After the Song Dynasty, Neo-Confucianism continued to develop. By the Ming Dynasty, the emergence of Xinxue marked a new stage in the development of Neo-Confucianism. Wang Shouren was the master of mind science in the Ming Dynasty. He was proficient in Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, and developed mind science into a philosophical theory of "unity of knowledge and action", making it easier for social practice. Wang Shouren was born in Yuyao County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province in October 1472. His childhood name was Yun, his courtesy name was Bo'an, and his nickname was Yangming. Wang Shouren's mother died young and his father was busy with the imperial examinations, so he was raised by his grandfather Wang Lun before he was 11 years old. When studying, I hold the ambition of "reading to learn from the sages". Wang Shouren later followed his father Wang Hua to Beijing to take up a post. He was once enthusiastic about riding and shooting, and then studied the art of war. When he was studying in Beijing, he once asked his teacher: "What is the most important thing in life?" The teacher replied: "Nothing is more than being a Jinshi in the imperial examination!"
Wang Shouren disagreed and retorted: "You cannot win a Jinshi." The first priority is to study and learn to be a sage." His words show his lofty ambitions. At this time, Wang Shouren was only 12 years old.
When Wang Shouren was 18 years old, he visited Lou Liang, a scholar of the Cheng-Zhu School, on his way back to Yuyao. Lou Liang introduced to him Zhu Xi's Theory of Things and the idea that saints can be learned by learning, which inspired him very much.
In order to practice Zhu Xi's "studying things to gain knowledge", Wang Shouren once determined to find out the principles of bamboo and "studied" bamboos for seven days and seven nights. He found nothing, but he fell ill because of it. From then on, he had great doubts about the "Gewu" theory.
Unable to find a way to study things, Wang Shouren turned to "the study of Ci and Zhang". During this period, his subjective idealist worldview began to take shape.
At the age of 21, Wang Shouren passed the provincial examination, so he read Zhu Xi's works. At the age of 28, he became a Jinshi and worked in the Ministry of Industry. Later, he served as the head of the Yunnan Qing Li Department of the Ministry of Punishment.
In 1506, Emperor Wuzong Zhu Houzhao succeeded to the throne, and the eunuch Liu Jin took power. Wang Shouren resisted and rescued Dai Mian and others, and called Liu Jin and others traitors. He was demoted to the post of Guizhou Longchang Yicheng by Liu Jinting.
During this period, Wang Shouren's thoughts underwent important changes. He broke through Zhu Xi's theory of studying things and exhausting principles to achieve knowledge. He believed that the so-called principles are human psychology, and established Longgang Academy in Guizhou.
After Liu Jin and other powerful officials were killed, Wang Shouren was promoted one after another. First, he was promoted to censor of Youqiandu, then governor of southern Jiangxi, then governor of Jiangxi, and then moved to Nanjing to be minister of the Ministry of War, with the title of "Xinjian Bo". Because of his high merit, he was tabooed, so he resigned and returned to his hometown to give lectures. He founded academies in Shaoxing and Yuyao to preach "King's Learning".
Wang Shouren began lecturing at the age of 34 until his death. Most of the time he was engaged in politics and lecturing at the same time. Wherever he went, lecturing activities continued, and he was enthusiastic about establishing academies, social studies, and schools. He played a certain role in promoting the rise of lecturing and the rise of academies in the mid-Ming Dynasty.
In the mid-Ming Dynasty, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was still the official philosophy, and Wang Shouren believed in Zhu Xi's philosophy in his youth. However, because he was demoted and had the opportunity to contact the lower class society, he had a deep understanding of the shortcomings of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.
At that time, the "Four Books" and "Five Classics" annotated by Zhu Xi and other Neo-Confucianists became the standard answers for the imperial examinations. Only by memorizing the "Collected Annotations of the Four Books" can scholars gain fame.
As for the moral cultivation practiced by the Neo-Confucianists, due to the cumbersome and outdated methods, they were gradually forgotten by people, thus forming a style of study that was morally bankrupt and corrupt by talking about rationality. This affected the decadence and corruption of social atmosphere, causing the rule of the Ming Dynasty to face a serious crisis.
