The most traumatic experience of Wang Yangming's life occurred in 1506, when he was imprisoned for about two months, with a staff of forty, in front of many high-ranking officials, and exiled to a remote area of Guizhou called Longchang. Although this kind of torture was not uncommon in the Ming Dynasty, this was the first time Yang Ming faced the terror of despotism, and it was also the most intense.
The reason for all this punishment was that Yang Ming gave the emperor a piece of music. In the song, he criticized the imprisonment of two officials, Dai Milling and Bo Yanhui. The two of them angered the eunuch by asking the emperor to expel the ruling eunuch Liu Jin. Yang Ming argued that if the emperor was merciful, then the courtier would say his thoughts without reservation; It is the job of the two officials to speak what they think is right. The emperor can evaluate whether they are right or not, accept if they are right, and tolerate if they are not. If the emperor locks up those who dare to speak, the country will not be able to hear advice in times of crisis.
Behind this seemingly insignificant action, however, is the abort of the Struggle of Confucian politicians against Liu Jin.
1506 was the first year of Zhengde, and the Wuzong Dynasty began. The fourteen-year-old emperor was particularly fond of fun and was easily influenced by eunuchs who were courteous. Liu Jin successfully defeated his opponents in the eunuch circle and became the most powerful figure in the palace. As a result, Liu Jin became an invisible hand behind many of the emperor's important decisions. Some Confucian courtiers could not bear it, and they put on many chapters, demanding that "the setting of Jin is equal to the law, and the elimination of extra redundant personnel." Unfortunately, these efforts have led to corporal punishment and imprisonment.
Dai Milling and Bo Yanhui's performance led to the arrest of a large number of officials. More than thirty senior officials were arrested in Nanjing. This clearly shows that it is very dangerous to directly attack Liu Jin.
However, Wang Yangming bravely rose to the challenge and went on a solo stage. On the surface, the recital was only a very gentle plea for the lives of the arrested officials, but Wang Yangming's main purpose was not only to secure the lives of the two courtiers, but to express his resentment at the basic tendencies of the political atmosphere at that time.
According to the record, Liu Jin was furious and said:
He went so far as to say that I was endangering the peace of the country.
Mr. Wang paid a high price for his protests: He was reprimanded with a cane, barred from contacting his friends and students in Beijing, and deprived of the opportunity to show his social concern by actively participating in government affairs.
First of all, why did Yang Ming take this challenging action? Obviously, Yang Ming was deeply sympathetic to this movement to drive Liu, but he himself knew that it was unlikely that he would play any important role in this movement. The fact that he was willing to stand up for them because he had no previous close ties with Dai and Bo Yanhui suggests that there were some motives beyond his emotional connection with the protest groups.
In terms of official rank, he was only a chief of the division, and he crossed the ranks in this way at great risk. Although he had previously presented his political views in a recital at the emperor's request, this could not be copied as a rule. Liu Jin's case is very unique, so Wang Yangming's reaction needs to be further explained. Explaining Ming China with good officials versus bad eunuchs is overly simplistic.
In the eyes of Wang Yangming and many scholars and officials, eunuchs had a negative impact on the emperor, corrupting and degenerating the emperor's private life, thus endangering the efficiency of the central government and the credibility of the imperial dynasty. Undermining administrative effectiveness would jeopardize the proper functioning of government, and loss of credibility could even destroy the ethical and religious structures of the empire as a whole.
Thus, war against Liu Jin was not only an attack on his personality itself, but also on a lasting and powerful tradition represented by attacking his personality, namely that the vile villain gained political power by winning the personal favor of the emperor. This practice undermined the foundations of the administrative process, disrupted the legitimate role of the imperial court, and seriously undermined the prestige of the supervisory officials.
Moreover, Liu Jin, as a powerful eunuch, represented a huge network of conspiracies and tricks in the imperial court, which must have very great adverse consequences for the conduct of high-ranking courtiers. A serious consequence of Liu Jin's dictatorship was the division of high-ranking officials into two extreme groups: some officials acquiesced to his authority, even if they did not obediently obey his orders; Other officials confronted him with difficulty, even in rhetoric and gestures.
Therefore, for Confucians, attacking Liu Jin became not only a political responsibility, but also a moral mission. Running away from this problem shows that he is not only lacking in courage, but also a betrayal of his personality.
A dignified Confucian official could not tolerate a soaring eunuch pointing fingers at the court affairs of Gang Ji Senran. Even Wang Yangming, who regarded himself as a saint, this sense of mission as a reader drove him to go to war with Liu Jin. In this context, Wang Yangming, as an idealist who has recently identified with Confucianism, will naturally be intolerable.
In addition to the overall political context, another, more nuanced issue should be mentioned—the role played by Yang Ming's father. According to Wang Hua's biography, he was proficient in classics and had a straightforward personality, earning him a reputation as a model scholar and official in the imperial court. His admirers included the former emperor himself, who honored him as an important vassal. However, Xinjun did not appreciate his qualities. Although the young emperor sent him to the Yangtze and Huai rivers to worship the gods shortly after he ascended the throne, Wang Hua felt that his golden years had passed. He requested to leave his post on the grounds that he was serving his elderly mother, but his request was not granted.
In 505, the emperor changed the yuan, and Liu Jin was vigorously seizing power behind the emperor, and Wang Hua's situation deteriorated sharply. Since most officials gave up direct resistance and sought personal safety through mediation, only a very small number dared to oppose Liu Jin. In this situation, even a passive resistance must have extraordinary courage, because Liu Jin is unscrupulously pursuing people's personal loyalty to him.
He used secret agents to quickly eliminate political enemies. Those who were intimidated by his means of revenge even swore allegiance to him personally. Many high-ranking scholars and officials, including the elder Li Dongyang, succumbed to his cruel demands, but Wang Hua refused to even visit him. Even after Liu Jin issued a fervent invitation to him, he still dismissed it. This unyielding attitude has brought him many troubles, and the price he has paid may be the end of his career.
Although some powerful Ming eunuchs did not realize the importance of legally holding power, Liu Jin was by no means a man without a hint of ink, and he knew that scholars and officials like Wang Hua played an important role in the guidance of public opinion.
Chronologically, Wang Hua's loss of official positions was after Wang Yangming's exile, and Wang Yangming's attack on Liu Jin did not seem to be a direct reaction to his father's dismissal, but perhaps Wang Hua's example inspired Yang Ming to take some kind of positive action.
In fact, Wang Yangming's decision to come forward may have surprised his father. His courage to confront Liu Jin was obviously not in line with his father's attitude of self-restraint. As a result, his bold moves have left senior officials in the same department and his father's colleagues a little confused, as they tend to adopt a strategy of tolerance and gradual improvement.
It is because of this that Wang Yangming is admired by his father's colleagues and friends, who see his actions as a feat of a young martyr rather than an unnecessary sacrifice. Objectively speaking, Yang Ming's efforts did not seem to bring much change to the political trends of the time, but for a few people, including his students, it was by no means a lonely cry in the wilderness. He made sacrifices to prove that he was not a Confucian scholar who was confined to empty talk.
It is precisely because of Liu Jin, with this tragic life experience, Wang Yangming's state of mind and mind have a later baptism, the wise man becomes a benevolent, the heart is the foundation, how to maintain the original intention in adversity, and fight against the evil forces and be alone, Wang Yangming's body has a lot worth learning.