- Question: What is Luo Qinchun’s view of the universe?
- Question: How does Luo Qinchun oppose the Neo-Confucian doctrine of removing human desires to preserve heavenly principles?
- Question: How does Luo Qinchun oppose Wang Shouren’s theory of innate knowledge?
- Question: How does Luo Qinchun’s epistemology ultimately return to idealism? Why does this happen?
- Question: What is Wang Tingxiang’s view of the universe?
- Question: What characteristics does Wang Tingxiang show in his evaluation of historical figures? What does this reflect about his thoughts?
- Question: What flaws in his materialist philosophy are reflected in Wang Tingxiang’s theory of qi types?
- Question: What is Wang Tingxiang’s epistemology? Why does he ultimately admit a disguised theory of innate talent?
- Question: What are Luo Qinchun and Wang Tingxiang’s attitudes towards the Three Bonds and Five Constants? Why?
Luo Qingshun believed that all things are composed of material-like qi, which changes and moves by itself. Everything is an ongoing movement and transformation of qi; nothing else exists outside of this. Regarding the relationship between principle (li) and qi, he thought that principle is the law governing the movement of things, connected to the things themselves. Different things have different principles, and the transformation of one thing into another also follows certain principles, each with its own particularity. Concerning the so-called “ten thousand things” embodying the Three Bonds and Five Constants in Neo-Confucianism, he considered this to be very absurd, as it forcibly applies human ideas onto other things.
Luo Qingshun, influenced by humanist ideas from the bourgeois class, believed that human desires are natural and justified, just like joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, which are human nature. Therefore, regarding the phrase “preserve the heavenly principles, eliminate human desires,” he thought that because it forbids human desires, it is unfeasible.
Luo Qinxun refuted Wang Shouren’s theory of innate knowledge from the perspective of materialist epistemology. He believed that if innate knowledge is regarded as “heavenly principle,” then physical entities such as mountains, rivers, earth, grass, trees, metals, and stones, since they lack “innate knowledge,” would become things without their own laws, completely artificially created by humans. After exposing the idealist essence of Wang Shouren’s “innate knowledge” theory, Luo also explained “perceptual knowledge,” advocating that understanding things is necessary to acquire knowledge. However, he was deeply influenced by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and believed that the human heart itself possesses the “principle of all things,” which still falls into idealism.
Although Ruo Qinshun opposed the conscience theory of the Lu-Wang school in epistemology and advocated valuing “knowledge through seeing and hearing,” due to his deep influence from Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, he accepted the idealist view in Neo-Confucianism that “principles encompass the heavens and possess all minds,” and thus believed that the principles of heaven, earth, and all things also exist in the human mind. Therefore, he accepted the so-called idea that the human heart inherently contains the principles of heaven, earth, and all things, and that the only reason for not being able to fully understand them is due to personal bias. One only needs to investigate things to understand them: by studying physical objects, one can dispel ignorance. After dispelling ignorance through investigating things, one no longer needs to investigate each thing individually—that is, to recognize— but only needs to wholeheartedly understand the nature and develop the original heart. Thus, he fell back into the idealism of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism in epistemology, promoting the logic of pursuing the principles of all things within the heart.
Wang Tingxiang advocated that things exist with different properties due to their different “qi types,” but at the same time believed that certain things have a fixed “qi type,” and therefore their properties are also permanent and unchanging, ultimately falling into metaphysics and idealist fatalism.
Wang Tingxiang held a dialectical thought, believing that “li” (principle) is not eternal and unchanging, but develops and changes along with the things themselves. In terms of nature, he said, “Mountains, rivers, seas, and lakes may collapse and dry up; plants, insects, and animals may flourish or wither, be born or die,” “then does it mean that the Dao is one and unchanging?” In terms of social history, he pointed out through the changes from abdication to rebellion, from the well-field system to counties and districts, that the past things are not suitable for the present, and the principles cannot be forever unchanging; they must be adapted to the times. “How can a single principle respond to all affairs? Because there are as many principles as there are affairs.”
