If you understand Wang Yangming, you understand life

Mondo Culture Updated on 2024-02-18

There have been two saints in Chinese history: one is Confucius, and the other is Wang Yangming. Wang Yangming's life is a bright and bright life. Wang Yangming, also known as Wang Shouren, was a prominent philosopher, military strategist, and statesman during the Ming Dynasty in China. Born in 1472 and died in 1529, he was the epitome of the development of Confucian psychology, and his ideas had a profound impact on later generations.

Wang Yangming has shown extraordinary talent and ingenuity since he was a child. In his early years, he studied Confucian classics and poetry under the famous scholar Chen Xianzhang. However, he was not content to be a mere man of letters, but developed a keen interest in military affairs and politics. During his tenure as the head of the Criminal Department, he began to pay attention to social realities, gain an in-depth understanding of the people's conditions, and ask for the people's lives.

Wang Yangming's ideas are rooted in the Confucian tradition, but they are also innovative and developed. He believes that the heart is the origin of all things, and only through inner cultivation and improvement can we achieve the realm of unity between heaven and man. He emphasized the "unity of knowledge and action", believing that human behavior and thought are interdependent, and only by putting the knowledge learned into practice can its value be truly realized. This idea was accepted by many literati and artists in later generations and became an important part of traditional Chinese culture.

In terms of military affairs, Wang Yangming pioneered the Ming Dynasty's peaceful foreign policy of subduing people with virtue with the strategic idea of "psychological warfare first". He believes that war will not only bring losses of people and property, but also undermine social harmony and stability. Therefore, he advocated the settlement of disputes through diplomatic means and the peaceful realization of the unity and prosperity of the country. This idea had great practical significance and historical value at that time.

In addition to military and philosophical aspects, Wang Yangming also showed outstanding talents in politics. He once served as the director of the Criminal Department, the Langzhong of the Ministry of Officials, and the right deputy of the Imperial History, etc., and was an honest and diligent official for the people. He advocated "people-oriented", paid attention to people's livelihood issues, and proposed a series of reform measures aimed at improving people's living conditions and social welfare. These measures include reducing taxes, building water conservancy, developing agriculture, and raising the level of education. With his efforts, the social economy of the Ming Dynasty has developed rapidly, and the people's living standards have been significantly improved.

Wang Yangming's ideas and contributions not only had a profound impact at the time, but also had a huge impact on later generations. His idea of "Xinxue" became the spiritual pillar and belief of many literati and writers in later generations. His military ideas had an important impact on the foreign policy of the Ming Dynasty and created a precedent for peaceful diplomacy in Chinese history. His political ideas have produced tremendous inspiration and reference for later generations of politicians and reformers.

To sum up, Wang Yangming was an outstanding thinker, military strategist and statesman. His ideas and contributions not only had great practical significance and historical value at that time, but also had a profound impact on later generations. His life is full of legend and wisdom, and his spiritual qualities and ideological achievements will forever be engraved in Chinese history and culture.

In the book "Wang Yangming's Unity of Knowledge and Action", through the description of Wang Yangming's life, Wang Yangming's magnificent life is shown to us, and his ideological cognition of the unity of knowledge and action, and the content of mental science are elaborated to us, which is worthy of our careful reading, and we can also carefully study the "Biography", through Wang Yangming's quotations, to understand his thoughts. Publish a collection of dragon cards to share millions of cash

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