Proposing His “Philosophy of Mind”

Abstract

After undergoing untold hardships , Wang Yang-ming by all means got rid of the hunt of the imperial military secret police .

3.1 The Enlightenment in Longchang

After undergoing untold hardships , Wang Yang-ming by all means got rid of the hunt of the imperial military secret police . Then he returned to his hometown, Shaoxing , Zhejiang , by making a detour from Fujian and Jiangxi . After some rest, he set off to where he was relegated—Longchang ,¹ Guizhou.

It was really distant from Shaoxing , Zhejiang to Longchang, Guizhou under the travel conditions of his time. There was not so much knowledge about the natural environment and living conditions of Longchang , so Wang Yang-ming must have had some expectations about the nasty environment before his departure. With this in mind , he did not plan to go there alone, but with a retinue. When leaving, his students as well as his family all came to see him off. By the way, we have to mention another person named Xu Ai , with Yueren as his Courtesy name . He admired Wang Yang-ming’s knowledge greatly while Wang Yang-ming appreciated his diligence and he later became Wang’s brother-in-law. When Wang Yang-ming was leaving for Longchang , Xu Ai also came to see him off and formally acknowledged him as his teacher to inherit Sage Theory. Among many of Wang Yang-ming’s students, Xu Ai was not only one of his earliest but also one of his favorite students, regarded as “my Yan Yuan” ² by Wang Yang-ming. It was a pity that he died at the age of 31, a premature end of life like Yan’s, and Wang Yang-ming grieved deeply at his death. Xu Ai was a vital figure in the early spread of Wang Yang-ming’s philosophy.

Wang Yang-ming left Shaoxing in December of 1507 (the second year of the Zhengde Emperor ), and arrived at Longchang , Guizhou in the spring of 1508 (the third year of the Zhengde Emperor ), which was called the place of “indigenous diseases” at that time because of a sultry climate with an average altitude of 1,300 m, plenty of rainfall, and high humidity. Longchang was located among mountains and thorns without convenient transportation though it is easily accessible at present. Longchang was an area inhabited mainly by Miao and Buyi nationalities so there was a language barrier for the Han nationality. To sum up the several points mentioned above, we can conclude that Longchang’s living conditions were horrible in Wang Yang-ming’s time and even could be described as extremely abhorrent to an official of Han nationality.

After his arrival at Longchang, Wang Yang-ming first encountered an essential living problem—housing. At that time, there was only a courier hostel without any other houses. Where could he live? He could only build a thatched shed by himself, which was lower than his shoulder and could only house one person. The shed was too shabby to keep out wind and rain so it was always wet inside when there was wind or rain. However, he still kept at his work. He went around and learned about the geography of the mountains and rivers as well as the customs and traditions of local people. There is one especially noteworthy point that it was a habit for Wang Yang-ming to learn in person about the local terrain and landform as well as the actual living conditions and customs of local people, which will be mentioned again later. In the process of his learning, he found a cave in Mount Longgang in the northeast of Longchang , which was called “East Cave ” by local people. Surrounded by tall and old trees and beautiful scenery, the cave can shield wind and rain despite its dankness, so Wang Yang-ming moved in and settled down. Living in this natural cave renamed as “Yang-ming’s Little Cave,” Wang Yang-ming was indeed reduced to the living status of “dwelling in rocky caves.” However, he even felt somewhat delighted in his inner heart due to his peace of mind . He recalled the old story that Confucius once “was wishing to go and live among the nine wild tribes (minorities) of the east.” With the lofty ideal of humanity, Confucius traveled around the countries of Zhongyuan ³; when he could not achieve his ideal, he once came up with such an idea of living among the minorities where he might realize his ambition instead. When his student asked, “How can you live in such a squalid place?” “Where a gentleman dwells, how can there be anything squalid?” he refuted. A gentleman can live comfortably in whatever place, i.e., a gentleman can influence the local people where he lives; when the culture is spread and the local customs are changed, how can there be anything squalid? Now Wang Yang-ming was living among the minorities, but his state of mind was tranquil and peaceful despite the primitive material conditions. Therefore, he wrote, “I really believe there is nothing squalid even if I live among the minorities; as long as my state of mind is tranquil and peaceful, I can discover the significance of life from the primordial surroundings. I miss my hometown too, but as a gentleman, I can live anywhere adaptably; and I have never regretted my past behavior.”

