Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 1165 Controversy over Confucianism (Part [-])
Why is "the practical study of the world" seriously opposed to Lu Wang's Xinxue, and even made Gao Wushi think that this contradiction is irreconcilable?
Because Lu Wang Xinxue actually came from practical learning, at least in its early days, it was also a part of the larger system of practical learning, the so-called "moral practical learning".

Some people may wonder, hasn't Lu Wang Xinxue started nihilism long ago?Why is it still a practical study?
Moreover, since it is also a branch of pragmatism, why does high pragmatism feel that the contradiction between the two is irreconcilable?

These problems really have a long history and cannot be summed up in one sentence.

In the history of Chinese academics, "Xin Xue" refers to the academic school in Song and Ming Neo Confucianism that advocates taking human nature as the origin of all things in the universe.

Mind theory originated from the "Simeng" series in Confucianism, which promotes the subjective and active spirit of human beings. As Mencius said: "Everything is prepared for me. If you turn your back and be honest, there is no joy in it. Forgive and do, and ask for benevolence." close."

All things exist because of people. As long as one can return to one's original heart and act according to the "forgiveness" that extends oneself and others, one is a "benevolent person" in morality.

Mencius also said: "Those who do their best will know their nature. Knowing their nature, they will know Heaven." By returning to one's original mind, one can understand human nature, and by gaining insight into human nature, one can obtain the principles of heaven.

Of course, it is important to point out here that the principles of heaven in Confucianism are mainly the ultimate basis for moral cultivation, rather than the objective laws that confront the subjective world of people in the perspective of Western philosophy.

The "Lu" of Lu Wang Xinxue is Lu Jiuyuan. He inherited Mencius's introverted academic thinking. Sincerity is the way of heaven. This is the practical learning of Mencius, which can be learned gradually.”

He believes that Mencius's way of seeking knowledge with all his heart, intelligence, and knowledge of heaven is entirely to highlight the "practical learning" of moral cultivation in Confucianism's "way of loyalty and forgiveness".

So he also imitated Mencius and said: "The universe is my heart, and my heart is the universe", "Everything is densely spaced between square inches", "Learn from Gou Zhiben, and the "Six Classics" are all footnotes by me." It is to oppose that the scholars at that time only knew how to study books and search for famous things, but they didn't know how to work hard on their own self-cultivation.

He also said: "The ancients ruled things with righteousness, ruled their hearts with rituals, and used characters to make them. Their words were so extraordinary, and there was no way to discuss them. Because the ancients were all practical, future generations will inevitably be tired of words."

Lu Jiuyuan's study of the mind was to oppose the bad style of study formed by the imperial examinations at that time, which regarded Confucian classics as a step to advance, and did not implement them in the practice of moral cultivation, which led to the corruption of social atmosphere.

At the same time, Lu Jiuyuan's theory of mind also has a tendency to oppose the xuanxuan style of Buddhism and Lao. In opposing the xuxuan tendency of Buddhism and Laos's secularism, Xinxue, Neo-Confucianism, and Qixue are completely consistent.

Lu Jiuyuan pointed out: "Benevolence is this heart, this principle, and you can get it if you ask for it, and you can get this principle... The ancients got it for themselves, so there is truth. Words are truth, words are facts, and virtue is real. Do it and do it.”

Comparing the principles of Confucianism with those of Buddhism and Laos, Confucianism does not pursue any other shore, but puts its main energy on the religious routine of this world.Regarding this, Lu Jiuyuan said: "My way of Confucianism is the common way of the world. How can there be a unique way? It is called the regular scriptures, and it is called the Yilun, which is shared by the world and used by the people every day."

"Bie You Miao Dao" refers to the way of Buddha and Lao. Although the way of Buddha and Lao has the function of "turning Yin Yi into king" in Chinese feudal society, it cannot become the dominant culture of the country after all.

Lu Jiuyuan said: "This principle (Confucian culture) is inherent in the universe, how can it be said to be non-existent? If you think it does not exist, then the ruler will not be the ruler, the minister will not be the subject, the father will not be the father, and the son will not be the son." starting position.

