Learning “Saint Theory”

Abstract

At the age of 22, Wang Yang-ming failed in the Imperial Examination in the national capital for the degree of Jinshi .

2.1 A Maverick

At the age of 22, Wang Yang-ming failed in the Imperial Examination in the national capital for the degree of Jinshi . The Imperial Examination was the essential path for the educated at that time to their dreams and career ambitions, so failure should be a real blow to everyman who would have considered their efforts for years as null. But Wang Yang-ming, for whom the failure was not a big deal, stayed confident. Man proposes and God disposes. Wang once mentioned that “people view a flop in the civil examination inglorious while I believe that indignity is the depression from the failure.”

However, it is hard to believe that the flunk exerted no impact on Wang Yang-ming. In his time, “job opportunities” were far from various and abundant. Getting a degree in the Imperial Examination and starting a career in government was the most decent, respected, and convenient means to achieve one’s ambition and aspiration. Therefore, disappointment after the examination drove him back to his hometown. It has already been mentioned in the previous chapter that Wang Yang-ming’s family had moved from Yuyao to Shaoxing , but Yuyao was his birthplace, and what’s more, his friends, relatives, and father-in-law were all in Yuyao, so he went back and forth between the two places.

Generally, people might not discredit the setback in the civil examination if Wang Yang-ming had devoted himself to the preparation of the next exam after returning. To their surprise, he didn’t throw himself into study materials or model essays but to nature instead.

Longquan Mountain in Yuyao has been a famous scenic area to date. There used to be a Longquan Temple in the mountain where Wang Yang-ming invited friends to compose verses and enjoy the landscape when he was in Yuyao. Magnificent scenery in Jiangnan ¹ soothed his mind , broadened his horizons, and invigorated his poetry, which made him a renowned poet then.

After a period of idyllic life, Wang Yang-ming realized that his pursuit was not to be a poet but a sage . Indulgence in landscape and poetry was departure from his original intention. Reflection on his past life bolstered his will to “study to become a sage,” so he left the poetry club and friends in Yuyao and went back to Beijing .

In Beijing , Wang Yang-ming was still full of contradiction and anguish. On the one hand, he held that his first priority was to be a sage, not a government official. Since his adolescence, his explorations, trials, and practices on the pathway to becoming a sage had twisted and turned and had brought him pain and confusion. On the other hand, another civil examination in the capital 3 years later was pressing. He had to again prepare for the examination with conflicts between the ideal and reality. Although detailed historic records on his second exam at the age of 25 are hard to find, it is certain that he failed. Besides obstacles placed in his way by officials who were jealous of his talent, lack of full preparation might also be an important reason for his second failure.

Consecutive flops in the Imperial Examination might destroy ordinary people or scare them off. But Wang Yang-ming was maverick because he didn’t quit (he knew that the exam was the threshold for his aspiration), though neither did he concentrate on preparation. He looked more like a chairwarmer. It was not until the age of 28 when he participated in the examination for the third time that Wang Yang-ming was entitled Jinshi . In about a decade from the age of 24–5 years after the third exam, he was never deterred from the road to becoming a sage and “redid” all the trials he had taken before he was 22.

The first trial was the study of military strategies. The second flop in the civil examination didn’t lead Wang Yang-ming to self-pity or concentration on exam preparation. Instead, he found himself addicted to the art of war . He collected extant works on warcraft and read them with annotations. He became so obsessed that every time he had visitors, he would talk about military strategies. According to the local customs, hosts would entertain their guests with snacks like peanuts and seeds. Wang Yang-ming used the snacks to present his tactics on embattling and explained them with excitement like nobody was watching. After getting the degree of Jinshi , he wasn’t designated an official but was sent to the Ministry of Works for internship. During that period, he was assigned to supervise the building of the tomb of Wang Yue , a member of the nobility. Wang Yue was born in Xun , a county of the Henan Province . He was a general and was promoted to the Shangshu ² of Bing Bu .³ His tomb was built by the central government because of his high status as “the Earl of Weining .” For others, supervision of tomb building was not a big job at all, but Wang Yang-ming treated it with seriousness and innovation. He organized tomb builders into basic military units and trained them according to military practices. Laborers were required to follow special working hours and work in collaboration. Spare time was used for military exercise and practice in embattling. Interestingly, a military means of management was rewarded by high work efficiency. The tomb was completed on time with good quality. Wang Yang-ming refused remuneration from Wang Yue’s family and finally kept the sword of Wang Yue as a memorial. It’s said that he had had a dream before the assignment in which Wang Yue gave him a bow and arrow as a gift.

The second trial was the re-study of the classics of Zhu Xi , especially theories and practices on “Gewu Zhizhi .” Wang Yang-ming once believed that the problems about “ge zhuzi”⁴ when he was 16 might lie in the lack of “proper sequence” suggested by Zhu Xi . Therefore, he strictly followed the “sequence” this time, but it appeared to have little effect. What was worse, he suffered from a severe relapse due to excessive mental efforts. He had to abandon Zhu Xi’s Gewu Theory for a second time and sighed, “a sage’s words and deeds may not be applicable to all,” which again, indicated his doubts on Zhu Xi’s theories.

Seeking a therapy for his relapse turned him to Taoism , his third trial. After his internship in Gong Bu ,⁵ Wang Yang-ming was sent to the Huai’an ⁶ region for a legal case review as an official in Xing Bu .⁷ He was quite industrious and finished his mission ahead of schedule. Then he visited Jiuhua Mountain , one of the best-known scenic spots in China and also a holy place for Buddhism and Taoism. He possibly got some “inherited teachings” from the masters of Taoism during his visit. From his verses and articles, we can find that Wang Yang-ming at that time had the idea of becoming a hermit. The strenuous task plus a relapse worsened his cough to hemoptysis. In his second year in-service (1502 when Wang Yang-ming was 31), he had to ask the central government for sick leave. Back in Shaoxing , he found himself a cave in Kuaiji Mountain and named it “Yang-ming Dongtian” where he practiced breathing exercises of Taoism. Undoubtedly, the purpose of his practice was for health recovery, but as time went on, it was said that Wang Yang-ming was able to “forecast” based on his self-cultivation and meditation. It is said that one day when Wang Yang-ming was sitting in the cave, he suddenly asked his servant to welcome visitors outside and told him the number of people, their names, and location. The servant was surprised to see four people just as his master described halfway to the mountain. There are quite a number of similar stories of Wang Yang-ming being enlightened by Taoism . We needn’t be too serious on whether they are authentic, but one thing for sure is that people who knew Wang Yang-ming well thought highly of his self-cultivation. Later when he began to give lectures on his theories, a student wanted to consult him on Taoism but was turned down. Wang Yang-ming considered his cultivation “not truly Taoism, but dallying with the spirit.”

As for his fourth trial, Wang Yang-ming also showed his strong interest in Buddhism alongside Taoism , especially the thoughts and methodology of Zen . It was said that in the second year (1503, when Wang Yang-ming was 32) since he had gained the capability of “precognition,” he stayed in Hangzhou for some time to recuperate, and frequented temples like Hupao Temple and Jingci Temple .⁸ Once he learnt that a Zen monk had shut himself into practice austerity for 3 years without speaking or opening his eyes. Wang Yang-ming was quite curious and went to visit the monk. At his first glance, Wang Yang-ming called out to the monk “Monk, what are you blah blah talking about all day? What do you keep your eyes open watching all day?” It should be noted that the monk had already been in retreat with his eyes closed and mouth shut for 3 years. However, Wang Yang-ming asked what he talked about and watched all day, where lay Zen (the Buddhist allegorical word or gesture). At this the monk was so astonished that he opened his eyes and conversed with Wang. Wang asked him whether he had family and the monk said that his mother was still alive. “Do you miss her?” asked Wang Yang-ming . “How can I not do so?” replied the monk. Wang Yang-ming was impressed and talked with him on Confucianism. It was human nature to long for the family. The elimination of love for the family was devoid of humanity. The monk wept after listening to his words and packed for home the next day.

