The four great sages of Yuyao are Yan Ziling, Wang Yangming, Zhu Shunshui and Huanglizhou.
1. Yan Ziling, named Guang, also named Ziling, was born in Yaobei in the second year of Jianzhao of the Western Han Dynasty (37 BC) and died in the seventeenth year of Jianwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty (42 AD). Chinese traditional culture celebrity.
When Yan Ziling was young, he went to study abroad and became a classmate and good friend of Liu Xiu, a native of Nanyang. Later, Liu Xiu revitalized the Han Dynasty, established the Eastern Han Dynasty, and became Emperor Guangwu. Yan Ziling was afraid of being recruited as an official, so he changed his name and lived in seclusion. Liu Xiu sent people to investigate and finally brought him from the fishing place to the capital. Yan Ziling refused to interact with dignitaries in the capital. Even when Emperor Guangwu visited him, he did not behave like a monarch or a minister. Emperor Guangwu asked him for advice on how to govern the country, and found that Yan Ziling's knowledge was indeed extraordinary. He immediately appointed Ziling as an admonishment doctor, but he did not thank him for his kindness. A few days later, he quietly left Beijing and resumed his life of farming and fishing. Yan Ziling's ideological and moral character, which does not seek wealth or fame, has always been praised by later generations. Fan Zhongyan, a famous politician and writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, once praised Yan Ziling's noble character and integrity with the poem "The clouds are green and the mountains are green, the rivers are vast, the gentleman's style is high, the mountains are high and the rivers are long."
After the death of Yan Ziling, the tomb was buried in Chenshan, ten miles east of Yuyao City. It was repaired in the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, but it is now destroyed. In order to commemorate this sage, later generations changed Chenshan's name to Kexingshan. There are two existing monumental buildings in Yuyao, one is the "Gaofeng Qiangu" stone tablet pavilion built during the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty in Huangqingyan Village, Diotang Town, and the other is the "Yan Ziling Hometown Stele Pavilion" and "Ziling Pavilion" on Longquan Mountain.
2. Wang Yangming, named Shouren, courtesy name Bo'an, and nickname Yangming, was born in Beicheng, Yuyao in the eighth year of Chenghua (1472 AD) of Emperor Xianzong of Ming Dynasty and died in the seventh year of Jiajing (1529 AD) of Emperor Xianzong of Ming Dynasty. ), a famous philosopher, educator, and military strategist in the Ming Dynasty.
Wang Yangming lived at the northern foot of Longquan Mountain in Yao City. When he was born, his grandmother dreamed that the fairy driver Xiangyun brought him a boy, so she called the house where he was born "Ruiyun Tower". . After his father Wang Hua won the first prize in the examination, Wang Yangming followed his father to Beijing. Wang Yangming became a Jinshi at the age of twenty-eight. He successively served as the chief of the Ministry of War, Longchang Yicheng, Luling County Magistrate, and Governor of Jiangxi and Guangxi. He was appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing and was given the title of "Xinjian Bo" and the posthumous title of "Wencheng".
Wang Yangming’s achievements are multi-faceted, the most outstanding is that he summarized and completed the ideological system of mind science since the Song and Ming Dynasties, and was regarded as the "master of mind science" by the academic community. The characteristic of his philosophical thoughts is that he opposes regarding the Confucianism of Confucius and Mencius as immutable precepts and blindly obeys feudal ethics and morals. He emphasizes individual initiative and puts forward the philosophical proposition of "leading to conscience" and "unity of knowledge and action". The methodology has the significance of breaking through the shackles of feudal thought and calling for the liberation of thought and personality. Wang Yangming recruited many disciples and promoted his ideas. It was known as the "Yangming School" in history. Because there were a large number of disciples in Yuyao, where he was born, it was also called the "Yaojiang School". His works include "Wang Chengwen Gongquan Shu" 30 The eight-volume work is regarded by academic circles as the earliest enlightenment philosophy that appeared in the late feudal medieval society of China.
Wang Yangming loved his hometown. He returned to Yao many times to visit relatives, visit his ancestors' tombs, and lectured at Zhongtian Pavilion in Longquan Mountain in the city. He cultivated a group of outstanding talents from Wang School such as Qian Dehong, and left a large number of talents in Yuyao. Event history. The ancient buildings that have been preserved include the "Zhongtian Pavilion" where he gave lectures, the "Zhongtian Pavilion" with his own inscriptions, and the "former residence of Neo-Confucianism". Memorial buildings include the "Hometown Stele Pavilion" and "Yangming Pavilion".