This shortcoming made Wang Shouren abandon Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and move closer to Lu Jiuyuan's psychology, and greatly developed Lu Jiuyuan's psychology. Many of Wang Shouren's views are quite different from Zhu Xi's. Zhu Xi divided the book "The Great Learning" into Jingzhuan and supplemented it with Gewu Zhizhuan. Wang Shouren believed that there was no Jingzhuan to divide it into, let alone Jingzhuan to supplement it.
Zhu Xi attaches great importance to "investigating things to achieve knowledge" and puts it before "sincerity"; Wang Shouren believes that "investigating things to achieve knowledge" is based on sincerity and is based on sincerity. Zhu Xi analyzed the heart and reason into two, and separated knowledge and action; Wang Shouren advocated that the heart and reason are one, and knowledge and action are combined. Zhu Xi regarded the investigation of things as the basis of his theory, paying attention to the principles of each thing in the outside world, and requiring careful understanding of each word of the classics. Wang Shouren believed that Zhu Xi's method was to focus on the external while leaving the internal, broad and omitted, and he regarded the investigation of things as his righteous mind. , requiring the role of conscience to be brought into play and to use conscience as the standard for judging affairs and the basis for interpreting classics.
Wang Shouren inherited Lu Jiuyuan’s idea of ??“heart is reason”.
Like Lu Jiuyuan, he believes that "heart" is not the heart of flesh and blood, but refers to people's perceptual knowledge and the higher command that controls people's sight, hearing, words and actions.
The characteristic of Wang Shouren’s philosophy of mind is his “theory of conscience”. He believed that the human heart’s spiritual understanding is its conscience, and its conscience is the “natural principle”, so it is not possible to seek natural principles apart from its conscience. Everything in heaven and earth arises from conscience. Without conscience, there would be no universe, but conscience is inherent in the human heart.
He also said that conscience is the "abyss of heaven" and the source of the development and spread of all things in the world. Therefore, conscience is also called "Taixu". The development and popularity of all things in heaven and earth is in Taixu, which is the development and popularity of conscience, not outside conscience.
The issue of "knowledge and action" is an ancient issue in the history of Chinese philosophy and one of the important topics discussed in the Song and Ming Dynasties. The formulation of "the unity of knowledge and action" was pioneered by Wang Shouren, so his view of knowledge and action had a great influence in the history of Confucianism.
Wang Shouren disagreed with Zhu Xi's idea of ??"knowing before doing and then speaking". He believed that "knowledge" and "action" are two and one. His "unity of knowledge and action" is based on the theory that "the heart is reason", that is, the unity of psychology.
He believes that dividing knowledge and action into two things will have adverse consequences. When a person has a certain idea, although the idea is bad, because he has not put it into action, he will not stop it. Therefore, he should promote the "unity of knowledge and action."
Wang Shouren believes that in order to achieve the "unity of knowledge and action", we must first calm down and abandon our selfish thoughts. Just sitting there and thinking by yourself is not enough. If people always sit there and "think hard", they will have some problems after sitting for a long time, such as "liking quietness and hating activities", so people need to "discipline in things". , to achieve the "unity of knowledge and action", this is the completion of morality.
Wang Shouren once gave an example to illustrate his point of view of "unity of knowledge and action". However, if this person changes his mind at this time, is afraid of danger, or refuses to help because of a bad relationship with the child's parents, it means that he has "knowledge" but "inaction".
Wang Shouren's theory of "unity of knowledge and action" confuses the difference between "knowledge" and "action" and is still idealistic. However, compared with Zhu Xi's theory of "knowing first, doing later", it pays more attention to the role of "doing" in understanding. The emergence of this view of knowledge and action at that time was of positive significance, and it can be said that it promoted the development of the view of knowledge and action.
On the issue of learning, Wang Shouren, like Lu Jiuyuan, advocates "simplification" and opposes "fragmentation." It is so "simplistic" that even the "Six Classics" do not need to be read too much, but the focus should be on development. "Mind Learning" above.
Like Lu Jiuyuan, Wang Shouren promoted his theory as the study of mind. The system of psychology he constructed with "toward conscience" as its core content pushed Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming dynasties to the highest peak in terms of theoretical form.
Wang Shouren's psychological thoughts broke through the unified situation of "natural principles" and broke the distinction between human grades and grades. It had great practical significance and had a major influence. It once replaced Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. His status has influenced my country's ideological circles for hundreds of years.
Although Wang Shouren's Xinxue ideological system has some shortcomings, this does not affect its status in Confucianism, nor does it weaken its huge influence on later generations.