The words to the monk were the true feelings of Wang Yang-ming himself. When he cultivated himself in the cave, he had achieved a profound state of Taoism and had the idea of being a Taoist priest. Nevertheless, images of his grandmother and his father appeared in his mind now and then (his mother died when he was 13 and his grandfather, Wang Lun , passed away when he was 19). It was love and care for his family that prevented him from acting on his intention of leaving home. His shouting at the monk actually revealed his profound understanding of Zen Buddhism . His conversation with the monk in Hupao Temple was a verification of whether his own feelings were common in the real world.

From the abovementioned trials and stories, we can determine at least two traits of Wang Yang-ming’s character. Firstly, he was a man with persistence and determination. He vowed to become a sage at the age of 12 and held onto that into his 30 s despite various setbacks and hardships. All his trials, such as the practices on riding and fencing, the study on battling and military strategies, and cultivation on Taoism and Buddhism , were conducted for his ultimate goal of being a sage. His persistence and determination guided and enriched his life and led him to a grand spiritual world. His aspiration was further fortified after he persuaded the monk to go back home. Secondly, he had a strong will of practice. Setting the goal at the age of 12, he thought that a sage should at least be capable of defending the country and protecting the people. He was then valiant in “repelling the barbarians in the north on horseback” outside Juyong Three Passes alone. When studying Zhu Xi’s thoughts of “Gewu Zhizhi ,” he followed through in the “bamboo investigation .” He began to cultivate the rules of Taoism after listening to a regimen from Taoist priests. He was not satisfied with his writing at first. By diligent practice in Nanchang , he established himself in Chinese calligraphy . His poetry was significantly improved in the club during his stay in Yuyao , and he was abreast of leaders in poetry in his time. He used seeds and laborers in practicing battling when he studied military strategies. All of these exemplified his ability of practice. Wang Yang-ming valued the transfer of theories to action and was also good at turning action into knowledge, which laid foundation for his thoughts of “The Oneness of Knowing and Doing .”

After 32 years of twists and turns, Wang Yang-ming eventually found his path to sagehood, which made Confucianism the central philosophy of benevolence and righteousness. Being a sage was about the realm of morality, and the life of a sage was about rules of ethics. The high realm of morality was “oneness of all in the world,” and the noble life was “performing great deeds and assisting the commonage.” From 1503 when he was 32, Wang Yang-ming ended wondering on Buddhism and Taoism , and set his thoughts on Confucianism. He respected Confucianism as the “philosophy of sage ” and became a hardened follower and practitioner. He emphasized the significance of building aspiration and considered it the root of knowledge and life. Only through the guidance of aspiration could life be meaningful and colorful. He formally accepted disciples after 34 and gave lectures on the “philosophy of sage ” and “sagehood,” which attracted many aspiring youngsters. In the same year, he met a man named Zhan Ruoshui and they became close friends. Zhan was from Zengcheng , Canton Province and was obsessed with the “philosophy of sage” too. They exchanged thoughts and ideas, and appreciated each other. The friendship with Zhan anchored Wang Yang-ming’s belief in sagehood.

Hardships and setbacks Wang Yang-ming had endured since 12 paved his way to sagehood. After 34, he met a bosom friend and started to receive disciples and give lessons on his thoughts. Continuing to do so seemed a safe and smooth way to be a respected thinker or philosopher.

However, the year 1505 was doomed to be unusual for the 34-year-old Wang Yang-ming and for the Ming dynasty . In that year, the death of Emperor Zhu You-tang (at the age of 36) provided his eldest son Zhu Hou-zhao with access to the throne.

Why was that unusual? Because Zhu Hou-zhao was different from other newly enthroned emperors. Firstly, he was only 15 when he became the Emperor. Secondly, he was appointed the chief Prince since childhood and was served and pampered by eunuchs and maids in the Imperial Court , where he could literally play at will. This made him playful and wayward, a typical “troublemaker.” Thirdly, being 15 meant that he had grown out of innocent childhood and wanted to have his own voice, but it also meant that he was still ignorant about government politics and state affairs. For this reason, his old man, Emperor Zhu You-tang, appointed eight experienced and prudent assisting ministers before death with the hope that his son could properly handle state affairs in cooperation with the ministers. In Zhu Hou-zhao’s eyes, the assisting ministers were too serious to play with, so he turned a deaf ear to their ideas and suggestions. The throne was merely a playground for him.

Besides his special status and life experience, the personality of Zhu Hou-zhao had a great dependence on another person whose name was Liu Jin . Liu was a eunuch and his real surname was not Liu but Tan. He was from a humble family in Xing-ping of Shanxi Province and went to the capital for a living where he met a eunuch surnamed Liu. He peered enviously at the affluence and sycophants around the eunuch and begged the eunuch to bring him into the Imperial Court . He was refused as he was not a castrato. Liu Jin then removed his own genitalia by himself to show his determination. The eunuch had to accept him and renamed him Liu. From this incident, we can see that Liu Jin was brutal and insidious. In historical records, Liu was described as a “sly and ruthless” man.

Only for deceit and brutality, Liu Jin might not have been able to climb to the top in the Imperial Court. He was “smart” enough to cater to his master. Since Zhu Hou-zhao’s appointment as the chief prince, Liu had attended upon and accompanied him. He made every effort to please the prince and to win his trust. Zhu Hou-zhao’s notorious name as a playful emperor had much to do with Liu. The enthronement of Zhu Hou-zhao was great news for Liu Jin and he could smell a brilliant future.

A playful emperor and a cunning lackey with various tricks would surely bring trouble to the Imperial Court every day. When Zhu Hou-zhao was still a prince, Liu Jin had formed a clique with seven other eunuchs to expand his power and influence. They were called “Eight Tigers ” and day after day played gamecock, horse racing, binge drinking, ball games, and wrestling with Prince Zhu Hou-zhao . They even slipped out to the town center and went whoring. After Zhu Hou-zhao became Emperor, his unruly and licentious life deteriorated with the incitement of the “Eight Tigers .”

The misdemeanors of Prince Zhu Hou-zhao were acceptable as a prince who had little to do with government political affairs but intolerable as an emperor, especially to the nine assisting ministers. For amusement, Zhu Hou-zhao stayed with the “Eight Tigers” every day, causing great anxiety for the nine ministers. For the sake of the Ming dynasty , the ministers were looking for counterplans to eliminate the gang of “Eight Tigers.” A political struggle between the Emperor and the ministers was taking shape.

In the second year (1506), the political struggle gradually emerged and constantly became more heated. Such a campaign was not only related to the future of the country but also brought fundamental change to Wang Yang-ming’s life. He paid a heavy price for justice and his ideal of sagehood, but his life was destined to fire up after all the risks and calamities.

(Translated by Lin Xiao; Proofread by Chen Ming-yao)

2.2 Risking His Life to Petition the Authorities

After Zhu Hou-zhao was enthroned, he fooled around with a group of eunuchs, entertaining themselves every day with cockfighting, horse riding, singing, dancing and drinking, and seldom attending to state affairs. The gang of “Eight Tigers ” with Liu Jin as its head became more and more arrogant and domineering under the shelter of the power and influence of the Emperor. Since Zhu Hou-zhao ascended the throne, many honest ministers in the Imperial Court submitted written statements to persuade him to stand with dignity as an emperor and stay away from the “Eight Tigers.” They entreated him to concentrate his energy on dealing with state affairs and carry out the Emperor’s duty in earnest. However, Zhu Hou-zhao ignored them and paid no heed to their suggestions. The political situation worsened quickly, which aroused deep concern among those honest cabinet ministers. They unanimously agreed that by no means could they tolerate the outrages of the “Eight Tigers ,” nor allow the little Emperor to run wild, otherwise the Ming dynasty would be ruined by him. After reaching a consensus, the Shoufu Dacheng ⁹ Liu Jian , Xie Qian , and Li Dong-yang took the lead in writing to the Emperor and demanded publicly that the “Eight Tigers” be put to death. But their act produced no effect. Then officials of various ministries and commissions in Beijing and Nanjing also continuously submitted written statements to the Emperor to make the same requests, but also in vain. A fierce political fight began and came out into the open.