3. Zhu Shunshui, whose name is Zhiyu, whose courtesy name is Luyu, and whose nickname is Shunshui. He was born in Yuyao City in the 28th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1600) and died in the 21st year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1682). He was a famous scholar in the early Qing Dynasty and a pioneer in Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges.
Zhu Shunshui was smart and eager to learn since he was a child. In his youth, he had done in-depth research on the Four Books, the Five Classics and history. But he saw that the court was dark and the officials were corrupt, so he always despised fame. After the Qing army went to the south of the Yangtze River, Zhu Shunshui actively engaged in the struggle against the Qing Dynasty. He first followed the King of Lu in Yujuzhoushan, and later participated in the Northern Expedition against the famous Qing generals Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Cangshui. In the 16th year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1659 AD), seeing that the Qing regime was becoming increasingly consolidated and there was no hope of restoration, in order to preserve the integrity of the nation, he resolutely bid farewell to his country, abandoned his hometown, and went into exile in Japan.
Zhu Shunshui has lived in Japan for more than 20 years, still wearing Ming Dynasty clothes and remembering his motherland. His knowledge and virtue were treated politely and respected by Japanese scholars. Tokugawa Mitsukuni, the lord of Mito, hired him to give lectures in Edo (today's Tokyo) and hold discipleship ceremonies. Many famous scholars came here to study. Zhu Shunshui abandoned the empty preaching in Confucianism when giving lectures, carried forward the tradition of practical theory and practical learning, and promoted the development of Japanese Confucianism. He also taught China's advanced agriculture, medicine, construction, and craftsmanship to the Japanese people. The "Edo School" based on Shunsui's theory has influenced the "Meiji Restoration" and contributed to Japan's prosperity and progress.
After Zhu Shunsui died, the Japanese people complied with his last wish and buried him at the foot of Zuiryu Mountain in Ota Township, Hitachi Kuji County. His lecture notes and questions and answers were published by Tokugawa Mitsukuni and his sons as the "Collected Works of Zhu Shunshui" Twenty-eight volumes. On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Zhu Shunshui's death, the Japan-China Cultural Association built the "Mr. Zhu Shunshui Monument" on Longquan Mountain in his hometown, Yuyao City, to commemorate Mr. Zhu Shunshui in Japan, fulfilling his last wish of "making China and Japan good for thousands of years" that he hoped for during his lifetime. .
4. Huanglizhou, named Zongxi, also named Taichong, nicknamed Nanlei, and known as Mr. Lizhou in the world. He was born in Huangzhupu, the eastern suburb of Yuyao, in the 38th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1610 AD), and died in the 34th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1695 AD). He was a famous thinker and historian in the early Qing Dynasty.
Huang Lizhou has had the ambition to make contributions since he was a child. His father, Huang Zunsu, was a relatively upright official who was framed and died by the eunuch Wei Zhongxian. Two years later, Huang Zunsu's unjust case was vindicated. Huang Lizhou, who was only 19 years old, went to Beijing to avenge his father. In the court, he stabbed the two murderers of his father until their faces were bleeding. Afterwards, he became a disciple of Liu Zongzhou, a famous Confucian master at that time. He studied hard and was determined to inherit his father's ambition and make a career. After the Qing troops went south, Huanglizhou sold their property and organized local young adults, known as the "Shizhong Camp", to support King Lu and participate in the struggle against the Qing Dynasty. It was not until the collapse of the Nanming regime that he returned to his hometown and lived in seclusion to write. After experiencing the painful lesson of the destruction of his country and his family, Huang Lizhou deeply realized that the root cause of society's darkness, corruption and unrest was the feudal autocratic system. In his political work "Records of Visits to Ming Yi", he cried out that "the greatest harm to the world is the monarch". In his later years, Huang Lizhou devoted himself to the organization and research of the traditional culture of his motherland. His writings totaled more than 1,300 volumes and tens of millions of words, covering history, politics, philosophy, classics, geography, astronomy, music, and poetry. In many aspects, he can be called a master of writing.
After Huang Lizhou's death, he was buried in Anshan, Lubu, Yaonan. The tomb is a provincial key cultural relic protection unit. His former residence has been destroyed by wars and no longer exists. But the small stone bridge with the four characters "Huangjia Bamboo Bridge" engraved on it still stands at the east end of the village. There are memorial buildings "Hometown Stele Pavilion" and "Lizhou Pavilion" on Longquan Mountain in the city. Zhongtian Pavilion also preserves most of his works and a "Zhuqiao Huang Family Genealogy".