A Study on the governing thought of Yang-ming Studies
-focusing on the politico-culture historical implication of the formation and differentiation of Yang-ming Studies-
This study examines the principles of governing and various ways of governing p ...
A Study on the governing thought of Yang-ming Studies
-focusing on the politico-culture historical implication of the formation and differentiation of Yang-ming Studies-
This study examines the principles of governing and various ways of governing proposed by Yang-ming Studies in connection with its main theories. The purpose of this study is to clarify the characteristics of Yang-ming Studies’s governing thought and explore the politico-culture historical implication of the formation and differentiation of Yang-ming Studies, and to clarify the implications and significance of Yang-ming Studies’s governing thought on the political and social culture of East Asia.
<First Year Research: A Study on the governing thought of Wang shou-ren - focused on New awakening of ‘governing method’ and its theorization->
This thesis is to define what Wang shou-ren’s innovation in terms of governing is, and states how it was put into theory.
Wang yang-ming had a will to not only becoming a sage in his earlier life but also to govern the whole world. For the scholar-officials who has the ideal of leading the world under the autocracy, the most important thing was to get the mind of monarch and implement the rule of right. And this method can be realized only by assuming a political culture in which the communication between the monarch and the servants can be done properly. However, Ming dynasty had a political culture that is hard for the scholar-official to realize the ideal of the rule of right politics due to the strengthening of imperial and weakening of divine. Such political culture became the direct reason of looking into other lines other than the ‘get the mind of monarch and implement the rule of right’ for Wang yang-ming.
‘Enlightenment in long chang(龍場)’ of Wang yang-ming brought an innovational change for not only the method of becoming a sage but also the method of ruling the world. The road for ‘loving the people and implement the rule of right’ and ‘enlighten the people and implement the rule of right’ has been introduced. The actual content that Wang yang-ming enlightens from long chang is ‘benevolence’. Actualizing such mind to the people is ‘loving the people and implement the rule of right’. Also, the method of ‘enlighten the people and implement the rule of right’ that actualize morality by enlightening the innate knowledge of normal people was found by Wang yang-ming. After then in Yang ming studies, the three method of ‘loving the people’·‘enlighten the people ’·‘get the mind of monarch’ has become popular.
All the theoretical and actual activities of Wang yang-ming that was presented after enlightenment in long chang risen from the consciousness of anxiety and the spirit of succor the world. The major theory of Wang yang-ming such as ‘the mind is principle’ ‘the unity of knowledge and action’ ‘the Heaven, Earth and all things are one body’ ‘the extension of innate knowledge’ and ‘training and polishing in the actual affairs of life‘ has become the theoretical grounding of the governing thought. The theory of ‘the mind is principle’ is the theoretic grounding of the rule of right, and the theory of ‘the unity of knowledge and action’ goes for the realization of the politics of the rule of right under the criticism of the non-unity of knowledge and action phenomenon of the normal level people, and the theory of ‘the Heaven, Earth and all things are one body’ became of the theoretical grounding of the politics of loving the people, and the theory of ‘the extension of innate knowledge’ is the unified acting method of self-cultivation and governing people, and the theory of ‘training and polishing in the actual affairs of life’ has become the grounding of political acts that concentrate on the actual affairs of governing people.
The greatest change that the Wang yang-ming made in the governing thought was to make the place where he is now, whether he is a bureaucrat or not, as a place to realize the rule of right politics. Yang-ming's governing principle is exercised in various aspects such as politics, economy, society, education, courtesy, and military.
<Second Year Research: A Study on the governing thought of the Jiang you(江右) school’s Bureaucratic Intellectual scholars.-focused on Zou shou yi(鄒守益)·Ou yang-de(歐陽德)·Luo hong xian(羅洪先)->
This article examines the governing thought of the Jiang you(江右) school’s Bureaucratic Intellectual scholars. Zou shou yi(鄒守益) emphasizes the effort to be cautious and apprehensive. This appears as an emphasis on the rule of Li(禮), taking "respect work" as a code in the governing thought. He succeeds the tradition of Yang-ming Studies linking 'Li(禮)' to 'the innate knowledge', while emphasizing the practical significance of Li(禮) through concrete social practice and political practice. Furthermore, by regulating military affairs through the rule of Li(禮), he tried to correct the relationship between monarch and servants, and to revive the courtesy culture of local community by awakening the commoners. This contrasts with the development of the Tai Zhou school's 'enlighten the people and implement the rule of right' in the direction of an individual's free personality.
Ou yang-de(歐陽德) emphasizes the effort of 'training and polishing in the actual affairs of life'. This appears to be a political act that realizes the innate knowledge in concrete civil affairs. He understands politics and scholars in a unified way. He thinks that the scholarship that realizes the innate knowledge in the civil affairs is the politics of loving the people. He intends to make the monarch right through the Classics Mat (Gyong-Yon, 經筵). Following the route of 'enlighten the people and implement the rule of right(覺民行道)', he practices lectures and public policy. He made intellectuals the primary subject of lectures. This contrasts with the fact that the Tai zhou(泰州) school made the common people an object of awakening.
Luo hong xian(羅洪先) emphasizes the effort of regarding tranquillity as fundamental. He realizes the heart without greed in his own body and realizes to the people that he ultimately wants to save the world. He is frustrated with his political activities along the lines of "get the mind of monarch and implement the rule of right(得君行道)", and he is also critical of the route of the 'enlighten the people and implement the rule of right(覺民行道)', which makes the people directly subject to awakening. He pursues his will to save the world in accordance with the loving the people and implement the rule of right(親民行道).
<Third Year Research: A Study on the governing thought of the Tai zhou(泰州) school.-focused on Wang gen(王艮)·Luo ru fang(羅汝芳)->
This article examines the governing thought of the Tai zhou(泰州) school. Wang gen(王艮) was aware of the fact that ‘the Heaven, Earth and all things are one body’. And he became a master of the world, tried to save the people. He suggests a new rule of conduct based on the theory of 'stabilize the body'. He claims that when he becomes a bureaucrat, he must become a teacher of the emperor, and when he is a civilian he must become a teacher of people. At that time, it was difficult to become an emperor's master in the political situation of the Ming Dynasty. So he explores the way of becoming a teacher of the world. He finds his way through the Confucius who revealed himself to the world by 'self-discipline' and 'lecture.' And through the form of public lectures, he teaches people in the lower classes to practice the innate knowledge in everyday life.
Luo ru fang(羅汝芳) presents the governing thought of 'establishing the body and implement the rule of right(立身行道)'. ‘To establish the body’ is to establish the great foundation for humanity, and to implement the rule of right is to follow the universal way. He finds a concrete method of 'establishing the body and implement the rule of right' in filial piety and brotherly respect. And he teaches that man is inherently given 'the mind of infant' to know 'filial piety and brotherly respect' and practice it. This teaching led people to 'filial piety and brotherly respect' without difficulty.