One day in October 1506 (the first year of the Zhengde Emperor ), Han Wen, the Shangshu of Hu Bu ,¹⁰ came back from the Imperial Court. He cried bitterly at the political situation and the evil ways of the “Eight Tigers .” Li Meng-yang , Langzhong of Hu Bu ,¹¹ who was standing beside him, said: “As the Minister of the country, morally speaking, you are consubstantial with the state and are supposed to find ways to save the country. What’s the point of simply crying here?” Li Meng-yang , Langzhong of Hu Bu, was one of the fifth-ranked officials in the Imperial Court . Although he ranked high in the government, he had an even higher reputation for his poetry. Being a famous poet and littérateur at that time, he was influential among intellectuals. Li Meng-yang was not only good at writing articles, but also upright and outspoken, hating evil as much as hating an enemy. Hearing what Li Meng-yang said, Han Wen agreed: “You are right, but what should we do then?” Li Meng-yang said “Recently many of the cabinet ministers wrote to the Emperor asking him to impeach those eunuchs, which indicates that there are many people holding the same opinion as you do. If you can consult with those ministers who have a common hatred for the “Eight Tigers “ and submit a joint letter promising to sacrifice your life for getting rid of Liu Jin, it seems not so difficult to achieve it.” Han Wen found the suggestion reasonable, and said immediately: “Yes, you are right. Even if we aren’t to achieve it in the end, if I were to die for my country at my age, I would not regret it a bit, because I would die for a righteous cause.”

So the next morning when he went to the Imperial Court, Han Wen snatched a moment to confer secretly with all the ministers of different boards, suggesting the submission of a joint letter to put Liu Jin to death. This suggestion was approved of by all ministers. After their discussion, Han Wen invited Li Meng-yang who was adept at writing articles. Li Meng-yang accomplished the draft of a memorial in one breath. It was a coherent whole without any corrections. When Han Wen read it, he took out a pen to revise it and said: “This memorial is for an unusual purpose, so neither elegant diction nor literary grace is needed. If it is too elegant, I am afraid it might not bring the Emperor to realize the truth. And it doesn’t need to be a long one as that would bore him and would fail to produce the desired effect.” This impeachment memorial, drafted by Li Meng-yang and revised by Han Wen, was plain but serious, sonorous, and just. In the memorial, they criticized the “Eight Tigers “ by name, censured the Emperor himself for being on intimate terms with the gang, and requested the public and resolute elimination of the “Eight Tigers.”

The next day Han Wen assembled the nine highest ranking officials in the highest state organs of supervision, judiciary, and administration, i.e., the so-called “Nine Ministers” to sign their names on the memorial and presented it to the Emperor. Zhu Hou-zhao was fond of play, and he had never been put in such a situation before as he was still quite young. Taking the memorial and reading it, he burst into tears and even lost his appetite for anything. When the “Eight Tigers ,” with Liu Jin as their leader, got to know the situation, they were all in a fluster and wept on each other’s shoulders.

The submission jointly signed by many ministers made the confrontation of the two political powers public. It also pushed Zhu Hou-zhao to the eye of the storm. Zhu had to make a decision on the matter. On the one hand, he didn’t want to put the “Eight Tigers” to death, but on the other hand, the running of the state affairs relied on these important ministers. So he was hesitant for a moment and unable to extricate himself from the difficult situation. Then Zhu Hou-zhao made a suggestion: the “Eight Tigers “ could be transferred from Beijing to Nanjing and be exempt from execution. But this suggestion was rejected by Liu Jian and other cabinet ministers who thought the execution must be handled thoroughly and completely without leaving any loose ends which may lead to resurgence. At this, Zhu Hou-zhao suggested inviting the highest ranking official of the Sili Jian to discuss the matter with the cabinet ministers. The Sili Jian was one of the chief government offices administering eunuchs and the internal affairs of the Imperial Court in the Ming dynasty . The highest ranking official was called Head Eunuch .

The “Eight Tigers “ headed by Liu Jin were all eunuchs in the charge of the Sili Jian . That was why Zhu Hou-zhao invited the Head Eunuch to confer. Within a day, the proposal of transferring Liu Jin and other men of the gang to Nanjing was discussed three times. The conference actually turned out to be a negotiation. But Liu Jian and other officials persisted in making no concession and putting the “Eight Tigers “ to death. They even started disputing with the Emperor in the Imperial Court . With a strong sense of righteousness, Xie Qian , standing beside the other ministers, rebuked Liu Jin and his followers. Both parties refused to make any concession. The Head Eunuch Wang Yue who was in charge of the Sili Jian also supported Liu Jian and other cabinet ministers in doing away with the “Eight Tigers” as they had brought such calamity to the country and the people. Though Wang Yue was a eunuch, he was a man with a sense of justice and had served Zhu Hou-zhao in East Palace several years ago. So he went to the Emperor alone to instill the righteousness of the action into the Emperor’s mind and persuaded him to support the ministers’ suggestions, otherwise the situation might get out of hand. It was the persistence of Liu Jian , Xie Qian , and other officials, and also the support of Wang Yue from the Sili Jian that brought the Cabinet and the Sili Jian to an agreement on the issue of eliminating the “Eight Tigers .” Zhu Hou-zhao had no alternative but agree to arrest the “Eight Tigers” headed by Liu Jin the next morning when they went to the Imperial Court and to put them into prison.

So far it seemed that the cabinet ministers with Liu Jian as a representative had won in the political fight. Everything would be fine if the Emperor ordered the arrest of the “Eight Tigers “ the next morning. However, life is as unpredictable as the weather. At this critical moment, there appeared an informer. Who was that informer? It was Jiao Fang , the Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel , who not only took part in all the steps of the incident but also knew about the Emperor’s final decision. But this Jiao Fang was really an ignorant, incompetent, and very selfish person of inferior character. He was a very good friend of Liu Jin . Seeing Liu Jin gaining power, he curried favor with him. Although he signed his name on the impeachment memorial, he did it under pressure. When the resolution was made to arrest Liu Jin and the other “Seven Tigers” the next morning, Jiao Fang was too impatient to wait and informed Liu Jin of the secret that very night.

When Liu Jin got the news, his face turned pale and a tremendous fright took hold of him. But he was a sinister and deceitful person after all. After he regained his composure, Liu Jin immediately assembled the other “Seven Tigers” and went to meet Zhu Hou-zhao that same night. At the sight of the Emperor, the “Eight Tigers” fell down on their knees around the Emperor. They kowtowed to the Emperor and wept in great distress, saying: “Your Majesty ! Please show mercy to us! If you don’t bestow any favor, we, who have been obedient and faithful to you at all times, will be eaten by dogs tomorrow morning.” It has been mentioned above that Zhu Hou-zhao didn’t really want to execute them. He was forced to make the decision to arrest them. Sympathetic as he was, he frowned at the scene and kept silent since the decision had been made after all. Liu Jin , who was extremely good at carefully observing a person’s every mood, saw hope in the Emperor’s facial expressions. He stopped crying and said indignantly to the Emperor, “Your Majesty ! The people who want to do harm to us are not those ministers, but Wang Yue .”