Nevertheless, after temporarily solving the problem of housing by living in the cave, Wang Yang-ming immediately encountered another serious living problem—unacclimatization. As we know, when a person migrates to another place from his usual residence, the difference in climate, environment, and food will disagree with him physically, which is “unacclimatization.” Guizhou is a plateau. Although it is not at a very high altitude, Longchang has a totally different climate from Zhejiang . Moreover, Wang Yang-ming had just arrived there and lived in the cold and dank cave, so it was inevitable for him to feel uncomfortable under such harsh living conditions. It was because of “unacclimatization” and those hard living conditions that all three retinues he took fell ill. Comparatively, his own condition was rather good though he did not feel very well. Taking these retinues, Wang Yang-ming had expected they could look after him, whereas now he had to take good care of them. He not only cut the firewood, fetched the water, and cooked porridge to feed them, but also sang songs and hometown tunes to make them feel better. Due to illness the patients were in a bad mood and criticized his singing as unpleasant. He was not upset by the criticism and told stories and jokes to cheer them up instead. It was just under his care that they gradually recovered their health.

After some time, Wang Yang-ming was faced with another even worse living problem—lack of food. The food was running short. How could he solve this problem? It was spring, the season to grow crops. Wang Yang-ming saw the local Miao people sowing grains by means of slash-and-burn farming, that is, first slashing the grasses and bushes, burning them up, and finally sowing seeds in the field. This was certainly a rather primitive but simple way of farming. Wang Yang-ming learned the approach from the local people, cultivated a piece of land and sowed grains himself. Meanwhile, he found the housing of local Miao people was also rather primitive, mainly “shacks.” As a result, he taught the local people to make shelter and build houses with wood, which not only improved the living conditions of local people but also spread the culture of Han people .⁴ The Miao people were also very thankful for Wang’s friendliness. When learning that “Yang-ming’s Little Cave” he lived in was really a small dank place without yang (sunshine) and ming (brightness) but a damp cave, they cut wood in the mountain and helped him build several houses, where he could live better, reading and lecturing. He named those houses “Longgang Academy” and later many buildings were added to it, such as Binyang Hall , Helou Veranda , Junzi Pavilion , Wanyi Cave , etc. By the way, these buildings still exist in Xiuwen County , having undergone much reconstruction.

One day an official came when Wang Yang-ming was getting on well with the local people. When he saw Wang Yang-ming, he accused Wang in a patronizing tone of not having paid a visit to the Taishou ⁵ of Sizhou , Guizhou after his arrival at Longchang . In fact, the official was sent by the Taishou to humiliate Wang. The Sizhou government was located in today’s Chenggong County of Guizhou Province , and Longchang was under its governance at that time. The official was extremely rude to Wang Yang-ming, insulting him abusively. While Wang tolerated it, the local Miao people could not, so many of them came and beat up the official. He went away in dismay. When he got back to Sizhou , he certainly reported it to the Taishou , adding trimmings. Naturally, the Taishou was so enraged that he reported it to the higher authorities, the Ancha Si⁶ of Guizhou, complaining that Wang Yang-ming ganged up with the local people and showed contempt for the government authority, and demanding Wang apologize to him by saluting and kowtowing. Since the Ancha Si took charge of the judicial affairs of the whole province, it aroused the attention of Fushi (Deputy Judge ) Mao Ke when the Taishou reported it to the Ancha Si. Mao Ke was sort of Wang Yang-ming’s fellow townsman, as Mao was also from Yuyao, Zhejiang Province . However, when he received the Taishou’s complaints, he was very dissatisfied with Wang and wrote him a letter, hoping he would get a clear understanding of the situation and put himself in a right position. Wang was required to apologize to the Taishou by saluting and kowtowing, and not to make things worse, otherwise it would be hard to tell whether his future in Longchang would be a blessing or a disaster. After receiving his letter, Wang Yang-ming immediately wrote a reply to him with roughly three points.