Although they opposed the idealism of Cheng Zhu Lu Wang in their view of nature, they did not oppose the core of Neo-Confucianism—the Three Bonds and Five Constants—and even sought to uphold them. They believed that only emphasizing benevolence and righteousness without cultivating military preparedness was insufficient, but using the Three Bonds and Five Constants to deceive the working people was still useful. Because at that time, class contradictions were quite sharp, and these figures leaning towards Legalism also had to adopt Confucian moral principles to maintain the rule of the landlord class, so they dared not criticize Confucius and Mencius, and instead wanted people to learn “the Way of the Sage.”
Wang Tingxiang’s evaluation of historical figures shows that he has a critical attitude towards conservative Confucians and a肯定 attitude towards Legalists who implemented革新 and reform. For example, regarding Qin Shi Huang, he评价“儒恶秦郡县，私也”, and when Confucians批评 Qin Shi Huang for implementing郡县制 as私, he驳斥说：“势也，非秦也，虽一人之私也，天下之民利之，则天下之公也。” These attitudes反映 his观点 on historical evolution, believing that治理国家的方针策略 should change according to current circumstances, “法久必弊，弊必变，变所以救弊也。” However, as a landlord阶级, he still认为人物中有比一般人更高明的圣人。
- @19586 What is Zhang Juzheng’s view of the universe?
- @乱云 What is Zhang Juzheng’s concept of time and space?
- @暨和 What is Zhang Juzheng’s attitude towards Dong Zhongshu’s theory of the correspondence between Heaven and humans and the superstitions of burial feng shui?
- @红术 Why was Zhang Juzheng unable to persist in opposing superstition until the end? What is his contradictory attitude towards superstition?
- @鞍文燎 What is Zhang Juzheng’s attitude towards peasant revolutions?
- @三水 What is the significance of Zhang Juzheng’s “Single Whip Law” reform?
- @afterBurner What achievements did Zhang Juzheng have in military reforms?
Because Zhang Juzheng was part of the landlord class, which had both exploited and oppressed the people and maintained feudal autocracy, he promoted feudal superstitions to deceive the working people. If he had completely opposed feudal superstitions, it would have gone against his class interests.
His contradictory attitude towards superstitions was that, on one hand, as a member of the small landlord class within Legalism, he opposed the Mandate of Heaven, ghosts and gods, believing that immortals, the unity of heaven and man, Feng Shui, etc., were all nonsense, holding an atheistic view; on the other hand, as a member of the landlord class, to maintain feudal autocracy and deceive the laboring people, he also propagated superstitions. Zhang Juzheng himself admitted that talking about the Mandate of Heaven and gods was not because he truly believed, but to “teach” and deceive the laboring people to maintain imperial rule. (“Generally, the divine way is set to teach, to induce the foolish, secretly support the emperor, which the sages do not discard.” “The wise only understand their true intention, and do not cling to their sayings, then they can be called enlightened.”)
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- Zhang Juzheng’s Military Reforms:
Economic guarantees for military expenses:
- Investigate redundant soldiers, rectify corruption to save military funds
- Implement the “Single Whip Law” adopting monetary land rent, switch to paying military salaries in silver, ensuring a stable source of military pay
Politically strengthen the central government:
- Under the Single Whip Law, military salaries are paid by the central government, limiting local military power
- Dispatch civil officials as “military supervisors” to restrict generals and prevent separatism
- Advocate rotation of generals and division of troops to balance power
Militarily consolidate border defense.
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Zhang Juzheng’s “One-Whip Law” responded to the historical development of the time, adjusting the exploitation system. 1. Changed taxes to silver collection and adopted silver as a substitute for corvée, promoting and stimulating the development of monetary rent, which was beneficial for the commodification of agricultural crops and the growth of capitalist production relations. 2. Shifted from household and adult male conscription to only adult male conscription, transforming corvée into hired labor, increasing exploitation for the state, but allowing some laboring people to relatively escape feudal state labor obligations (poor farmers, self-sufficient artisans, and merchants, all of whom were exempted from corvée due to lack of land, while large landowners gradually shifted to industrial and commercial investments). It relaxed personal control, aligning with the historical trend of weakening personal dependence, stimulated the development of a commodity monetary economy, and provided more labor sources for urban handicrafts.