As known to all, it was the cabinet ministers such as Liu Jian , Xie Qian , and Li Dong-yang who proposed to the Emperor to kill Liu Jin. It had nothing to do with Wang Yue at first. But why did Liu Jin insist that the person who wanted to do harm to them was Wang Yue? From this we may conclude Liu Jin was really very cunning and sinister. Wang Yue was in charge of the Sili Jian . At that time, there were three forces contesting each other: ministers, the Sili Jian, and the Emperor. No matter who would support whom, the joined forces would certainly become the more powerful. Suppose the Sili Jian supported the Emperor, then the ministers might not win. That was why Liu Jin insisted that it was Wang Yue who wanted to do them harm. Moreover, Liu Jin also wanted to take the chance to knock Wang Yue off his perch as he was in charge of the Sili Jian which supervised the inner chamber ’ affairs.

This unexpected remark of Liu Jin aroused Zhu Hou-zhao’s attention immediately. When he first heard it, he failed to understand, so he asked, “Why do you say that?” Liu Jin said, “Wang Yue belongs to Eastern Depot (Dong Chang),¹² but he instigated the group of officials of the outer chambers to submit the impeachment memorial and encouraged them to criticize us as much as they can. When he conferred with Liu Jian and other cabinet ministers, he took Liu Jian’s side and said that the eagles and dogs that we offered to you as presents bring calamity to the country and the people. He is also a eunuch in the inner chambers . Hasn’t he ever offered to Your Majesty any dogs or eagles? Why does he choose to blame us?” Zhu Hou-zhao found the remarks reasonable to some extent and so became angry. He said, “Wang Yue , wait and see how I shall punish you.” To Liu Jin’s ears, the Emperor’s words sounded favorable. He chuckled to himself but pretended to be indignant. He said, “Your Majesty, you have to deal with numerous affairs of the state every day. When we take you for a walk, it is just to drive away your cares. When we present dogs and eagles, it is to entertain you after you finish your busy work. Is it all wrong? How could it wreck the country? How could it be possible that dogs and eagles have anything to do with attending to a myriad of state affairs? Those cabinet ministers dare to hold you hostage only because the Sili Jian is in the charge of Wang Yue, and we do not have our own people there. If we do, everything will be at your disposal, Your Majesty , and then those conceited and ignorant officials would not dare to make any irresponsible remarks.” These words catered exactly to Zhu Hou-zhao , so he immediately gave orders to dismiss Wang Yue from his post as Head Eunuch of the Sili Jian and appointed Liu Jin instead. He also appointed Qiu Ju commander-in-chief of Eastern Depot and Gu Da-yong commander-in-chief of Western Depot (Xi Chang),¹³ both of whom were members of the “Eight Tigers .” The situation took a sudden turn.

Well, we need to explain a little bit about Eastern Depot, Western Depot, and the Jinyiwei Guard . Simply put, these were organs of secret agents in the charge of the Emperor in the Ming dynasty . They were privileged and brutal. The Jinyiwei Guard was established early in the Ming dynasty in the direct charge of the Emperor and was responsible for inspecting the Emperor’s servants, bodyguards, and officials. They had their own prison and were authorized to arrest and lock up officials without any proceedings. Eastern Depot was set up in the eighteenth year of Chengzu Yongle ¹⁴ in the Ming dynasty (1420). It was run by the Emperor’s trusted eunuchs and was superior to the Jinyiwei Guard. Western Depot was set up in the thirteenth year of Xianzong Chenghua ¹⁵ in the Ming dynasty (1477). It used to be even superior to Eastern Depot. But this organization met with universal objection because of its inhumanity and was abolished several years later in the eighteenth year of Chenghua (1482). That is to say there was no Western Depot in 1506 (the first year of the Zhengde Emperor ).¹⁶ The Western Depot, an even more ruthless spy organization than the Jinyiwei Guard and Eastern Depot , was reestablished right after Zhu Hou-zhao’s order of appointing Gu Da-yong commander-in-chief.

That was an eventful night for Liu Jin , a night of great sorrows and joys, and violent ups and downs. With his cunning, Liu Jin not only barely escaped death but also suddenly became the commander of the Sili Jian . His sinister and ruthless cruelty was now exposed without any concealment. He immediately ordered the confidential arrest of Wang Yue , the Head Eunuch of the Sili Jian that very night and put him into prison without any delay. Liu Jian and other cabinet ministers knew nothing about the unforeseen midnight events in the inner chamber . When they went to the Imperial Court the next morning, they were still expecting the Emperor to issue an imperial edict to arrest the “Eight Tigers .” But when the imperial edict was issued, it was to announce that Liu Jin was appointed Head Eunuch of the Sili Jian , Qiu Ju commander-in-chief of Eastern Depot , and Gu Da-yong commander-in-chief of Western Depot . Wang Yue and his party were sent off to Nanjing . Hearing this, Liu Jian , Xie Qian , and the others felt sad and indignant, but they knew there was no way to redeem the situation since it was out of hand. So they presented a written statement to the Emperor, asking for “Zhishi ,” i.e., resignation from their official posts.

Liu Jian, Xie Qian , and Li Dong-yang were the first to sign the memorial requesting the Emperor to kill Liu Jin. The three now jointly signed the written statement asking for resignation. Since Liu Jin had come into power, he would inevitably protect those who belonged to his own faction and eliminate those who held different views. So he delivered a false imperial edict compelling Liu Jian and Xie Qian to retire at once and to drive them out of the Imperial Court , except Li Dong-yang . Why not Li Dong-yang ? Because when they conferred with the Emperor to punish the “Eight Tigers ,” Liu Jian refused to yield an inch and even quarreled with the Emperor on the spot, determined to get rid of Liu Jin . Xie Qian listed their crimes one by one and kept scolding them severely. Only Li Dong-yang didn’t say anything the whole time. When Liu Jian and Xie Qian packed up and left the capital, Li Dong-yang went to see them off. At the farewell dinner, Li sighed and shed some tears. Liu Jian said: “Why are you crying now? If you had obeyed your conscience and said a word instead of keeping silent, now it would be the three of us instead of two to leave.” Hearing it, Li Dong-yang was unable to utter a word. This event made it evident who had a better moral quality.

As surviving adherents and first-assisting ministers of a former dynasty, Liu Jian and Xie Qian ended up in being evicted from the Imperial Court , which was almost a political earthquake at that time and led to public outcries. Officials of different ranks in Beijing and Nanjing and those who had a sense of justice submitted written statements to the Emperor, urging Liu Jian and Xie Qian to stay while censuring the “Eight Tigers “ for their evils. But the “Eight Tigers” were now in power and were in charge of secret agencies like Eastern Depot , Western Depot , and Jinyiwei Guard . They sent hired thugs all around and began to take large-scale revenge. After Liu Jian and Xie Qian were driven out of the Imperial Court, Han Wen , the Shangshu of Hu Bu , who proposed to submit a joint letter by nine ministers, was removed from the office. Li Meng-yang , Langzhong of Hu Bu , who drafted the memorial, was demoted to Jingli of Buzheng Si ¹⁷ in Shanxi Province . After being sent off to Nanjing , on his way, Wang Yue , Head Eunuch of the Sili Jian , was killed by spies from the Jinyiwei Guard dispatched by Liu Jin . The informer Jiao Fang , the Shangshu of Li Bu , an incompetent and morally inferior person, also held the post of Grand Scholar ¹⁸ of Wenyuan Ge (Wenyuan Chamber)¹⁹ the imperial library in the Forbidden City . Jiao Fang and Liu Jin acted in collusion with each other. Liu Jin , puffed up with pride, often forged imperial decrees. He kept a sharp lookout for disobedient officials and arrested those who dared to criticize. This created a foul atmosphere in the Imperial Court and officials of all departments in Beijing and Nanjing were jittery.