“First, according to the letter, the Taishou of Sizhou sent the official to show his kindness. It was not at the Taishou’s command but out of the official’s own arrogance that he humiliated me. It was also not my intention that the local people of Longchang beat up the official. They did so because they did not like his arrogance. That is to say, the Taishou has never humiliated me while I have never showed him any arrogance either, so there was no guilt or fault for either of us at all. So then why should I apologize to him by saluting and kowtowing”?

“Second, it is normal for us lower-ranking officials to kowtow to higher-ranking officials. It is not a shame, but there must be some reason for such etiquette. It is self-disgracing to kowtow to the one who does not deserve it.” By saying so, Wang Yang-ming was implying that he would not do anything to disgrace himself.

“Third, you have mentioned weal and woe, gains and losses in the letter. I am a mere nobody relegated by the Imperial Court , so I can only depend on the values of propriety, righteousness, integrity and honor in this remote uncivilized place. I will never care about weal and woe only if I insist on those values. It must be woe without them.”

As can be seen from the above points, under such difficult circumstances, Wang Yang-ming did not yield to higher ranking officials’ authority, but completely stuck to the independence of his principles, which best manifests the value that “poverty and low status do not move you from your principles while authority and might do not distort you.” Wang Yang-ming was a dignified gentleman who dared to stand between heaven and earth. It was because of his tactful and righteous attitude in his reply to Mao Ke that Mao felt ashamed and did not persecute him on the matter after receiving his reply.

Sometime later, another official came to Longchang who was very polite and humble to Wang Yang-ming . He was sent by An Shi , Xuanwei Shi of Shuixi Xuanwei Si ,⁷ which was the name of Tusi , the local chieftain, with the hereditary municipality chief as the head, whose seat was located in today’s Guiyang , capital city of Guizhou Province . It turned out that Xuanwei Shi An heard of the fame of Wang Yang-ming and admired him very much. When hearing about the difficulty of his life, he sent some supplies, such as rice, chicken, goose, firewood, charcoal, etc. as well as the gift of silver, gold, and horses. Wang Yang-ming also wrote a reply to the chief official, saying, “Your friendliness is greatly appreciated. However, I’m only a petty official who has been relegated by the Imperial Court . Money and horses are of absolutely no use in Longchang , so I will definitely not take them. As for supplies like rice, you will not feel happy if I do not take them. Therefore, I will only take rice, chicken, goose, firewood and charcoal. Thank you again for your kindness.”

To sum up, when he first came and lived in Longchang , Wang Yang-ming experienced extremely tough living conditions in a completely unfamiliar environment, one beyond his expectations. Living in a gloomy and dank cave with various noxious insects and miasma, all three of his retinues fell ill, and Wang Yang-ming himself strongly felt the fragility of life. He had to gather firewood, cook, and attend to the patients of his group all on his own. Moreover, he had witnessed the scene of “frozen bodies lying by the roadside” in Longchang . An anonymous Limu ⁸ from the capital city hurried to Longchang with a son and a servant, but on the way, within 3 days they died one by one. They may have died from starvation, coldness, illness, tiredness, or some other cause. Although he did not know them, their death aroused in him a deep sympathy for human life as well as an infinite sense of desolation for his own future and fate. He led two young retinues to bury the three deceased people and even wrote an article to honor them. That incident had a great impact on his thoughts and feelings: in the environment where he lived, with a great scarcity of living materials—even necessities of life not being satisfied—he could feel the most severe challenges to life itself almost every day. It even made him face death directly. When survival becomes the biggest and the most fundamental problem in life, worldly fame and honor become pale and unimportant, and how to live on is the most important. Survival became the most crucial issue to Wang Yang-ming after his arrival at Longchang.

