmologist of the ancient state of Qi (in present-day Shandong) and leading exponent of the Yinyang school. The only account of his life is a brief one in the Shiji (āRecord of the Historianā). To him is attributed the association of the Five Phases (wuxing) theory with the doctrine of yinyang. Nature was thought to consist of changing combinations of the Five Phases (metal, wood, water, fire, earth), which were governed by the basic polarity of the cosmic principles of yin (earth, female, passive, absorbing) and yang (heaven, male, active, penetrating).
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