ABSTRACT
Given the volume of scholarship on Wang Yangming (1472–1529), students of Chinese history are likely familiar with the basic outlines of his life and central tenets of his Neo-Confucian philosophy. They may know, for instance, that in 1506, for criticizing the Zhengde emperor’s eunuch favorite, Liu Jin, Wang Yangming was beaten, imprisoned, and then dispatched to a lowly post in distant Guizhou Province; and, furthermore, that while living there he experienced a kind of enlightenment, formulated his theories of the identity of mind and moral principle (xin ji li) and “the unity of knowledge and action (zhi xing he yi),” and then began to teach these tenets to students and colleagues in nearby academies. In addition, they may be familiar with his principal doctrine late in life, “extending the innate knowledge of the good (zhi liangzhi),” which was put forward in 1520 after he had suppressed a rebellion led by a Ming prince. In sum, the Ming philosopher, statesman, and military commander is known for confronting extraordinary challenges throughout his life, becoming frustrated with emperors and the immorality among governing elites, and choosing to stand up to it all by reformulating the theoretical and practical basis for moral self-cultivation and fostering an intellectual movement.
