Chapter 124 The dispute between orthodoxy (Part 2)
Why is it that the "practical science of managing the world" is in serious opposition to the Lu Wang Xinxue, so much so that Gao Pragmatic even thinks that this contradiction is irreconcilable?
Because Luwang Xinxue actually had its origins in practical studies, at least in its early days, it was also part of the larger system of practical studies, the so-called "moral practical studies."
Some people may wonder that Lu Wang Xin Xue has already started to be nihilistic, right? How come it is still a practical study?
Moreover, since it is also a branch of pragmatism, why does Gao Pragmatism feel that the contradiction between the two is irreconcilable?
These issues really have a long history and cannot be summed up clearly in one sentence.
In the history of Chinese academics, "Xinxue" refers to the academic school of Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming dynasties that advocated taking human nature as the origin of all things in the universe.
The study of mind originated from the promotion of people's subjective initiative spirit in the "Thinking of Mencius" within Confucianism. As Mencius said: "Everything is prepared for me. Reflexively and sincerely, there is no greater happiness. Act with force and forgiveness, and seek mercy."
So close."
All things exist because of people. As long as you can return to your original heart and act in accordance with the "way of forgiveness" that respects yourself and others, you are a morally "benevolent person".
Mencius also said: "He who knows his nature knows his nature. If he knows his nature, he knows the nature." By returning to the original mind, we can understand human nature, and by gaining insight into human nature, we can also obtain the principles of nature.
Of course, it is important to note here that the principles of heaven mentioned in Confucianism are mainly the ultimate basis for moral cultivation, rather than the objective laws that confront the subjective world of humans from the perspective of Western philosophy.
The "Lu" in Lu Wang's Xinxue is Lu Jiuyuan. He inherited Mencius's introverted scholarly thinking. He pointed out: "It is the way of being sincere, and by transforming from great transformation, one becomes a saint. When one enters into the unknowable God, this is
Sincerity is the way of heaven. This is the practical learning of Mencius, which can be achieved gradually and through training."
He believes that Mencius's pursuit of knowledge with all his heart, intelligence, and understanding of heaven is entirely to highlight the moral cultivation "practical learning" of Confucianism's "loyalty and forgiveness."
Therefore, he also imitated Mencius and said: "The universe is my heart, and my heart is the universe." "All things are as dense as a square inch."
It was to oppose the fact that scholars at that time only knew how to study in books and research on famous things, but did not know how to work hard on their own cultivation.
He also said: "The ancients used righteousness to control things, etiquette to control the mind, and also used words. Their words were very expressive, and there was no discussion at all. The ancients were all practical learners, and future generations would be burdened with rhetoric."
Lu Jiuyuan's Xinxue was to oppose the bad academic style that was formed due to the imperial examination at that time, which regarded Confucian classics as a step to advance in life, but did not implement moral cultivation at all, thus leading to the corruption of social atmosphere.
At the same time, Lu Jiuyuan's philosophy of mind also had a tendency to oppose the imaginary and mystical style of Buddhism and Lao Lao. In opposing the imaginary and mystical tendency of Buddha and Lao's transcendentalism, psychology, Neo-Confucianism, and Qi science were completely consistent.
Lu Jiuyuan pointed out: "Benevolence is this heart and this principle. If you seek it, you will get it, and you will get this principle... The ancients got it by themselves, so there is truth. The words of reason are real principles, the words of things are real things, and virtue is the real virtue.
Practice it if you do it.”
Compared with the principles of Buddhism and the Elders, Confucianism does not pursue the other side, but focuses its main energy on the principles of this world. In this regard, Lu Jiuyuan said: "My Confucian way is the common way of the world.
Is there another wonderful way? It is called Changdian, it is called Yilun, it is common to all the people in the world, and it is used by the people every day."
"There is a wonderful way" refers to the way of the Buddha and the Elders. Although the way of the Buddha and the Elders also played the role of "turning the Yin into the King" in Chinese feudal society, it cannot become the country's dominant culture.
Lu Jiuyuan said: "This principle (Confucian culture) is inherent in the universe, how can it be said that it is non-existent? If you think it is non-existent, then the king will not be a king, the minister will not be a minister, the father will not be a father, and the son will not be a son." This is from the perspective of safeguarding the feudal principles of Changmingjiao.
starting from the standpoint.