But the cry for justice had never stopped. After Liu Jian and Xie Qian were expelled from the Imperial Court, many officials in Nanjing such as Dai Xian , Jishizhong²⁰ of the Hu Ke ,²¹ and Bo Yan-hui , Jiancha Yu, investigating Yushi ²² persisted in presenting written statements to the Emperor asking him to severely punish Liu Jin and other treacherous Imperial Court officials and correct the state laws. They wanted ministers like Liu Jian and Xie Qian back and to return the Imperial Court administration back to the right track. However, Liu Jin delivered a false imperial edict to arrest Dai Xian and Bo Yan-hui and put them into the prison of the Jinyiwei Guard.

You know, Jishizhong and investigating censors were all officials in the supervision organs of the government in the Ming dynasty . Their duty was to supervise government officials. Once they found any malpractice such as taking bribes and bending the law, they could report directly to the Imperial Court. They were responsible for making public opinions known to the officials and the government, so they were collectively called Officials of Remonstration with the responsibility of criticizing and correcting all kinds of acts and policies of the Imperial Court . For this reason, generally the officials of remonstration couldn’t possibly be arrested or even killed for criticizing the state. Otherwise, who would want to be an official? Without them the path of remonstration would be blocked and there would be no communication between the higher and lower levels, which was equal to losing one’s eyes and ears. Now people like Dai Xian and Bo Yan-hui were arrested for sending in a memorial criticizing the state. Whatever the reason for the arrest, it was extremely abnormal.

The political situation of the Ming dynasty at the time was like having black clouds hanging over the city, and wind and rain sweeping across a gloomy sky. Even upright officials began to keep silent. Then it was Wang Yang-ming who was the first one to stand out. In an attempt to rescue Dai Xian and Bo Yan-hui , Wang Yang-ming risked his life to present to the Emperor. Wang held the position of Zhushi of Bing Bu , which was the lowest ranking official in Bing Bu. His official rank and duty might render his attempt futile, since everyone against Liu Jin had encountered all kinds of retaliation—being put into prison or killed. The result was almost predictable. But why did Wang Yang-ming still insist on sending in the memorial? This was because a righteous action should be taken for granted and not be evaded. We all remember that Wang Yang-ming was determined to become a sage from his childhood. A real sage should at least dare to adhere to the principles of justice, stay on the path of rectitude, uphold justice and make the cause of truth and righteousness evident to all people on the earth. Although most officials preferred to keep their mouths shut at the rampage of Liu Jin and other evil forces, the consciousness of a sage in Wang Yang-ming was aroused. A sense of justice and morality and a sense of responsibility in pleading for the people occupied his mind . It has already been mentioned that Wang Yang-ming was a man of action. When he realized where justice lay, he was bound to practice it. So in some sense, although he had predicted the result of his presenting, Wang Yang-ming still persisted in sending in the memorial. He practiced his childhood aspiration of being a sage and it fully embodied his commitment to justice and morality. Wang Yang-ming was not someone who only considered his private interests; rather, he was one who bore in mind the interests of the nation and the people. In dire peril, he showed lofty morality and noble character. His daring spirit of carrying on in spite of being blocked by millions of people merits our admiration even several hundred years later. His brave steps forward started from his consciousness of being a sage. But this was only a beginning in his life.

Frankly speaking, this written statement presented by Wang Yang-ming had harsh terms couched in a mild tone. He expressed three points clearly in his memorial.

First, Dai Xian and Bo Yan-hui were supposed to be “Yanguan ,”²³ officials of remonstration, whose responsibility and obligation were to criticize the state. If their suggestions were feasible, the government was supposed to adopt them. Even if they made wrong suggestions, the government was supposed to tolerate them. However, they were directly put into the prison of the Jinyiwei Guard when they were fulfilling their duty, which certainly made the other officials jittery. Who would dare to speak outright in the future? The implication was that if nobody dared to speak, the Emperor would be completely isolated.

Second, it was winter. The weather was cold and the ground was frozen. If Dai Xian and Bo Yan-hui died in prison, the Emperor would certainly earn a bad reputation of killing officials of remonstration. It was undoubtedly disgraceful to the country. (In fact, after Dai Xian was flogged in the Imperial Court and put into the prison of the Jinyiwei Guard, he died in it. And BoYan-hui died at home soon after he was released from the prison).

Third, taking everything into consideration, Dai Xian and Bo Yan-hui should be released immediately and restored to their original posts.

Though the tone was mild, Wang Yang-ming spoke with the force of justice in this memorial. Liu Jin had never imagined that when all civil and military officials of the Imperial Court remained silent, a small Zhushi of Bing Bu should have the courage to be so outspoken. He was shamed into anger and delivered a false imperial edict to arrest Wang Yang-ming and punish him with 40 lashes²⁴ in the Imperial Court .

As for Tingzhang —the flogging in the Imperial Court—it was mentioned at the beginning of the book that it was a kind of penalty invented in the Ming dynasty to punish disobedient officials. To put it bluntly, Tingzhang was a kind of penalty that involved being beaten on one’s buttocks in public outside the Wu Men of the Forbidden City , which was the most insulting and cruel penalty. It was the colonels of the Jinyiwei Guard who did the flogging and it was the Head Eunuch of the Sili Jian and conductor of the Jinyiwei Guard who supervised it. All these colonels were well trained. They could control skillfully whether to beat heavily or lightly with the stick according to the hints given by the supervisor. That meant they had the fate of the condemned in hand. It was said that there were generally three kinds of commands. The first one was to “beat to interrogate ,” meaning to beat the condemned just to teach him a lesson. The condemned may be bruised badly, but would not have his bones broken. The second one was to “heavily beat to interrogate .” The condemned may not only be bruised all over but also often become disabled. The third one was to “severely beat to interrogate,” which meant to beat with all strength. The man under the stick had a slight chance of survival. Previously, the condemned was not only permitted to wear clothes but also to have thick cotton wadding lined inside the clothes. They could also wrap themselves up with things like felt. In spite of this, the condemned would sometimes die from the flogging. The imperious and despotic Liu Jin hated the upright officials to the marrow of his bones.²⁵ So he arbitrarily altered this “ancestors’ law ” and demanded that the man to be beaten have his clothes taken off and be flogged naked. Wang Yang-ming was one of the earliest men who received the special treatment of being flogged in the nude.

With the order given by Liu Jin , the sticks in the hands of the colonels of the Jinyiwei Guard rained on Wang Yang-ming . Wang Yang-ming was badly mangled at once. After 40 lashings, Wang Yang-ming was already unconscious and at his last gasp. There was barely any breath left in his body. One of the colonels put his fingers under Wang Yang-ming’s nose and felt he was still breathing. Liu Jin said ghastly: “Throw him into prison!” Without caring about whether he was dead or not, those colonels pulled Wang Yang-ming up from the ground and dragged him all the way to the prison of the Jinyiwei Guard.

(Translated by Zhou Wen; Proofread by Wenren Xin)

2.3 A Narrow Escape

After the punishment by flogging, Wang Yang-ming was on the verge of death. He was taken to the jail of the Jinyiwei Guard where he finally came back to life. As he found himself still alive, a complicated feeling crept upon his mind. He was delighted with his survival but aggrieved at his desperate situation. He couldn’t help thinking of his life in the past 30 years. Determined to be a sage from childhood, he made strenuous efforts and various attempts to achieve this aspiration. However, just as he found a way to sagehood, his normal life was disrupted by such a big setback. He was filled with humiliation, bitterness, and pain which kept him awake throughout the night. He was very much conscious of the dirty, murky politics of the Ming dynasty , which threw the country into a degrading state. Trapped in the dark prison, he longed for the brightness of daylight. Looking about the dilapidated cell he found a hole on the roof, from which a sword-like ray of moonlight penetrated the darkness, illuminated the cell, and lit up his mind . His aspiration to be a sage and his commitment to the people and state revived at that very moment. He thought about his father and friends, and also sages in history. He remembered Sima Qian ,²⁶ a famous historian and the author of Shi Ji , Taishi Gong Zixu .²⁷ And Sima Qian’s words clearly came to his mind :

Xi Bo deduced Zhouyi ²⁸ when he was imprisoned in Youli ²⁹; Confucius wrote The Spring and Autumn Annals ³⁰ when he and his students were trapped in difficulty on their way from the State of Chen to the State of Cai ; Qu Yuan ³¹ composed Lisao³² after he was exiled from his motherland; Zuo Qiu produced Guoyu when he became blind; Sun Zi³³ accomplished The Art of War after his legs were cut off; Lv Bu-wei compiled Lv Lan after he was demoted to the State of Shu; Han Fei created two great works Shuo Nan³⁴ and Gu Fen³⁵ when he was imprisoned in the State of Qin. Shi³⁶ was mostly expressions of sages ’ indignation at injustice.

