The third part of "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty": The Palace Monster, Chapter 8. The legend begins here. In Chapter 20, A New Beginning, Wang Shouren is mentioned.
Original text of the novel:
Wang Shouren was born in Yuyao, Zhejiang in the eighth year of Chenghua (1472). People who achieve great success often come from poor families. At a young age, they have to go to the mountains to chop firewood and go to the sea to fish. Yu, there are several sick relatives at home, and they shed tears every day. This is almost customary. Unfortunately, Mr. Wang Shouren's situation is exactly the opposite.
Wang Shouren's family is a well-known big landowner, very wealthy, and he also has a very famous ancestor - Wang Xizhi. I don’t know if it’s true, but given his family’s conditions, it wouldn’t be surprising if it was true.
Most of the ancestors of the Wang family once served as officials. It is said that their ancestor Wang Gang once worked as a follower for Liu Bowen, and he reached the highest level of a fourth-rank official. But when it came to Wang Shouren's father, Wang Hua, things changed.
In the seventeenth year of Chenghua (1481), ten-year-old Wang Shouren left Zhejiang and moved to Beijing with his family. Because there was smoke coming out of his family’s grave, his father Wang Hua won the first prize in the exam that year. . Extended information
Wang Shouren (October 31, 1472 - January 9, 1529), Han nationality, his childhood name was Yun, his courtesy name was Bo'an, his alias was Yangming, and he lived in Yuyao County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province (now part of Yuyao, Ningbo )people. 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.
In the twelfth year of Hongzhi (1499), he was a Jinshi. He successively served as chief of the Ministry of Justice, Longchang Yicheng of Guizhou, magistrate of Luling, censor of Youqiandu, governor of Southern Jiangxi, and governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. In his later years, he served in Nanjing. Minister of the Ministry of War, Yushi of Zuodu, Duchayuan. He was granted the title of Xinjian Bo for pacifying the Chenhao Rebellion. During the Longqing period, he was posthumously awarded Xinjian Marquis. He was given the posthumous title Wencheng, so later generations also called him Duke Wencheng.
Wang Shouren (the master of the mind), Confucius (the founder of Confucianism), Mencius (the master of Confucianism), and Zhu Xi (the master of Neo-Confucianism) are collectively known as Confucius, Mencius, Zhu, and Wang.
Wang Shouren’s doctrine and thought Wang Xue (Yangming Xue) was the most influential philosophical thought in the Ming Dynasty. His academic thoughts spread to China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula and Southeast Asia. He established his moral character and reputation, and his achievements were unparalleled in the Ming Dynasty. He had so many disciples that he was known as the Yao Jiang School. His articles are broad and profound, and his writing has a refreshing air. There is "Wang Wencheng Gongquan Shu".