The Ming Dynasty, as a blooming wonder in the long history of Chinese civilization, has a deep reason behind its rise and fall and its success or failure. Although all kinds of internal and external troubles on the surface are the fuses for the destruction of the country, shouldn't we go back to the root and explore the more essential causes?
As an "outlier" in the ideological circles of the Ming Dynasty, Yangming Psychology advocated a unique and independent free mind, which was undoubtedly a pioneering and open work at that time. However, is the emergence of this advanced doctrine also the "culprit" that shook the foundation of the Ming Dynasty? Did a collision of ideological trends with both epochal and historical significance fundamentally determine the fall of the Ming Dynasty?
We might as well trace the turbulent process of the Ming and Qing dynasties. In that era of change, what kind of far-reaching impact did Yangming Psychology have on all levels and fields of society? Is there some inevitable causal connection between it and the Ming Dynasty? What do people think of this controversial history? Let's break them down one by one and get some new inspiration.
1. The gradual collapse of the traditional Confucian orthodoxy in the Ming Dynasty
Since the establishment of Enlightenment scholarship in the Han Dynasty, Confucianism has become the main vein of Chinese culture. After the development of the Han Dynasty, the Sui and Tang dynasties, by the time of the Song and Ming dynasties, Confucianism was unprecedentedly prosperous. Physicists have comprehensively and systematically elaborated and interpreted the classics of their predecessors, and the authoritative position of Confucian classics has reached its peak.
In the Ming Dynasty, the situation began to change. During the Hongwu period, Zhu Yuanzhang greatly promoted the literary prison to suppress dissidents and maintain the orthodox status. But since then, it has added a ray of vitality to the loosening of ideological enlightenment. During the Wanli period, the atmosphere of open-mindedness gradually strengthened, and various theories competed to emerge, and Yangming Xinxue flourished in this situation, and launched a fierce attack on Confucian orthodoxy with its unique ideas.
Wang Yangming, a native of Xin'an, Guangdong, is a practitioner of science and Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. He raised extraordinary objections to the ideas of his predecessors, Zhu Xi and others. Wang Yangming believes that there is an innate "ontology of the mind", that is, the so-called "conscience", and the so-called "poor reason" of Confucianism is not the root of cognition. He emphasized the "sincerity of things", that is, to understand the truth of the universe through individual experience and practice. This idea of "the study of the mind" undoubtedly violates the sacred status of the study of scriptures.
Although Wang Yangming was ostracized during his lifetime, he learned a great view later. His concepts such as "to conscience" and "no goodness and no disgusting body" were further carried forward by his disciple Luo Quanji and others. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Yangming doctrine spread throughout the Central Plains, which gradually eroded the authority of traditional ideas such as science. After more than 100 years, Yangming Xinxue has sown and taken root in various places, and the orthodox status of traditional Confucianism has been crumbling at the end of the Ming Dynasty. The clan magnates also have a lot of trust in him.
Some commentators have even pointed out that although Wang Yangming's theory is open and advanced, the Confucian foundation contained in it is contrary to Huang Lao's rightist thought. The personal practice, non-dogma, and self-consciousness advocated by Yang Ming Psychology have gradually penetrated into the intellectual class at that time. There is no doubt that this is an unprecedented ideological revolution.
2. The impact of Yangming Psychology on the political ecosystem of the Ming Dynasty
The sudden rise of Yangming Psychology in the ideological circles of the Ming Dynasty brought a far-reaching impact on the ruling order of the Ming Dynasty. As an important emerging academic trend at that time, its impact on the political ecosystem of the Ming Dynasty was all-round and profound.
First of all, it was the questioning of the sacrosanct status of the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty. Yang Ming Theory of Mind puts forward the epistemology of "sincerity and conscience", and believes that moral consciousness is not a dogma, but should originate from the individual's own experience. This concept fundamentally subverted the traditional authoritative discourse of the supremacy of the "monarch and teacher", and the imperial power began to be shaken in the field of thought as never before.
In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the group of Wang Yangmingmen grew rapidly, and the Yangming doctrine spread all over the scholar class. These intellectuals, including those of the Donglin Party, began to openly doubt a series of ethical norms formulated by the imperial court for those in power. During the Jiajing and Wanli periods, the idea of "preserving the principles of heaven and destroying people's desires" became the ideological weapon of the opponents of the Ming Dynasty, denying the rationality of those in power. Although it did not reach a complete repudiation of the dynasty, it did suffer a heavy blow to the legitimacy of the regime. This impact is bound to ripple through all levels of the political ecosystem.
As an important part of the society of the Ming Dynasty, the ideology of the intellectual class has undergone a sharp change under the impact of Yangming psychology. Because of the advocacy of independent personality and subjective consciousness, Yangming's learning has gradually become a trend followed by scholars and doctors. In the hands of Wang Shouren's generation, Yangming Psychology has been transformed from a simple academic debate into a fresh and avant-garde way of life.
