Born in 1472 to a wealthy family in Zhejiang Province, Wang Yangming was a special kid from the beginning. His mother didn’t give birth until fourteen months into her pregnancy. Before he was born, his grandmother dreamed of a goddess in the clouds with a baby in her arms, descending from the sky. For this, his grandfather named him “Yun,” meaning cloud, and his residence was named “RuiYun Building,” meaning auspicious cloud.
At age 5, Wang Yangming still didn’t learn how to speak, which troubled his family. An eminent monk who passed through his home enlightened his grandfather to rename him “Shouren,” meaning keep benevolence, and then he was able to speak.
Aside from being born into a rich family, Wang Yangming’s father scored the highest on the Imperial Examination in 1481 and was promoted to the head of the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing later. This enables the young Wang Yangming to have a superior learning environment. Despite being fortunate enough to have a high social status, 13-year-old Wang Yangming suffered a great deal when his mother passed away.
Officially enrolled in a private school at age 12, Wang Yangming showed early signs of talent. He argued that taking the Imperial Exam isn’t the most important thing, instead, he wished to study and be a wise person. At that time, the Ming government was corrupt, and there were rebellions everywhere. Once, the emperor was imprisoned by the Mongols. This event urged the young Wang Yangming to master the art of war and serve his country.
When he was 17, Wang Yangming married a girl whose last name was Zhu. But on their wedding day, he was nowhere to be found. As it turns out, Wang Yangming met a Taoist priest in meditation, who taught him about how to preserve his body when he asked for advice. He sat there quietly with the Taoist priest, forgetting to return until his father-in-law found him the next day.
Wang Yangming learned about Zhu Xi’s idea of “Gé Wù Zhì Zhī” at the age of 18, which roughly translates to obtaining knowledge by studying natural phenomena. Since Zhu Xi once said that “there’s reason to be found even in grass and trees,” Wang Yangming put this theory into practice by asking a friend named Qian to go with him and stare at a bamboo, trying to find knowledge. 3 days later, Qian decided to quit. Wang Yangming lasted for 7 days straight, after which he suffered from a serious illness. Later, he summarized his failure and believed what went wrong is the object of his study. This experience allowed him to put forth his own theory against Zhu Xi’s, in which he posits “to gain conscience” from looking inside oneself instead of gaining knowledge through external objects.
Most of Wang Yangming’s adult life was indeed dedicated to serving his country, just like he had wished when he was younger. Although he didn’t become a champion in many Imperial Exams, he said that “others are ashamed of not being the champion, but I am ashamed of being upset for not being the champion.” Finally, he aced the Imperial Exam in 1499 and entered the government.
Wang Yangming was transferred and promoted to multiple places until, in 1506, he spoke against a eunuch who was in power and was demoted to Longchang, a city in the southwest that was a rather uncivilized area. During his time there, he had an epiphany that led to his principle of innate knowing: “To become a saint, everyone only needs to look for it in the inner self, it is wrong to seek reason from external things.” This is commonly regarded as the very start of Xin Xue (the school of mind), or the Idealistic branch of Neo-Confucianism.
In his later life, Wang Yangming became more of a politician and a really talented general at quelling rebellions. He even put an end to a rebellion led by a powerful prince in merely a month. He tried to retire in 1521, but the emperor said that he should be awarded for his achievement in quelling the rebellion, and refused. The emperor then gave him the hereditary title of “Xinjian Bo,” which roughly means newly made Count.
Wang Yangming’s father died in 1522, after which he was finally allowed to return home and mourn for his father. He became a teacher himself and founded a private school after his own name, spreading his school of mind, or “Yangming Xin Xue.” He died in 1529, and his last words are “This heart is bright, what more need I say!”
Work Cited
“Wang Yangming.” Baidu Baike, https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%8E%8B%E5%AE%88%E4%BB%81/503207.