These are stories of sages, which can be elaborated as follows. The first story is about King Wen of Zhou , who held to his aspiration even when he was imprisoned in Youli by King Zhou of Shang .³⁷ He engaged himself in divination and the elucidation of Zhouyi and succeeded in developing 8 trigrams into 64 hexagrams, which enabled the theory of Zhouyi to explain the Three Agents of Heaven, Earth, and Man. The second story is about Confucius , who traveled around the kingdoms, trying to persuade the rulers to practice his theory of humanity. He was once trapped in the states of Chen and Cai, struggling against hunger and poverty. He was not overwhelmed by the hardship and finally compiled the great work of The Spring and Autumn Annals , which served as principles of governance for future rulers and deterrent to conspirators and usurpers. The third story is about Qu Yuan , a great and loyal patriot, who was exiled by Emperor King Huai of Chu .³⁸ He was grief-stricken by the wrongs and injustice, but he endured the hurt and composed the poetic masterpiece of Lisao, setting up a model for the Chinese literary world. All these great figures encountered tremendous hardships. As they fought their way through, they enriched their lives with a glorious significance.

The above-cited words were originally written by Sima Qian , with the intention of inspiring himself to accomplish his masterpiece Records of the Grand Historian ³⁹ after he was punished with humiliating castration. The story had it that Emperor Wu of Han ⁴⁰ dispatched Li Ling , the grandson of Li Guang , the renowned General Fei, to lead the military campaign against the Huns .⁴¹ Running out of food and supplies, Li Ling had no choice but surrender to the Huns, because the reinforcements of the government failed to arrive on time. Sima Qian interceded with the emperor and argued that Li Ling’s surrender was forgivable, which offended the emperor, though. As a result, the emperor punished him with the harsh penalty of castration and cast him into prison. Sima Qian spent his life studying hard, and eventually accomplished the masterpiece of eternal value. Now Wang Yang-ming was pondering over his own life. Confronted with a similar adverse situation, he was inspired by the examples of the great figures in history, and further determined to pursue his ideal to be a sage and to devote his life to the pursuit of human justice and integrity. He wrote a poem in jail to express his strong will, “My mind is absolutely no rolling stone, it will never shift for fortune or misfortune,” meaning that his determination to be a sage was firm and solid, and would not easily change; all the sorrow and delight, honor and disgrace, gain and loss in life were unable to shake his will.

Once settled in mind , Wang Yang-ming started to follow the examples of the sages in history. Just as King Wen of Zhou did in prison, he began divination with the Zhouyi hexagrams, not to foretell his own destiny, but as a way to express his will. The first hexagram he worked on was Dun , which was explained in Zhouyi as good for a noble man and bad for a petty person. Dun literally means withdrawal. A man of noble virtues chooses to live in reclusion when he recognizes the gap between his ideal and the practical world. He retreats with an open and peaceful mind without compromising his ideal. Thus, it is an auspicious choice for him. On the contrary, a petty, mean person withdraws from the common life because the world fails to satisfy his selfish desire and interest. Hence, his retirement with feelings of anger and resentment is naturally inauspicious. Being trapped in prison, unable to exert his influence on the political operations at the Imperial Court , reclusion became Wang Yang-ming’s choice of life, as he would never yield to such vicious people in power as Liu Jin, a senior eunuch official. So he reckoned the explanation of Dun fit well with his mind , which indicated that he was satisfied with the message of the hexagram of Dun. Then he addressed a second hexagram, Gu, which means confusion and disorder. In a situation where things are in disorder, a man of integrity and capability is expected to step forward to address the confusion and restore order. The hexagram of Gu is explained in Zhouyi as indicating “a noble man awakens the people through nurturing his own virtues.” It means that in a confusing situation, a noble man should make efforts to develop his own virtues, with which to inspire and enlighten the common people. His virtues would spread and benefit the common people, just as winds blowing rain and dew across the land. Even if he was not in adequate capacity or status to do this, he should still nurture his own character and virtues to be a man of noble ideal. Just as Gu is interpreted in Zhouyi , “If unable to serve in the imperial monarchy, foster one’s own virtues.” In other words, if things are in a chaotic state, and a man has no access to the political center, he is not to abandon himself. He should keep cultivating virtues, be a man of noble pursuit in spite of the humble and impoverished situation he is in. Now when Wang Yang-ming fell into adversity, “to develop virtues” was the most advisable way for him to protect and develop himself. To stress this point, he asserted, “Hexagram Gu offers the best way to protect myself.”

Thus it can be concluded that although he was trapped in prison and bore shame and wounds from the humiliating punishment of flogging, Wang Yang-ming had no regret over his deeds. He was in effect more reinforced in his aspiration to be a sage . Holding King Wen of Zhou as his role model, he worked on Zhouyi as King Wen of Zhou did in prison to express a strong will. Although detained in the dark and grimy prison, Wang Yang-ming felt like bathing in a warm refreshing breeze, free and magnanimous. He said, “Between heaven and earth, I see nothing but vigor and vitality.” He was a noble man without selfish intention, so he felt open and liberal, just as an old saying put it, “A selfless mind possesses a boundless world.” He had a couple of inmates who not only received his words of comfort but also lessons of self-development. He told them why one should learn to be a sage, and why a selfless mind would enjoy a boundless world. Though in prison, he did not stop preaching his belief in being a sage . He had the ultimate commitment to the pursuit of ideals described by Confucius in the remark “When a man has learned the wisdom of Dao in the morning, he would have no regret even if he would die before sunset.”

Wang Yang-ming was stranded in the prison of the Jinyiwei Guard for about 6 months, which did not wear down his will, but reinforced his aspiration to be a sage. In the summer of 1507 (the second year of the Zhengde Emperor ), the Imperial Court issued the final conviction that demoted him to the Longchang Yi, a courier station in Guizhou Province , where he was to take the post of Yi Cheng , a station agent.

Here it is important to make a few points clear. First, before being imprisoned, Wang Yang-ming served as a secretary in Bing Bu, the Ministry of War , a sixth rank position in the nine-rank hierarchy of officialdom of the Ming dynasty . As a courier station agent was not even taken into the hierarchy, it indicated that he was deprived of official rank and position in the government system. Second, a courier station was a rest house in ancient times for travelers in transit, such as deliverymen of official dispatches, officials, and officers, where they took a rest or sought accommodation. It was an early form of government-run hostels with the station agent in charge of it as a manager. The Longchang Yi was located in Xiuwen County , approximately 40 km away from Guiyang , the capital city of Guizhou Province . Elaboration about the place of Longchang is given in the following chapter.

It was a miracle for Wang Yang-ming to survive the harsh punishment of flogging and 6-month imprisonment. Once released from prison, he hit the trail for his post in Longchang , planning to make a short stop halfway at his hometown for some necessary preparations.

