Taijitushuo

work by Zhou Dunyi

Also known as: “T’ai-chi-t’u shuo”

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July 14, 2026

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The Taijitushuo ("Explanation of the Diagram of the Great Ultimate") is a significant work by the Chinese philosopher Zhou Dunyi. Written in the 11th century, it is considered a foundational text for Neo-Confucianism.

In this treatise, Zhou Dunyi developed a metaphysics that posits the Great Ultimate as the origin of all reality. This ultimate principle, simultaneously the Non-Ultimate, gives rise to the fundamental forces of yin (tranquillity) and yang (movement). Their interaction, along with the Five Elements (wood, earth, fire, metal, and water), leads to the creation and evolution of all things. Zhou believed humans receive these qualities in their highest form, and the emergence of good and evil arises from their reactions to the world. The Taijitushuo integrates Daoist cosmology with the *Yijing* (Book of Changes), laying the groundwork for later Neo-Confucian ethical systems.12

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Zhou Dunyi
…works was the short treatise Taijitushuo (“Explanation of the Diagram of the Great Ultimate”), in which he developed a metaphysics based on the idea that “the many are [ultimately] one, and the one is actually differentiated into the many.” Zhou combined Daoist schema of the universe with the Yijing’s concept…
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…works was the short treatise Taijitushuo (“Explanation of the Diagram of the Great Ultimate”), in which he developed a metaphysics based on the idea that “the many are [ultimately] one, and the one is actually differentiated into the many.” Zhou combined Daoist schema of the universe with the Yijing’s concept…
Read More