There are two main stages of influence on China:
The first stage was in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. Yangming's philosophy spread all over the country, with "disciples all over the world and spread for more than a hundred years." The Wang sect was divided into eight major sects - Qianzhong, Jiangyou, Zhejiang, Chuzhong, Fujian and Guangdong, Nanzhong, Beifang, and Taizhou. Especially the Taizhou Wang sect spread Yangming's philosophy to the common people, and eventually Led the academy lecture movement of the Donglin School.
The second stage is from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China. In the context of modern national crisis, Yangming's philosophy of mind was revived in the late Qing Dynasty. From Zeng Guofan to Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Tan Sitong, to Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek, they all attached great importance to Wang Yangming's spirit of "unity of knowledge and action". Sun Yat-sen's speech to Chinese students in Japan specifically mentioned Wang Yangming's influence on Japan becoming a powerful country in Asia.
Later, many young Chinese students went to Japan to study and paid great attention to Yangming Studies. Chiang Kai-shek also admired Wang Yangming and proposed the "philosophy of practice". Chiang Kai-shek came to Guiyang three times to revise his essays, and there are still photos and inscriptions left. After Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Taiwan, he changed his palace into "Yangmingshan" and named his study room "Yangming Bookstore". Later, he built a special "Yangming University".
After 1949, modern New Confucianism in Hong Kong and Taiwan also "followed Wang Yangming's teachings" and proposed that the essence of Chinese culture lies in the theory of mind, believing that Chinese culture, including Yangming's theory of mind, has a profound influence on the future. will have an important impact on world peace and development. ?
As an ideological system that is the culmination of Chinese Confucianism, Yangming’s Theory of Mind has become a craze in China’s ideological circles since its emergence in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. It has had an impact on people from all walks of life at home and abroad. have varying degrees of impact. Not only the feudal rulers highly respected it, but also some literati and scholars were deeply influenced by it.
Not only is it deeply influential at home, but it is also very popular abroad (in addition to China, his philosophy has also traveled across the ocean and profoundly influenced Japan, South Korea, North Korea and other East Asian countries. He himself He is also regarded as a god and worshiped every day. For example, in 1905, the waist badge of Japanese Navy Admiral Togo Heihachiro was engraved with seven characters: bow down and worship Yomei throughout his life).
Especially in modern China, some historical figures, such as: reformers Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao; revolutionaries Sun Yat-sen, Zhang Taiyan, Song Jiaoren; Kuomintang side Wang Jingwei, Chiang Kai-shek, Communist side Mao Zedong, etc. In the development process of his early thoughts, he was influenced by Yangming's philosophy of mind to varying degrees.
Among these characters, whether they are those who advocate reform or those who advocate revolution, whether they are positive characters or negative characters, they have all read Wang Yangming's books and have been influenced by Wang Yangming to varying degrees. influence of the academic system. However, the paths they have taken are different, the results are different, and the social impacts are also different. This has become a unique "landscape" in modern China. ?
Wang Yangming’s philosophy of mind is a wonder in the history of Chinese civilization and a treasure worthy of each of us being proud of. He sounded the clarion call for the liberation of human nature and led the trend of ideological liberation in the late Ming Dynasty. , his thoughts have been spread for a long time, and until modern times, the school of mind is still active in the ideological world.
Extended information
Wang Shouren (October 31, 1472 - January 9, 1529), Han nationality, with a young name of Yun, courtesy name Bo'an, alias Yangming, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang A native of Yuyao County (now Yuyao, Ningbo). Because he once built a house in Yangming Cave in Kuaiji Mountain, he named himself Yangmingzi. Scholars called him Mr. Yangming and also called Wang Yangming. A famous thinker, writer, philosopher and military strategist in the Ming Dynasty, he was the master of Lu Wang's philosophy and was proficient in Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.
The formation process
Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and the thoughts of Buddhism and Laoism
Huang Zongxi pointed out in Volume 10 of "The Case of Confucianism in the Ming Dynasty": "The learning of Mr. (referring to Wang Yangming), At first, he started to read poems and chapters, and then he read Kaoting's (Zhu Xi's) books, studied things in order, and took into account the physical and mental aspects. Finally, he decided that he had two ideas and had nothing to gain, so he went in and out of the Buddha for a long time. "
Wang Yangming himself. He once said to himself: "Shouren made great achievements in his early years and indulged in the habit of writing poems and poems.
Now that I know a little bit about engaging in true learning, but I am tired of the numerous opinions and have no way to get into it, I look to the old explanations and I am happy to have an understanding of it, thinking that the learning of the sages is here. However, the teachings of Confucius go in and out from time to time, and the daily use of measures is often inconsistent, relying on disobedience and going back and forth, and trusting and doubting. ”
("Preface to the Conclusions of Zhu Zi's Late Years") As an intellectual in the feudal society of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Yangming once "overflowed with poetry" in order to cope with the imperial examinations at that time. This is understandable, because it It was the only way for feudal intellectuals to gain fame.
After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, respecting the classics and Confucianism and following Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism were the basic policies. The "Imperial Imperial Edict" clearly states: "The old imperial edict of our Chinese ancestors must ensure that father and son are related, monarch and ministers are righteous, husband and wife are distinguished, elders and young are in order, and friends are trustworthy.
...If anyone violates the teachings of the ancestors in the future, he will not be punished." This identifies Gangchang morality and Confucian classics as weapons for unifying thought and "Bibles" for education.