He left the capital city, traveling southward. As he proceeded, he sensed more and more clearly that something was not right. For sure it had nothing to do with his weak physical condition or the tough, tiresome journey. All of a sudden, he realized he was being tailed. He became alert instantly. His first thought was that they were Jinyiwei Guard guards sent by Liu Jin to murder him. He remembered Wang Yue who was assassinated by the Jinyiwei Guard on his way to Nanjing . Assassination was actually Liu Jin’s favorite intrigue. If it was really the case, he was exposed to a great danger. He did not stop, though, but kept an alert eye on the surroundings, often changed the way he made the trip, traveling in daytime some days or night time other days until he arrived at the northern bank of the Qiantang River .⁴² His hometown was just across the river when the tracking Jinyiwei Guards showed their true colors. The secret tracking and assassination became open chasing and killing.

Gazing at the flowing water at the riverbank, Wang Yang-ming realized he was unlikely to escape the killing hands of the Jingyiwei. He composed two pieces of death poetry, one of which says,

My loyalty is eternal as the heaven and the earth,

Yet my body in the river is only the food of fish.

How many upright officials grieved to death,

The waves are day and night weeping for Zi-xu .⁴³

This means that “I am sure of my loyalty as bright as the sun and the moon, so I have no shame standing between heaven and earth, or facing my own conscience. I’d feel no regrets even if I had to end my life in the river. In history, many loyal, righteous men ended in tragedy, like the minister Wu Zi-xu in the Spring and Autumn period ,⁴⁴ who died for justice with a noble heart. For hundreds of years, the rolling waves in the flowing river had been mourning over his death.” Apparently in the poem, Wang Yang-ming compared himself to Wu Zi-xu, the renowned minister of the Wu kingdom , who was put to death and thrown into the Yangzi River because of his expostulation with King Fuchai of Wu .⁴⁵ After finishing the poem, Wang took off his clothes and shoes and jumped into the cold and wavy river in the dark of night.

When the Jinyiwei Guards raced to the bank, they found no one but Wang’s clothes and shoes floating on the river. They were convinced that he had drowned himself in the river as they saw the two death poems left on the bank. The news reached the government of Zhejiang Province , and the heads led a school of officials to the site and held a funeral there for him. Wang Yang-ming’s family and relatives were grief-stricken at the tragic news. However, they could do nothing but prepare a funeral for him.

However, Wang Yang-ming was not really drowned. He jumped into the rough water to escape the chasing of the Jinyiwei Guard, and left behind the clothes and shoes to mislead the guards. This was his trick, but it was a forced choice at the critical moment. As he jumped into the river in the darkness of night, he was unable to tell whether he was going to survive. The death poems he had written conveyed his true feelings at the grave moment.

After jumping into the river, Wang Yang-ming was washed away immediately and carried downstream, unable to swim up to the bank. Making it worse, he was hit by a huge wave and lost consciousness. He found himself lying on a shipboard when he recovered at last. It turned out that he was fortunately saved by a passing merchant vessel heading for the Zhoushan Islands and coastal places of Fujian Province for business. He stayed on board as the ship sailed along the Qiantang River , out of the Hangzhou Bay , stopped at the islands and finally arrived in Fujian . By this time, he had regained his strength. He went ashore after thanking the shipowner for their help.

He had no idea where to go. He had never been here before and was totally unfamiliar with the place. After the ordeal he was in rags and looked shabby. So he avoided busy towns and cities, but followed the remote mountain tracks. Unknowingly, he went into the Wuyi Mountains ,⁴⁶ where steep cliffs, lofty peaks, and fragrant flowers were impressively beautiful and undisturbed. He was deeply absorbed in the quiet, peaceful atmosphere, a sense of joy springing up in his heart. He recalled his life over the past 36 years when he experienced the dramatic rise and fall, bitterness and hardships, but still unable to achieve his aspiration of being a sage . The political life of the monarchy was dark, the Imperial Court was in the harsh control of a group of evil officials and eunuchs, the ruling emperor lived in extravagance and profligacy while the common people struggled in hunger and poverty. For all his determination to serve the country and people, he had not found the way to the attainment of the aspiration. Now it seemed to him that rather than mixing with the despicable people at the Imperial Court and struggling between favor and humiliation from the Imperial Court, it would be better to retreat to this beautiful mountain as a hermit. He would enjoy real freedom and ease, living in harmony with nature, free from worldly desire. He used to dream of being a hermit, now the idea sprang up again in his mind , much stronger than ever!

Once he made up his mind to settle down in the quiet mountain, Wang Yang-ming regained a peaceful mind. By this time, an irresistible fatigue was coming over him from the days of journey. It was already late, he was hungry and exhausted. Seeing a temple in the near distance, he dragged himself toward it, intending to spend the night there and wait till the next morning to think about any plan. It was a small temple in a poor condition. He knocked on the door, and explained his intention to the monk who answered it. But the monk refused him, saying that the temple was too small to put him up, and as they had no visitors at other times, there were no vacant room available. He told him to seek a place somewhere else and closed the door right away. Wang Yang-ming had no alternative but to move on. After a while, he saw a deserted old temple, very shabby, but it had a censer altar inside. Stricken by awful tiredness, he went in, lay down on the altar, and fell asleep immediately.

The next morning, he woke up and saw the very monk who had refused him standing there. With a startled look on his face, the monk asked, “Did you have a good sleep?” “Yes!” he answered. “Did you hear something unusual?” the monk asked again. “I seemed to hear a tiger roaring, but I was too tired to care.” Upon the reply, the monk looked him up and down and blurted, “So weird you are, sir. It’s incredible!” He kept murmuring such words as “amazing,” “mysterious,” “strange,” and the like, then warmly invited Wang to his temple for breakfast. Wang was so hungry that he followed the monk without hesitation.

One may wonder why the monk came to the temple so early, and why he was so surprised when he saw Wang was safe and sound. The fact was that the vicinity was frequented by tigers and it was said that the very shabby temple was their lair. The few passers-by who spent the night there were killed by the tigers without exception. Of course, the monk knew it well. Deliberately, he rejected Wang Yang-ming , thinking that Wang would be forced to sleep in the “tiger’s lair.” He took it for granted that Wang would be killed and eaten up by tigers, so he came to the temple early next morning to collect Wang’s belongings. Therefore, it was no wonder that he was so astonished to see Wang lying on the altar, alive and sleeping soundly.

Wang Yang-ming followed the monk to his temple and ate some simple food to sate the hunger. He was about to leave when the monk stopped him and said, “Please wait a moment. A master wants to meet you.” Wang was wondering who would like to see him in the deep mountains. Now it was his turn to be surprised when he saw an elderly Taoist priest with a long white beard and mustache, greeting him with a big smile. With a close look, Wang Yang-ming was amazed to recognize that it was the very Taoist master who had conversed with him the whole night in the Taoist temple of Tiezhu Gong in Nanchang , when he missed his own wedding at the age of 17. Although it had been some 20 years since that, he felt as if he was in a dream! The master took out a roll of paper and handed it to him. He unfolded it and saw it was a poem written by the master, which contained the two lines, meaning “I met you twenty years ago, and I knew you’d be here today even before you arrived.” Seeing that the master knew quite well about his recent experiences and whereabouts, he dispelled the doubts in his mind .