The list of representative events is endless. For example, the Xiuning Confucian Association in Anhui Province advocated the theme of "no good and no evil", and created an extreme trend of personal emancipation that is unimaginable today. Another example is Zhan Ruoshui's "My Shouzai" proposition, which is a blasphemy of the laws and regulations of etiquette, and a blatant expression of disobedience to those in power. Even the so-called "Zhengshuo doubt" debate, which the Donglin Party relied on to mobilize, and its purpose of "deposing the monarch teacher" also stemmed from the independent idea of Yang Ming Xinxue that transcended discipline.
From the perspective of the Ming Court, this is undoubtedly terrifying. Some extreme ideas and deeds have run counter to the Confucian position. Once the ideological basis for maintaining the legitimacy of the rule, Confucianism has now become an ideological resource for challenging the royal power. Under the banner of "preserving heavenly principles and destroying people's desires", Yangming scholars bitterly criticized the secular morality of this era, and their voices about the legitimacy of the Ming Dynasty's rule became louder and louder. As a result, the ideological basis of imperial power existed in name only, and the political ecosystem of the Ming court began to be on the verge of collapse.
3. The double-edged sword role of Yangming Psychology in promoting the germination of capitalist culture
Although Yangming Xinxue had a great impact on the ruling order of the Ming Dynasty with its independent individualism, it also cleared the way for the budding development of capitalist culture in Middle-earth. This double-edged sword role is destined to play an important role in the process of Chinese history.
First of all, the views of "no good and no evil" and "to conscience" advocated by Yang Ming Xinxue provided a favorable soil for the bourgeois ideology that sprouted at that time. Wang Yangming's theories emphasize the independence and freedom of personality, oppose dogmatism, and advocate independent judgment in individual practice, which is essentially a subversive breakthrough in the ready-made framework of physical science.
This trend of thought coincided with the awakening of bourgeois consciousness during the Renaissance, and soon won wide popularity among the Ming Dynasty academy groups. Especially among the peasant class in the late Ming Dynasty, Yangming Xinxue was unprecedentedly popular, and its ideas were also given a new interpretation and practice. For example, some peasants put forward the radical view that "there are no owners and no people, only individuals", which directly repudiated the hierarchy of monarchs and ministers. It can be said that Yangming Xinxue became the precursor and germ of the bourgeois revolutionary ideology later.
Second, the tendency of Yangming Psychology to advocate individual freedom of mind has objectively removed obstacles to the development of modern science and technology and the process of modernization. Philosophically speaking, Yang Ming Xinxue abandons the dogma that governs individual practice and advocates free exploration of knowledge, which coincides with Western Enlightenment rationalism. Therefore, after Yangming Xinxue became popular among the people in the late Ming Dynasty, it actually became a hotbed of various emerging academic ideas.
The famous physicist Gu Xiancheng is an outstanding representative of Yangming Houxue. He inherited the study of Yang Ming, emphasized the judgment of the individual mind, and proposed that the "Poor Theory of Things" should include the observation and practice of material phenomena. This was undoubtedly groundbreaking at the time. He is even better known for the significant contributions of his students to modern science and technology: Chen Xianzhang made great achievements in agriculture and sericulture, Sun Shiyuan was the founder of artillery theory in the Qing Dynasty, and Xue Xizhen and Gu Dingzuo had innovative achievements in mathematics...... It can be said that Yangming Psychology has indirectly cleared the obstacles for the development of modern science and technology.
In addition, the individual liberal ideas of Yang Ming Xinxue also aroused strong repercussions among the people at the bottom, stimulating their sense of rebellion against the rulers and vested interests. Yang Ming advocated that "the mind is not fake" and denied the formalism of etiquette, which would inevitably impact a series of rules and rituals formulated by the rulers. By the time of the peasant uprising at the end of the Ming Dynasty, Yangming Xinxue had gained wide enough recognition among the people. Many leaders of the peasant uprising, such as Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng, drew more or less ideological nourishment from Yangming Xinxue and interpreted it as an ideological weapon to overthrow the old order.
Therefore, the liberal and individualistic factors contained in Yangming Psychology provide a favorable space for the awakening of Chinese bourgeois consciousness on the one hand, and at the same time promote the exploration and progress of modern science and technology. But on the other hand, it also aroused the revolt of the people at the bottom to a certain extent, adding a fuse to the eventual collapse of the Ming ruling order. This double-edged sword is the key to the important position of Yangming Psychology in Chinese history.
Fourth, on the eve of the death of the Ming Dynasty, the key role of Yang Ming Psychology in fueling the flames
In the late Ming Dynasty, Yangming Psychology gradually became popular in various places, and the independent personalism and denial of authority advocated by it brought about drastic changes at all levels of politics, economy, and society. At the critical moment of the death of the Ming Dynasty, Yang Ming Xinxue can be said to have contributed a lot, and it is undoubtedly the last fuse.
The first is the total collapse of popular morale. During the Wanli period of Mingshenzong, the confrontation between the government and the opposition became white-hot, and the Yangming doctrine became an ideological weapon against orthodoxy in the hands of the Donglin Party. How did the Donglin Party members criticize the etiquette law based on evidence, and they extremely advocated "deposing teachers and students", which was already a public declaration of the deposition of the authority of the monarch.