Chen Ding once recorded in "The Biography of Donglin": After my great ancestor, Emperor Gao, came to the throne, "the study of Zhu Xi made scholars read only the books of Confucius and Mencius, and the studies of Lian, Luo, Guan, and Min." Don’t tell. Emperor Cheng Zuwen, who benefited from the light and expanded it, ordered Confucian officials to compile the "Complete Book of Xingli" and publish it to the world. ”
In this political and academic atmosphere that only respects Confucianism and praises Cheng and Zhu, the average intellectual adheres to Zhu Zi’s old teachings and has nothing to invent. “This also describes Zhu, and that also describes Zhu.” , the ideas of "investigating things and studying principles" and "cultivating one's mind and cultivating one's nature" were prevalent at that time. It is not surprising that in his youth, Wang Yangming once "searched for and read the posthumous works of Kaoting (Zhu Xi)"
He once followed Zhu Xi's saying of "learning by examining things" and sat in an official bamboo garden to "fetch bamboos". Later, he failed to do so and became ill from work. From then on, Wang Yangming changed from believing in Zhu Xi's learning to doubting Zhu Xi's learning. This was the opportunity for him to become a subjective idealist.
Of course, Wang Yangming was also dissatisfied with Buddhism. For example, he said: “The Buddha is the saint of Yi and Di; the saint is the Buddha of China. In the barbarians, we can use the teachings of Buddha to guide the ignorant and stubborn; in China, we should use the way of the saints to educate the counselors. " (Volume 9 of "Wang Wencheng Gongquan") Wang Yangming was deeply dissatisfied with the academic circles at that time attacking his theory as "Zenology".
The basic formation of "Xin Xue"
Due to the Ming Dynasty The dynasty was facing a serious social crisis. Wang Yangming felt deeply that the Neo-Confucianism of Cheng, Zhu and Lao Buddhism, which had dominated the ideological world for two to three hundred years, was of no use to the world. Therefore, he began to review, reflect, and criticize Neo-Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism education. He said: "The current insecurity in the world is due to the decline of scholarly conduct; and the decline of scholarly conduct is due to unclear scholarship; the unclear scholarship is due to the fact that there are no heroic scholars to promote it. ”
The purpose of Wang Yangming’s criticism and denial of the rigidity and dogmatism of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was to revitalize Confucian ethics and bring them into practice. Therefore, he regarded “rectifying people’s hearts” as his salvation The panacea for the crisis. Wang Yangming advocated starting from "Gexin" to strengthen feudal moral education, arouse people's inner conscience, and consciously abide by the feudal ruling order and ethical principles, so as to eliminate the political crisis and ideological crisis of the Ming Dynasty.
He once wrote a poem titled "Occasionally Made After Sleeping", which said: "When I get up and hit the dawn bell on a high building, I am still in a state of drowsiness. Even if you wake up at dusk, you will still be aware of it. If you don’t believe that the world is completely deaf. ”
Wang Yangming is quite confident in his method of “introducing conscience” and “learning from the heart”. He believes that his set of idealistic “mind science” can awaken people from their slumber. "History of the Ming Dynasty: Preface to the Biographies of Scholars" once recorded: "The original Confucian scholars in the early Ming Dynasty were all descendants of the tributaries of Zhu Zi's disciples. They had their own line of teachers and were in order.
Cao Duan and Hu Juren practiced their duties diligently, scrupulously adhered to the teachings of their Confucian ancestors, and did not dare to correct their mistakes. The academic distinction begins with Chen Xianzhang and Wang Shouren. The person who presented the chapter said that the Jiangmen School was a solitary practice and its spread was not far away. Zong Shouren said that Yao Jiang's school had a different purpose, which was obviously contrary to Zhu Zi's, and his disciples were all over the world. ”
This shows that Wang Yangming adapted to the needs of the academic development of the Ming Dynasty at that time, abandoned the Neo-Confucian model of "just thinking about things and exhausting theory", and created a "Xinxue" trend of thought that involves direct inner subjective reflection.
On the basis of criticizing Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, he tried to refresh and transform Confucianism.
The establishment and spread of Yangming Studies
Wang Yangming began teaching apprentices at the age of 34 until his death, and was engaged in education and academic activities for more than 20 years. His academic thoughts and educational thoughts not only had a great influence in China, but also spread far overseas, and he had disciples all over the world.
After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, as Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism increasingly lost its role in controlling people's hearts, Wang Yangming's thoughts and theories gradually dominated the ideological world. Wang Yangming transformed the feudal ethics and moral teachings into a more systematic and complete one, making it simple and understandable, making it easy to disseminate and promote. This undoubtedly provided new stimulants and anesthetics for the declining feudal landlord class.
The formation of the Yangming School is naturally closely related to Yangming Studies. The so-called Yangming School is actually a school of thought with Wang Yangming as its master and Yangmingology as its core. It is a school of thought and education that has disciples all over the world and has been spread for more than a hundred years. It has a complex system, great influence, and long-lasting influence.
The rise of Yangming School is also closely related to Wang Yangming's personal reputation. As people said at the time: "The prince is highly educated and possesses both civil and military skills. He is a famous official in recent times, and few can match him... His fame is so obvious that it cannot be overturned." (Volume 18 of "The Case of Confucianism in the Ming Dynasty")
Wang Yangming’s political, military, academic, and educational successes were generally recognized by society. Therefore, he became a "meritorious" and "virtual figure" that the feudal ruling class in the mid-Ming Dynasty aspired to, but actually fulfilled this wish. "" and "Liyan" are three immortal representative figures.
His disciples worshiped and loved their master, lectured everywhere, moved the government and the public, and became popular all over the world. This was unprecedented in the Ming Dynasty. It effectively promoted the formation and establishment of the Yangming School, making Yangming School one of the best in its generation. Wang Yangming became a famous teacher and established his historical position in the history of Chinese academic and education.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Yangming Studies