Lu Jiuyuan emphasized that people should not only understand the "truth", but also pay attention to "practice".He said: "The universe has its own truth, and it is more valuable for scholars to be able to understand this truth. If this truth is understood, it will have its own practice and practical learning."

The purpose of learning must be implemented in the practice of morality, otherwise it will be a "false learning" that deceives the world and steals the name. He has stated more than once that scholars should "understand the truth and do practical things" and "single-minded and practical learning, not empty words."

Therefore, Zhu Xi also once praised Lu Jiuyuan's academic spirit, saying: "The door of Zijing is impressive in practice."

It can be seen that Lu Jiuyuan's mind study was a typical "moral practical study". "Xuanxuan" tendency.It is also to correct the bad habit of scholars who only pay attention to the scriptures of Confucian sages and ignore personal moral cultivation.

Speaking of Lu, it is natural to talk about Wang.Wang Yangming was a thinker in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Like Zhang Zai, Er Cheng, Zhu Xi, Lu Jiuyuan and other thinkers who founded theories, they put forward their opinions to solve real social problems, and because they have certain practical effects, they can be passed down in history. .If it is subjectivism and divorced from reality, it has long been submerged by the tide of historical development.

However, thinkers in each era faced different historical issues, so the nature of the theories they opposed and advocated were also different.

The historical problem Wang Yangming faced was that Zhu Xi's Confucianism had been officially designated as official philosophy, the authoritative interpretation of Confucian classics, and the standard textbook for the national imperial examinations.

As we all know, under the feudal autocratic system in China, every scholar will face such a historical tragedy: if his theories are not officially accepted, it is impossible to spread them widely in the society and have practical influence; Once the theory is officially accepted, it immediately freezes, becomes rigid, and loses the vitality to face the ever-evolving realities of life and to constantly adjust, transform, and develop.

This is determined by the inherent contradiction between the relatively stable characteristics of political ideology and the ever-changing nature of academic thought, and the same is true of Zhu Xi's Neo Confucianism.

In his youth, Wang Yangming, like most of the students at that time, also believed in Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, and "read all the posthumous scriptures of Kaoting." Out of heaven, he turned to Lu Jiuyuan's psychology from then on.

He said: "To know the things in the world, there is no one who can be qualified. The merit of investigating things can only be done physically and mentally."

Wang Yangming inherited Mencius's "everything is prepared for me" and Lu Jiuyuan's mental tradition of "the universe is my heart, and my heart is the universe". It is the image of all things in the heart of Ge people.

So he also said: "The master of the body is the heart, the heart is the mind, the body of the mind is the knowledge, and the place of the mind is the thing. The wish lies in the relationship, that is, the relationship is a thing. The meaning lies in Serving the king, that is, serving the king is one thing. The meaning is that benevolent people love things, that is, benevolent people love things are one thing. The meaning is that seeing, hearing, speaking, and moving are one thing. So someone said that there is no reason beyond his mind , nothing extraneous."

From this, Wang Yangming came to the conclusion that "there is nothing outside the heart" and "there is no reason outside the heart".

Scholars at home and abroad have done a lot of research on the theoretical relationship between Wang Yangming and Zhu Xi, so I won’t go into details here.In short, Wang Yangming embarked on the road of opposing Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, in addition to academic reasons, there are more practical considerations, that is, after Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism became official philosophy and imperial examination textbooks, it has gradually embarked on a road of solidification and rigidity.

He criticized the social atmosphere at that time and said: "Study from the booklets, study the names and objects, and compare the appearance and deeds. The wider the knowledge, the more lustful people are, and the more talents are, the more obscure the natural law."

At that time, many scholars regarded Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism as a stepping stone for promotion and wealth, but ignored the significance of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism's moral cultivation, so it completely violated the original intention of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism to correct people's hearts and improve society, and instead led to serious "hypocrisy" in Neo-Confucianism. ".The fundamental purpose of Wang Yangming to carry forward the banner of "unity of knowledge and action" is to restore the Confucian tradition of "sage inside and king outside".