Wang Yang-ming later recalled that under such circumstances, gains or losses, honor or disgrace had become meaningless, and that he had not taken them into consideration, but was only concerned with life or death. Since he was constantly faced with the threat of death, he began to give careful consideration to “the problem of death.” However, he adopted an eccentric approach: he made a stone coffin and lay inside to experience death, meditating with eyes shut; meanwhile, he continued asking himself: “what would a sage do in such a situation?” Day and night he sat in meditation and gradually slipped into the state of “one-pointedness of mind .” In a moonlit night, light suddenly rose from the bottom of his heart and with the light he found himself completely integrated with the fullness of nature and boundless universe. Meanwhile, an infinite joy surging in his heart made him let out a loud scream, which resounded through the skies in the silent night and soon merged into the rolling mountains. His three retinues were woken up by the scream and amazed to see him covered in sweat with a look of ecstasy on his face.

That incident is known as Wang Yang-ming’s “Enlightenment in Longchang .” What on earth had he gained in his enlightenment? Frankly speaking, we really cannot know the details of the situation, but one thing is certain: that he had been set free from the problem of death, the long-time barrier in his heart, and gained an understanding of the truth of life. Since the fetters of death had been cast off and surpassed, the threat of death was left behind him and no longer important to him at all.

Then what is “enlightenment”? In fact, it is not mysterious but quite common in life. It is a peculiar state of mind in which the thread of thought is suddenly animated by continuously considering and reflecting on some problem that has long troubled one. This state of mind is likely to be suddenly reached when one is “triggered” by some phenomenon in a particular circumstance. Many ancient and current ideologists and scientists at home and abroad have had similar experiences. For example, once Archimedes was thinking about how to measure the volume of an irregular shaped object. One day when he dipped himself into the bathtub and the water overflowed from it, he suddenly perceived the solution and became so excited that he ran out of the bathroom in his birthday suit, shouting “Eureka ! Eureka!” (I’ve got it! I’ve got it!) This “enlightenment” is the sudden animation of a certain thought which is casually triggered by something. This trigger is only effective to the mind reflecting on a certain problem for a long time. Ever since people have employed a kettle to boil water, the phenomenon has existed that the kettle lid vibrates as the water is boiling. However, it was Watt that was inspired to develop innovations for the steam engine. What’s more, it is common to see a ripe apple falling from the tree, while this phenomenon became the trigger for Newton to discover the law of gravity . Therefore, as a state of mind , “enlightenment” is not mysterious, but commonly existing in our daily practice.

Wang Yang-ming continuously thought about the problem of “death,” and when he “penetrated” it in a particular way, death no longer seemed that terrifying. Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of life, an important event in the living process. Confucius once said, “Whilst you do not know life, how can you know about death?” “Life” and “death” are only two different aspects of the same “living” process. Likewise, we can also say, “Whilst you do not know death, how can you know about life?” It was because Wang Yang-ming had perceived and even surpassed death that he could more profoundly perceive the meaning of life. In his eyes, everything in nature, including green mountains, clear water, white clouds, flying birds, and swimming fish, took on the great joy of life. His mind became as broad and boundless as nature. Thus, he had perceived a truth: the truth of everything is in one’s mind . With a correct state of mind, everyone can perceive the truth of things properly. Therefore, he said, “There is the Tao of Sage in one’s nature.” He thought it was absolutely wrong to pursue “the Tao of Sage” as something external, looking for it outside oneself as he did in the past.

In his opinion, when one is living in the world and dealing with various people and things, the attitude matters because it directly determines the outcome. What is attitude? Attitude is only the manifestation of one’s inner state of mind . In this sense, one’s own state of mind directly determines the attitude and manner one takes to deal with people and things, while the attitude and manner directly determine the outcome of dealing with people and things. Everyone has to come to terms with such an outcome; as a result, it is crucial for us to deal with people and things in a proper state of mind . If we deal with people and things in a narrow, selfish, and gloomy state of mind, our outlook will become narrow, selfish, and gloomy; likewise, if we deal with people and things in the world with a broad, selfless, and bright state of mind, our outlook will become broad, selfless, and bright.