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Zhang Juzheng believed that the universe’s space and time are both infinite. “Tai Xu Wu Qiong” (the void is endless), the cosmic space is boundless; “Tian Dao” (the Way of Heaven) “originally has no beginning,” “no end,” and time has no starting point or endpoint. The yin and yang energies that make up the material world “circle endlessly, pushing without end,” and their movement continues forever, without beginning or end.
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Although Zhang Juzheng adhered to Legalist principles in philosophy and followed the Legalist route compared to large landowners like the Rujia (Confucian) gentry, he was still a member of the landlord class. As part of the exploiting class, from the perspective of a Legalist landlord, upon seeing the crisis of Ming Dynasty rule, he aimed to prevent chaos and save the Ming Dynasty from imminent collapse before large-scale peasant uprisings occurred, effectively prolonging its life. Therefore, he also held a hostile attitude towards peasant revolutions. Zhang Juzheng was very direct in suppressing peasant uprisings and even had a dedicated theory for crushing them, which was valued by the landlord class. When he saw peasants rising across Jiangnan and the feudal rule facing crisis, he feared large-scale uprisings like those at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Thus, he resolutely suppressed peasant revolts. For example, at that time, “the masses rose up, entered cities, and looted granaries,” and Juzheng “executed thieves immediately” and “pursued their families,” demonstrating his firm stance against the people. Furthermore, his attitude towards ghosts and gods also reveals his opposition to peasant revolutions. Even though he understood that there are no ghosts or gods in the world, he still said, “Generally, the divine way is set to teach, used to induce the foolish, secretly aiding the emperor, and saints do not abolish it.” This was to use the set of ghosts and gods to deceive the peasant masses and maintain feudal rule.
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He opposed the idea that Heaven is the highest ruler with a will, and opposed the belief that the world was created by gods. He thought that Heaven is a constantly moving gas, which is material, and that human and natural forces can be distinguished. He believed that changes in natural phenomena cannot interfere with human affairs. Regarding burial Feng Shui superstition, he considered it baseless nonsense, believing that burial is simply burying the dead in the soil without placing the corpse on the ground for people to see, and that there is no other meaning. This is an idea to break the secular superstition and atheism.
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- What is Zhang Juzheng’s view of the universe?
Answer: Zhang Juzheng believed that the space and time of the universe are infinite, the world was not created by a god, and the movement and change of the yin and yang energies are without beginning or end.
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- Ask @三水: What is Wang Gen’s proposition of “the daily use of the common people is the Way”? Where did this proposition originate from? Why did he propose this idea?
- Ask @cedar: What are the specific contents of Wang Gen’s study of securing one’s livelihood? What philosophy did it later develop into? Which class’s demands does this reflect?
- Ask @ame: Wang Gen’s theory of loving oneself and others reflects the viewpoint of which class? What practical role does it actually play?
- Ask @渐晓霜: What is Li Zhi’s background? Why was he able to insist on following the law and opposing Confucianism?
- Ask @luanma: What are the characteristics of Li Zhi’s respect for law and opposition to Confucianism?
- Ask @暨和: What is Li Zhi’s view of the universe?
- Ask @十月的风: What does “wearing clothes and eating meals is human ethics and natural principles” mean?
“The common people’s daily use is the Way” is derived from Wang Yangming, but he developed his own interpretation. It is Wang Gen’s materialist assertion. He believed that the “Way” is the daily activities of ordinary people. Knowledge and truth that can solve production and livelihood issues are considered true knowledge; those that cannot are not. He did not regard the feudal society’s Three Bonds and Five Constants as knowledge, but believed that the Sage’s Way should be based on the daily life of the common people. The reason he was able to propose this idea is because he came from a lowly background and was a lifelong commoner, close to workers of all classes, able to reflect the wishes and interests of the broad masses of farmers and small producers.
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Wang Gen’s doctrine of self-preservation advocates mutual respect and love among people, achieving neither self-sacrifice for others nor harming others, balancing the interests of oneself and others. He believed that to ensure one’s own safety, one must also ensure others’ safety, respect others, oppose the ruling class’s exploitation of the people, and defend the interests of small producers, reflecting utopian egalitarian ideals. This thought later developed into the philosophy of mutual aid. Wang Gen’s doctrine of self-preservation reflects the demands of the broad peasantry and small producers.
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