Under the influence of this trend of thought, the people in the world are in turmoil. Yangming scholars shouted "no king, no minister, only individual freedom", and directly appealed to the will of the individual over the state, which was unacceptable in the old days. However, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, due to the widespread spread of Yangming Xinxue, this proposition with an extreme individualistic tendency had been widely accepted. As a result, at the instigation of the Donglin Party, the cynical ideas of the people spread like wildfire, and people's dissatisfaction and hatred of the imperial court have caused an irreparable rift, and the people's hearts have gradually lost their sense of belonging to the Ming family.
Secondly, Yang Ming Xinxue also caused the Ming court's policy decisions to fall into complete mental disorder. Until the later years of Emperor Wanli, the government and the opposition were in the whirlpool of Yangming Doctrine and could not extricate themselves. For example, the Sichuan literati who came to meet him not only believed in the Yangming doctrine, but also raised it to the level of fanatical religious belief. They openly asked the emperor for advice on the principle of "preserving heavenly principles and destroying people's desires", and turned a deaf ear to the etiquette and law of the Ming court. It can be seen that even the literati before the emperor have lost their basic understanding of the lofty status of imperial power.
Under these circumstances, the Ming court's policy decisions undoubtedly fell into serious difficulties. On the one hand, the group of scholars and scholars who respected the study of Yangming had been distorted into a social force that was "thinking wildly", and there was a fundamental disagreement with the representatives of the imperial power. On the other hand, since Yangming Psychology has long taken root among the people, the loss of people's hearts has become irreversible. Eventually, the rulers of the Ming Dynasty began to have to get lost in endless infighting and lose the last rationality of their rule.
The liberal and individualistic trend advocated by Yang Ming Psychology was the last fuse before the death of the Ming Dynasty. Under its influence, the people's will was lost, and the decision-making of the regime was abnormal, and in this process, the Donglin Party group with active Yangming Houxue played a full role of instigating and fueling the troubles. The target of their attack and denial is not only the etiquette of the imperial court, but also the old concepts of the state and the monarchy. Such blatant words and deeds that openly challenge authority have undoubtedly broken through the bottom line of the ruling class. In the end, the fanatical trend triggered by Yang Ming Xinxue became the key force that finally promoted the death of the Ming Dynasty.
5. The influence and reflection of Yangming Psychology after the death of the Ming Dynasty
Even after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the influence of Yangming Mind was far from over. For a long time after the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, this trend of thought still reverberated at all levels of Chinese society, triggering extensive and profound thinking.
First, the individualistic concept of Yang Ming Xinxue has provided favorable nourishment for modern democratic thought. In the Qing Dynasty, the Yangming doctrine was further elaborated in the hands of some enlightened bureaucrats and scholars, and had a wide influence among intellectuals. For example, Yan Fu, Liang Qichao and other reform thinkers, whose views on democracy and individual consciousness can be traced back to the influence of Yangming Xinxue.
In particular, among the advocates of democratic and republican thought, the Yangming Theory has been raised to an unprecedented height. Dr. Sun Yat-sen's "Three People's Doctrine" not only absorbed the independent and free concept of Yang Ming's mind at the philosophical level, but also many specific ideas such as "reward and punish oneself" and "teach people to live with sovereignty in the people" are also implicitly in line with Yang Ming's individualist thought. Therefore, Yangming Xinxue has provided theoretical nourishment for the democratic trend of thought in modern China.
Second, the pragmatism of "learning from things" advocated by Yang Ming Psychology also provides a useful reference for China's modernization process. In the 20th century, the Chinese intellectual circles started an all-round ideological enlightenment movement, and the concept of "Gewu" put forward by Yang Ming has attracted renewed attention. People like Zhang Junmai, Zhang Taiyan and others have taken Yangming's "Gewu" as a lesson for China's modernization process.
This concept has also been inherited in the contemporary era and has been given a new interpretation of value. Mr. Fang Dongmei, a famous philosopher, put forward the proposition of "practice is understanding", which coincides with the spirit of Yangming's "Gewu". He believes that human beings can only truly understand the world on the basis of practice, and this point is highly consistent with the advocacy of Yang Ming Psychology. It is not difficult to see that the pragmatism contained in Yangming's theory of mind still has important enlightening significance for the modernization process.
Finally, the complete negation of the authority of ritual and religion by Yangming Xinxue also left a valuable legacy for the ideological emancipation movement in later generations. It can be seen from the radical concept of "no monarch and no people, only individual freedom" in the late Ming Dynasty that Yangming Xinxue fundamentally challenged the traditional divine authority of the monarch and the patriarchal hierarchy, and enabled people to obtain unprecedented spiritual freedom. This concept of ideological emancipation was later fully carried forward in the May Fourth New Culture Movement and became an indispensable source of power for the democratic revolution.
Overall, the impact of Yangming Xinxue on the ruling order of the Ming Dynasty was devastating, but it also sowed the seeds for various ideological movements in modern China, and became an indispensable ideological nourishment. It is precisely under the influence of its individualism, pragmatism, and ideological emancipation that China has been able to gradually embark on the road of modernization and democracy. Therefore, although it is difficult for history to fully judge the merits and demerits of Yangming Xinxue, its important position in the history of Chinese thought is unquestionable.