Lu Jiuyuan emphasized that people should not only understand "real principles", but also pay attention to "implementation". He said: "There are real principles in the universe, and scholars are most valuable because they can understand this principle. If you understand this principle, you will have it."
Practice and learn from reality.”
The purpose of learning must be implemented in moral practice, otherwise it will be "virtual learning" that deceives the world and steals reputation. He has stated more than once that scholars should "understand real principles and do practical things" and "concentrate on practical learning and not empty words."
Therefore, Zhu Xi once praised Lu Jiuyuan's academic spirit and said: "Zijing's sect is impressive in every action."
It can be seen that the philosophy of mind during Lu Jiuyuan's period was a typical "moral practical science". Its starting point was to correct the tendency of the scholar-bureaucrats to pay too much attention to the other side of the world and ignore practical ethics due to the great development of Buddhism and Taoism since the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
The "Xu Xuan" tendency is also to correct the bad habit of scholars who only pay attention to the classics of Confucian sages and ignore personal moral cultivation.
When talking about Lu, naturally we have to talk about Wang. Wang Yangming was a thinker in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Like Zhang Zai, Er Cheng, Zhu Xi, Lu Jiuyuan and other thinkers who founded the doctrine, they all put forward their own opinions in order to solve real social problems, and because of their
Only with certain practical results can it be spread in history. If it is subjectivism and a theory that is divorced from reality, it has long been submerged by the tide of historical development.
However, thinkers of each era faced different historical issues, so the nature of the doctrines they opposed and advocated were also different.
The historical problem Wang Yangming faced was that Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism had been officially designated as official philosophy, the authoritative interpretation of Confucian classics, and the standard textbook for the national imperial examination.
As we all know, under China's feudal autocratic system, every scholar will face such a historical tragedy: if his theory is not officially accepted, it will not be widely spread in society and thus have practical impact; and his theory
Once a doctrine is officially accepted, it immediately solidifies, becomes rigid, and loses its vitality to face the evolving reality of life and to constantly adjust, transform, and develop.
This is determined by the inherent contradiction between the relatively stable nature of political ideology and the ever-changing nature of academic thought. The same is true for Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism.
In his youth, Wang Yangming, like most students of that period, believed deeply in Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and "searched for and read the posthumous writings of Kaoting." However, following Zhu Xi's idea of "studying things to gain knowledge", Wang Yangming did not understand "bamboo".
Seeing the laws of heaven, he turned to Lu Jiuyuan's philosophy of mind.
He said: "To know the things in the world, there is no way to measure them. The ability to measure things can only be done in the body and mind."
Wang Yangming inherited the psychological tradition of Mencius' "All things are prepared for me" and Lu Jiuyuan's "The universe is my heart, and my heart is the universe". He connected human's subjective consciousness with all things, and believed that the investigation of things is not an external objective thing.
It is the image of all things in people’s hearts.
Therefore, he said: "The master of the body is the heart, what arises from the heart is the intention, the essence of the intention is knowledge, and the place of the intention is the object. If you wish, it means that you have relatives, that is, the relatives are one thing. Intention lies in
Serving the king, that is, serving the king is one thing. It means that the people love things, that is, the people love things, which is one thing. It means seeing, hearing, speaking, and moving, that is, seeing, hearing, speaking, and moving are one thing. So there is no unintentional reason.
, nothing extraneous."
From this, Wang Yangming came to the conclusion that "there is nothing outside the heart" and "there is no reason outside the heart".
Regarding the academic relationship between Wang Yangming and Zhu Xi, there have been many studies by scholars at home and abroad in later generations, so I will not go into details here. In short, Wang Yangming took the path of opposing Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, not only for academic reasons, but also for practical considerations.
It is because Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism became the official philosophy that the imperial examination textbooks increasingly became solidified and rigid.
He criticized the social atmosphere at that time and said: "Study from books, examine names and objects, and compare shapes. The wider the knowledge, the more lustful people will be, the more talents will be, the more obscure the laws of nature will be."
At that time, many scholars regarded Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism as a stepping stone to promotion and wealth, but ignored the significance of moral cultivation in Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. Therefore, it completely violated the original intention of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism to correct people's hearts and improve society, and instead led to serious "hypocrisy" in Neo-Confucianism.
”. The fundamental purpose of Wang Yangming’s promotion of the philosophy of “unity of knowledge and action” is to restore the Confucian tradition of “inner sage and outer king” in managing the world.