From the perspective of inner sage, his "my heart" and "conscience" are the "truth" of the operation of the universe.He said: "The sense of heaven and earth makes all things come into being, and the truth prevails."

He called the rules governing the operation of all things in the universe "truths", and the process of understanding "my heart" is the process of understanding these laws.He said: "If you leave the physical body and ask for my heart, what is my heart?"

Therefore, in Wang Yangming's system of mind, the principle of the mind is also the principle of all things, and the two can be completely equated.He also said: "Sincerity is the truth, it is just a conscience, and the magic of the truth is the god." Therefore, he believes that by cultivating the conscience in the heart, one can obtain the truth of the universe, and there is no other way to obtain it. The way of truth.

After obtaining the "truth", Wang Yangming advocated that it should be extended to the daily practice.He once fiercely opposed Fo Lao's cultivation path that departed from Qi Zhiping's line.

He said: "The Buddha is afraid that father and son will be tired, but he runs away from father and son; he is afraid that monarch and ministers will be tired, but he runs away from monarch and minister; he is afraid that couples are tired, but he runs away from couple. They are all for the sake of a monarch, father and son, and couple, so they have to escape. My Confucianism has a father and son, give him benevolence; have a ruler and minister, give him righteousness; have a married couple, give him farewell. How did you ever write about father and son, ruler and minister, and husband and wife?"

Buddhism regards the responsibilities and obligations of monarchs and ministers, fathers and sons, and couples in the real world as burdens in life, and to "do not appear" is actually to escape.And Xinxue adheres to the Confucian tradition of being practical and practical, emphasizing that all learning must serve the great cause of the patriarchal family and country.

He tried his best to draw the boundary between mind learning and Buddhism, saying: "That's why good knowledge is all truth, and extended knowledge is all real learning. It is not that you have fallen into emptiness, and that you have no interference with things, just like the Zen school." Moral cultivation based on meritorious service is not the "sacred learning" of Confucianism.

An official once said to Wang Yangming: "This study is very good, but it is difficult to write books and go to jail, so I can't study it."

Wang Yangming replied to him, "How can I teach you to leave the book and sue prison to give lectures? Since you have a lawsuit, you can learn from the lawsuit. It is nothing but practical learning. If learning is done without things, it will be empty."

Wang Yangming has always been opposed to discussing academics out of political, economic, and social affairs that are divorced from reality, and believes that true spiritual and practical learning must be applied to political practice such as "booking and litigation".

So he made another conclusion: "As long as I have no intention of utilitarianism, even if I have money, grain, soldiers, and firewood and water, why should I go instead of practical learning? What is not natural law?"

In his view, moral cultivation is only for people to get rid of their selfish desires and return to social morality, not for people to avoid social affairs.If you can only avoid greed and steal where there is no money, then what is the point of moral cultivation?
Therefore, the "reaching conscience" advocated by Wang Yangming must be in the "Qian Gu Bingjia".Therefore, his learning of the mind itself is not empty, "Why is it not practical learning?"

Not only the theory, Wang Yangming's literary and martial arts are outstanding in the world, which is probably beyond the reach of some "materialist" thinkers.Therefore, Wang Yangming is also an advocate and practitioner of "practical morality".It can even be said that compared with Lu Jiuyuan, his achievements in "work" are more prominent.

To sum up, there is no doubt that the study of the mind is also a school of practical study.

However, just as Neo-Confucianism was originally practical but gradually turned into falsehood, Lu Wang Xinxue’s transition from practical to falsehood also happened as usual, and the process of this change was even shorter than Neo-Confucianism—it started to go astray in the generation of Wang Yangming’s disciples.

For example, the most famous Taizhou School of Wang Xue (Note: I vaguely remember that a reader asked me to talk about Taizhou School a long time ago?) is a typical example of deviation.And the most powerful thing is that Wang Gen, the "first brother" of the Taizhou School, had already strayed when Wang Yangming himself was still alive, and he couldn't get back at all, almost driving Wang Yangming to death.

