Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073) was a neo-Confucian of the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127) in China. He is recognized as the founder of neo-Confucianism in the "Biography of Neo-Confucians" section of the  History of Song . Zhu Xi hailed him as the pioneer of neo-Confucianism, and together with Shao Yong, Zhang Zai, Cheng Hao, and Cheng Yi, he is regarded as one of the "Five Masters of the Northern Song Dynasty."