From the perspective of the inner sage, his "my heart" and "conscience" are the "real principles" for the operation of heaven and earth. He said: "The heaven and earth move and all things are transformed, and the real principles prevail."
He called the rules for the operation of all things in the universe "real principles", and the process of understanding "my heart" is the process of understanding these laws. He said: "If I leave physical things and seek my heart, what is my heart?"
"
Therefore, in Wang Yangming's system of psychology, the principles of the heart are also the principles of all things, and the two can be completely equated. He also said: "Honesty is the principle of truth, it is just a conscience, the wonderful use of truth, popularity is God."
Therefore, he believed that by cultivating the conscience in one's heart, one can obtain the truth of all things in the universe. Apart from this, there is no other way to obtain the truth.
After obtaining the "real principle", Wang Yangming advocated that it should be applied in daily practice. He once fiercely opposed the Buddha's cultivation path that was divorced from the line of cultivating Qi Zhiping.
He said: "The Buddha was afraid that the father and son were tired, but he ran away from the father and son; he was afraid that the king and his ministers were tired, but he ran away from the king and his ministers; he was afraid that the couple was tired, but he ran away from the couple. They are all for the sake of a king and a minister, a father and a son, and the couple has to escape when they are in love. For example
As a Confucian, I have a father and a son, so I should show him benevolence; I have a monarch and his ministers, and I should show him righteousness; I have a husband and wife, and I should show him farewell. How has there ever been a relationship between father and son, monarch and minister, or husband and wife?"
Buddhism regards the responsibilities and obligations of kings and ministers, father and son, and husband and wife in the real world as burdens of life. To "not be attached to the relationship" is actually to escape. However, Xinxue adheres to the Confucian tradition of managing the world and applying it, emphasizing that all knowledge must be
Serve the great cause of the patriarchal family and country.
He tried hard to draw a clear line between the study of mind and Buddhism, saying: "Therefore, conscience is all real principles, and knowledge is all real learning. It is not to fall into emptiness and have no interference with things, just like the Zen school." Anyone who preaches to be deviated from ethics will
Moral cultivation based on meritorious service is not the "sacred learning" of Confucianism.
An official once said to Wang Yangming: "This study is very good, but it is difficult to write documents and go to jail, so it is not possible to study."
Wang Yangming answered him: "Why should I teach you to leave the prison of books and lawsuits to give lectures? Since you are involved in lawsuits, you should learn from them. This is the real thing... When you are free from the prison of books and lawsuits,
It is nothing more than practical learning. If you learn things apart from things, it will be in vain."
Wang Yangming has always opposed academic discussions on politics, economics, and social affairs that are divorced from reality, and believes that true mental and practical learning must be able to be applied to political practices such as "book filing and litigation".
So he made another conclusion: "Even if I have no utilitarian intention, even if I have money, grain, soldiers, and armor, I can carry firewood and water, why should I go instead of practical learning? What can I do instead of natural principles?"
In his view, moral cultivation only requires people to get rid of selfish desires in their hearts and return to social morality. It does not require people to avoid social affairs. If you can only avoid greed and stealing where there is no money, then what is the meaning of moral cultivation?
?
Therefore, the "cultivation of conscience" advocated by Wang Yangming must be in the "Qiangu Bingjia". Therefore, his philosophy of mind itself is not empty. "Where can we go instead of practical learning?"
Not only is this the case with his theory, but Wang Yangming himself is world-renowned for his literary, political and martial arts skills, which are probably beyond the reach of some "materialist" thinkers. Therefore, Wang Yangming is also an advocate and practitioner of "moral practical learning". It can even be said that compared with Lu Jiuyuan,
, his achievements in "merit" are even more outstanding.
To sum up, there is no doubt that mind science is also a school of practical learning.
However, just as Neo-Confucianism was originally a practical science, but gradually became illusory, Lu Wang's Xinxue also changed from practical learning to illusory. Even the process of change was shorter than that of Neo-Confucianism - it began to go astray during the lifetime of Wang Yangming's disciples.
For example, the Taizhou School, the most famous of the Wang School (Note: I vaguely remember that a reader asked me to talk about the Taizhou School a long time ago?) is a typical example of deviation. And the most powerful thing is that the "first brother" of the Taizhou School, Wang
Gen, it had already gone astray when Wang Yangming himself was still alive, and he couldn't pull it back at all, which almost made Wang Yangming angry to death.
