Primary material
Wang Wencheng Gong Quanshu, also known as Yangming Quanshu, roughly means “the complete works of Wang Yangming.”
It consists of 8 chapters of what he wrote and said, the first three chapters of this book, called “Chuanxilu” (or “Instructions for Practical Life”), went into depth about the most influential philosophical thoughts of Wang Yangming, such as the unity of knowing and acting (知行合一), his doctrine of innate knowledge (致良知), and his stand on the Great Learning.
Second-hand material
- Idealism, or Xīn Xué (心学, direct translation: the study of the heart)
Wang Yangming inherited Lu Jiuyuan’s idea that “mind is reason” (心即是理) and opposed Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi’s method of pursuing the “ultimate reason” by looking into external objects. Instead, he advocates “to the conscience”, which is to say looking for “reason” within oneself, that “reason” is all in one’s mind. Lu and Wang’s version of Idealism are often considered to be “Gé Xīn” (study mind, representing subjective idealism), while Cheng and Zhu’s view is called “Gé Wù” (study objects, representing objective idealism).
*心 or Xīn means mind and heart interchangeably here.
- Unity of Knowing and Acting
According to Wang Yangming, knowing the truth of things and practicing them are inseparable. “Knowing” refers to inner awareness, the knowledge of things, and “practicing” refers to the actual behavior of people. In other words, the external behavior of man is governed by internal consciousness, and only those who are good from the heart can actively perform good deeds, so to say that knowledge and action are united.
- To Conscience
Wang Yangming interprets the “Gé Wù Zhì Zhī” part of Great Learning as acquiring one’s innate knowledge through introspection. The word “knowledge”, or zhī, refers to moral consciousness. He argues that the process of acquiring knowledge consists of both knowing and acting, and in its essence, requires the unity of knowing and acting.
- Wang Yangming
This article mainly records Wang Yangming’s life journey in detail, but also touches on his philosophical views and his influence on the generations after him.
Works Cited
“Idealism.” Baidu Baike, https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%94%AF%E5%BF%83%E4%B8%BB%E4%B9%89/188072#5_9.
“Unity of Knowing and Acting.” Baidu Baike, https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%9F%A5%E8%A1%8C%E5%90%88%E4%B8%80/1496?fromModule=lemma_inlink.
“Wang Yangming.” Baidu Baike, https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%8E%8B%E5%AE%88%E4%BB%81/503207.
Wang, Yangming. Wang Wencheng Gong Quanshu. Wikisource, https://zh.m.wikisource.org/zh-hans/%E7%8E%8B%E6%96%87%E6%88%90%E5%85%AC%E5%85%A8%E6%9B%B8_(%E5%9B%9B%E9%83%A8%E5%8F%A2%E5%88%8A%E6%9C%AC)/%E7%9B%AE%E9%8C%B2. Accessed 11 Oct. 2022.
“Xin Xue.” Baidu Baike, https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%BF%83%E5%AD%A6/1136154?fromModule=lemma_inlink.
“Zhi Liang Zhi – To Conscience.” Baidu Baike, https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E8%87%B4%E8%89%AF%E7%9F%A5/2288667?fromModule=lemma_inlink.