The master asked him, “You’ve experienced an ordeal. What’s your plan for the future?” Wang replied, “I do not care about worldly affairs any more. I’d like to be a hermit, to live in reclusion.” The master said, “You cannot be a hermit. If you hide away, all your family will be in disaster!” Wang was startled by the remark. The master continued, “You have your family, and your father is an official of the government. Now you are a demoted person. Your case is known both inside and outside the Imperial Court . If you disappear all of a sudden, do you think Liu Jin will let you go? Even if they can’t track you down, do you think they will leave your father and your family alone? Obviously not. He would take advantage of it and convict you of conspiring against the Imperial Court and resisting the imperial decree. You will get the whole family involved in your case and bring the family into the calamity of extermination!” Wang Yang-ming was startled at these words and woke up from his thoughts of being a hermit. He asked the wise man for advice, who proposed practicing a divination first. So he did. It was hexagram Ming Yi , whose manifestation was the divination of Kun on its upside while the divination of Li on its downside. Kun is the earth while Li is the fire. Thus, the former represents darkness while the latter represents light, which is explained in Zhouyi as “light in the earth,” meaning the light goes under the earth and is blocked in showing its brightness. It is a divinatory hexagram symbolizing a man of virtue suffering a disaster. When injustice befalls a wise man, what should he do to resolve the crisis? The best way is to behave cautiously, keep integrity in the heart and bide time until the right chance comes along. It is suggested in Zhouyi to “cherish righteousness in mind but deploy flexibility in behavior in order to bear the disaster,” and “when in severe hardship, one should strengthen resolution and nurture virtues.” These remarks indicate that when a man with virtue encounters a grave situation, he should stick to righteousness and integrity in mind, but keep a low profile in behavior with flexibility. Only in this way can he survive disaster and hardship. It is a fair and just strategy in times of difficulties. Now being a convicted official demoted to Longchang , Wang Yang-ming was a typical case of a righteous man befallen with injustice. If he did not report to his post in Longchang but retired to a secret life in the mountains for self-cultivation, he would fail to stick to the principles of righteousness and integrity even though he could claim that he had attained a perfect understanding of worldly affairs and had no interest in fame or wealth any more. It would not accord with what the hexagram record said, nor was it a wise way to tackle the hardship.

The master’s insights enlightened Wang Yang-ming. He took the master’s advice and decided to go to Shaoxing , his hometown, to make some preparation before setting out for Longchang to fulfill his duty. He wrote a poem on the wall right away, which said,

Dangers no more retain in my heart,

Like clouds sweeping across the sky.

The sea waves fleet thousands of miles in the silent night,

The heavenly wind accompanies the hermit dashing through the moonlight.

In the poem the poet expressed his decision not to yield to the vanity of the world. And the heavenly wind indicated the uprightness in the world while the hermit referred to himself. This poem displayed Wang Yang-ming’s broad mind and independent character. He was trying to say, “I do not have a place in my heart for such worldly concerns as dangers and hardships, fame and wealth, gains and losses, grace and disgrace. For me, they are like the clouds sweeping across the sky, unable to change its original crystal blue color. In the quiet and peaceful night, I ponder over the prospect of the country and the hardness of my own life. These thoughts well up in my mind , just like the rough waves I have experienced, rolling up and down the beach endlessly. Although my future is full of uncertainty and danger, my heart is as bright as the crystal moon high in the sky. In the spirit of righteousness I will go ahead with a free mind to meet all the challenges in my future life!”

After finishing the poem, Wang Yang-ming bade farewell to the Taoist master and the monk and set out on his journey. The master gave him an ingot of silver as traveling expenses. Wang left the Wuyi Mountains for the city of Nanchang and then sailed across Poyang Lake ⁴⁷ for Nanjing , where his father Wang Hua served as the Shangshu of Li Bu .⁴⁸ The father and the son finally met, and sighed with mixed feelings over what had happened. Shortly afterward, Wang left Nanjing for his hometown, Shaoxing . After finishing the necessary preparations at home, he departed for Longchang in December of that year.

Here some additional information needs to be provided. The above story is taken from one of the historical records. There are no agreed-on records about his being chased by Jinyiwei Guard guards and jumping into the Qiantang River . Apart from the above version, there are three others available.

According to one version, after he jumped into the river, he did not drift downstream or “traveled by sea,” but swam back to the bank right away. He went directly to a temple called Shengguo Temple near the West Lake of Hangzhou and hid there to recover from the illness. The incident of “traveling by sea” was merely a scene in his dream. After he felt a bit better, he went back to his hometown, packed up, and then left for Longchang.

Another version tells that after he arrived ashore of Fujian , he went into Wuyi Mountains , slept in the tiger’s lair, and met the Taoist master as was described in the above. The difference in this story lies in the point that he did not go back home, but went to Longchang directly.

There is still another version which tells that Wang Yang-ming was indeed chased by two Jinyiwei Guards , but he arrived in Hangzhou ahead of them, and took refuge in Shengguo Temple to heal his wounds. A few days later, two heavily built northern men, who were in fact Jinyiwei Guards, came to the temple. They found Wang and asked him, “Are you Zhushi Wang?” With the answer “Yes,” they continued, “We have some words for you.” Instantly, they grabbed him by the arm and marched him toward outside of the city. Before long, they were overtaken by two neighbors of the temple, who witnessed the happenings, worried about Wang’s safety and followed to find out. Once they reached a deserted place outside the city, the guards said to the neighbors, “To tell you the truth, we are Jinyiwei Guard guards. We are here to execute the order of eunuch Liu to kill Zhushi Wang. It has nothing to do with you, so you’d better get clear of here!” But the two neighbors replied, “Zhushi Wang is a good man, a man of good character. How can you have the heart to murder him? Besides, you’re now in the city of Hangzhou , and if you murder him and throw the body into the river, the local authority will get involved and will certainly carry out a thorough investigation. So, you cannot do that!” The two guards were in a dilemma, “What should we do now? If we don’t kill him, we’ll be unable to report to the Imperial Court and will be killed instead.” The two neighbors suggested, “In that case, please allow him to have a whole body! Please let him drown himself in the Qiantang River , thus his body will remain whole and the locals will not get encumbered.” The two guards accepted their suggestion at last. When they reached the bank, Wang said to the two neighbors, “I’m surely to die tonight. I want to thank you for your great friendship and ask you to do me one more favor. Be sure to send a message to my family, tell them to come and bury me.” “But we need some proof to convince your family when we take them the message” they said. “I happen to have paper with me, but no writing brush,” he answered. So they borrowed one for him. Promptly, he wrote two death poems and asked them to hand them to his family as a proof. That night, he went down the riverbank, hid himself in a corner of the dam, stripped off his shoes and belt, threw a big rock into the river, attempting to make a false impression that he jumped into the river and committed suicide. The next day, he was on board a small boat and arrived in Fujian by sea. The story roughly corresponds with the first narration.

Of the four versions in the records, the first one seems to be most credible. The river was wide and swift, he jumped into it in order to escape the killing of the Jinyiwei Guards . It was an act out of panic, and naturally he was unable to foresee the result. It was more likely that he was carried downstream by the torrents. (It’s true we don’t know whether he was a good swimmer or not). The following parts of the story are reasonably true that he was later saved by the crew of a merchant ship, made a stop at Zhoushan, and arrived in Fujian by sea, for the Qiantang River poured into the Hangzhou Bay , and the Zhoushan Islands were not far off the sea coast. It also makes sense that when he got ashore in Fujian Province , ventured into Wuyi Mountains , he felt inspired to live as a hermit, because it fitted with his character. Once he decided to go to Longchang to take the appointed post, he first turned back to Nanjing to see his father, and then went to Shaoxing , his hometown. This was a reasonable arrangement in his situation as he had an exhausting trip of escape, being left with no supplies to sustain him. He would have no way to deal with the harsh environment in Longchang if he went there directly from the mountains in Fujian Province . Therefore, it is more convincing that he went back home for some preparation before going to Longchang as planned.

However the records differ, it is for sure that in order to escape the assassination of the Jinyiwei Guards , Wang Yang-ming endured tremendous sufferings and difficulties. Fortunately, he survived all the trials and tribulations. In December of that year, with a short rest in his hometown, he set out on the journey for Longchang, probably unaware at the time that he was to encounter more severe tests of life in Longchang .

(Translated by Shi Ya-bo; Proofread by Zhu Lu-ping)