When he was thirty-eight years old, he went to Jiangxi to visit Wang Yangming's family and bow down as his disciple. At first, Wang Yangming felt that he had an arrogant personality, so he changed his name to the word "Gen" which means stillness.
But it was of no use. Not only did Wang Gen often argue with his teacher Wang Yangming, he was "always dissatisfied with his teacher's theory" and insisted on his own point of view, so he created his own "Huainan Gewu Theory".
He advocated: "Even if things are learning, then things are Tao. If people are trapped in poverty and freeze their bodies, they have also lost their original nature, which is not learning." Emphasizing the foundation of the world and the country, taking "settling oneself and establishing one's roots" as the
The starting point of ethics and morality-later evolved into an extremely selfish "poor mentality".
This man once rode a "swagger car" through the city and was criticized by Wang Yangming. In the second year of Jiajing, he went north to Beijing again and gave lectures along the way. He received attention from all parties and became a sensation. However, Wang Yangming was furious when he heard the news and tried to summon him back to "painfully punish him".
"Sanctions", but it is a pity that it is beyond the reach of the whip, and his academic thoughts have been spread to all directions - Gao Pragmatic believes that it is simply poisonous.
In the fifth year of Jiajing's reign, Wang Gen accepted the appointment of Wang Yaohu, the prefect of Taizhou, and gave lectures at Anding Academy, promoting the idea that "the common people's daily needs are the Tao". Scholars came in droves, which prepared the conditions for the establishment of the Taizhou School.
Most of Wang Gen's disciples were ordinary people. They "went into the mountains and forests to seek seclusion, passed through the streets to enlighten the ignorant, and gathered together to give lectures along the way until they arrived in the capital." However, there were also famous scholars such as Xu Yue, Yan Jun, Wang Dong, Wang Yu, Luo Rufang, and He Xinyin.
There are a total of 487 people from the Disciples to the Five Legends, and Luo Rufang is generally considered to be the master of it all.
However, this school of psychology has been completely divorced from social reality until now. For example, the famous "heretical thinker" Li Zhi is his disciple for several generations.
Many of Li Zhi's views are not bad, such as equality between men and women, and are progressive. But just as Gao Jingzhi no longer considered discussing "personal equality" with his servants after traveling more than ten years ago, no matter how advanced his ideas are,
It must also conform to social reality. Many of the views of Li Zhi and the Taizhou School should not be circulated in an era like the middle and late Ming Dynasty - it is a sin to be too advanced, not to mention that in addition to some of their "advanced ideas", they also have many real ideas.
"heresy".
For example, "discursive liberalism" and "anarchism" are both widely circulated ideas among the Taizhou School. They seem to be "advanced" enough to start discussing the so-called universal value of "freedom" in later generations.
.
But Gao Pragmatism has never recognized these two ideas.
Not much to say about anarchism, this thing should not appear in the soil of Chinese culture at all - if such a large country has "anarchy", it will be a humanitarian disaster.
Let’s take the simplest two examples: when a major natural disaster strikes and there is no strong government, who will come to the rescue? When foreign enemies approach the city and there is no strong government (military), who will come to the rescue?
As for undisciplined liberalism—well, nearly two million Americans have been infected!
It is conceivable that there is no trace of "practical learning" in today's Xinxue? It has long been so false that it is boundless, so false that they must not be allowed to get involved in the power of the country!
This is the reason why Gao Pragmatic believes that the practical science of economic management and the Lu Wang’s spiritual science have to fight!
To put it more deeply, it is to "carry on the unique learning of the past saints" and adhere to the "pragmatism" at the root of Confucianism; to put it more superficially, it is to preserve the Ming Dynasty, which is at least a relatively advanced Han Dynasty, during this critical period when hot and cold weapons meet!
This is not only a dispute over the orthodoxy of practical learning, it can even be said to be a dispute over the orthodoxy of Confucianism as a whole!
So, why not fight? Why dare not fight!
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Thanks to the book friend "Single Rider Zhao Bixin" for the reward and support, thank you!
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PS: In fact, this chapter does not clearly explain the current state of psychology during this period in the book, but due to space limitations, I had to stop writing to avoid being scolded. Because I will not specifically talk about this again in the future, I feel a bit regretful.