When the Duke was 38 years old, he went to Jiangxi to visit Wang Yangming's gate, and bowed down as a disciple.At first Wang Yangming thought he was arrogant, so he changed his name to "Gen" which means stillness.

But it was useless. Not only did Wang Gen often argue with his teacher Wang Yangming, he was "constantly dissatisfied with the teacher's theory", and insisted on his own point of view, so he created the "Huainan Gewu theory".

He advocated: "Even things are learning, and things are the way. People who are poor and starved will lose their roots and not learn." The starting point of ethics and morality—later evolved into an extremely selfish "mind of learning".

This person once ostentatiously passed through the market in a "swagger car" and was accused by Wang Yangming.In the second year of Jiajing, he went north to Beijing again, giving lectures along the way, which attracted the attention of all parties and caused a sensation.But Wang Yangming was furious when he heard the news, and tried to summon him back to "impose sanctions", but it was too late, and his academic thoughts had spread everywhere—Gao Yushi believed that it was poisonous everywhere.

In the fifth year of Jiajing, Wang Gen was hired by Wang Yaohu, the magistrate of Taizhou, to give lectures at Anding Academy, and to publicize the view that "people's daily use is the way".

Most of Wang Gen's disciples were ordinary people, "Going to the mountains and forests to seek seclusion, passing through the market to enlighten the ignorant, gathering lectures along the way, and arriving at the capital", but there are also many famous scholars such as Xu Yue, Yan Jun, Wang Dong, Wang Jiao, Luo Rufang, He Xinyin et al. There are 487 people from descendants to fifth biography. It is generally believed that Luo Rufang is the master.

However, this school of mind has been completely out of touch with the social reality. For example, the famous "heretical thinker" Li Zhi is his descendant for several generations.

Many of Li Zhi's views are not bad, such as equality between men and women, which are progressive.But just as Gao Wu has no longer considered discussing "equality of personality" with his servants after traveling for more than ten years, no matter how advanced his thoughts must be in line with social reality, Li Zhi and many of the views of the Taizhou School should not have been discussed in the Ming Dynasty. This kind of era spread in the middle and late period - being too advanced is a sin, not to mention that in addition to some "advanced thinking", they also have many real "heretics".

For example, "loose liberalism" and "anarchism", both of which are widely circulated ideas in the Taizhou School, seem to be "advanced" enough to start discussing the so-called universal value of "freedom" in later generations .

But high pragmatism has never recognized these two ideas.

Not much to say about anarchism, it shouldn't have appeared in the soil of Chinese culture at all—if such a large country became "anarchic", it would be a humanitarian disaster.

To give the simplest two examples: a major natural disaster is coming, without a strong government, who will come to the rescue?Foreign enemies are approaching the city, without a strong government (army), who will come to the rescue?
And undisciplined liberalism-well, Midi has infected almost 200 million people!

It is conceivable that there is no trace of "practical learning" in today's Xinxue?It's already so vain that it's boundless, and it's so vain that they can't get their hands on the power of the country!
This is the reason why Gao Yushi thinks that Jingshixiology and Lu Wangxinxue have to fight!
To put it in a deeper way, it is to "carry on the sage's unique learning" and adhere to the most rooted "pragmatism" of Confucianism; to put it in a shallower way, it is to preserve the Ming Dynasty, which is at least a relatively advanced Han Dynasty, during the critical period of the junction of cold and hot weapons!
This is not only a dispute over the orthodoxy of real learning, it can even be said to be a dispute over the orthodoxy of Confucianism as a whole!
So why not fight?How dare you not fight!
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PS: In fact, this chapter does not clearly explain the current situation of psychology in this period in the book, but due to space limitations, I had to stop writing to avoid being scolded.Because I won’t talk about this specifically in the future, I feel a little regretful.

(End of this chapter)