There is a story “Yiren Qiefu” ⁹ in Liezi ,¹⁰ an ancient book in China. Someone lost an axe and suspected his next-door neighbor, Lao Zhang’s son, of stealing the axe. The story goes like this: “One day, a man lost his axe and considered that it was stolen by the son of his neighbor. The more he observed the kid’s behavior and manners, the more he believed the child did this. Later the man found the axe in one of the foxtail piles, and knew that he had wronged his neighbor’s son. And then, he found the more he observed the kid, the more innocence he found.” This can be regarded as an example that “the state of mind ” determines one’s attitude and opinion toward people and things. Du Fu , a prominent poet in the Tang dynasty, once wrote a famous poem, two lines of which went: “The flowers are weeping at one’s sadness while the birds are startling at one’s departure.” The blooming spring flowers are supposed to be a feast to one’s eyes. But in the eyes of one who is sad, the beautiful flowers seem to be weeping sadly. It is always upsetting to depart from one’s family, so when seeing the birds taking off from the trees, one will feel startled due to the association of departure. This is another example that “the state of mind ” determines one’s attitude and opinion.

We already know that Wang Yang-ming had made up his mind to be a sage since his childhood. In order to be a sage, he repeatedly attempted Gewu Zhizhi , i.e., “achieving knowledge by investigating the world,” in accordance with the opinion of Zhu Xi , a notable Confucian scholar in the Song dynasty. For example, he attempted to ge zhuzi, i.e., to investigate bamboo, at the age of 16, as is mentioned in Sect. 1.2. Hence, the significance of his “Enlightenment in Longchang ” can be simply summarized as follows:

• (1) Wang Yang-ming accomplished his “Enlightenment in Longchang ” in a special state of mind , that is, “what would a sage do in such a situation?” It was such an idea of Wang Yang-ming that made him actually enter “the state of mind of a sage.” Therefore, the “Enlightenment in Longchang” was a natural result brought about by his long-standing ambition of “being a sage” in the specific living space of Longchang .

• (2) Wang Yang-ming’s “Enlightenment in Longchang ” practically led to the denial of Zhu Xi’s opinion that “there is tianli or li ¹¹ (heavenly principles) in everything.” Wang Yang-ming’s opinion was just the opposite: that everything’s tianli is in one’s own mind . Therefore, it is of vital importance to maintain the right state of mind. If one’s state of mind is not rightly set, it is impossible to speak or act in the right way. Therefore, the “Enlightenment in Longchang ” was the beginning of his formal breakup with Zhu Xi’s theory.

• (3) Meanwhile, the “Enlightenment in Longchang ” was also the starting point of the establishment of Wang Yang-ming’s philosophical theory with “mind ” as its core, on which all of his thoughts and opinions afterward were based.

After the “Enlightenment,” a fundamental transformation happened to Wang Yang-ming’s life in Longchang . He wanted to perceive joy in the hard life, and to put his thoughts into practice with all his heart. The next year, another significant transformation took place in his life.

(Translated by Yao Yu; Proofread by Pan Xun-yi)

3.2 The Oneness of Knowing and Doing

In the last section, the extreme conditions Wang Yang-ming experienced in Longchang were discussed. But Wang Yang-ming stood out among his fellow people in his tenacious pursuit of his ideal of “becoming a sage ” notwithstanding whatever conditions he was in. His persistence in becoming a sage finally led to his “Enlightenment in Longchang ,” a definitive breakthrough in his contemplation, and a transformative milestone in his outlook on life and the world. This spiritual leap-forward may seem straightforward and unexceptional to us today, because even in our wildest dreams we cannot imagine the level of deprivation and adversity that Wang Yang-ming had to endure in Longchang . Words or documentation would pale and muffle against these extremely harsh conditions. Seldom could anyone face such dire circumstances and still maintain serenity and dignity as not everyone is equipped with the ability to find peace and pleasure in such austere country life.

It was not long after his transformative enlightenment when Wang Yang-ming started his lectures in Longchang. He truly viewed teaching as his life’s mission. He would talk about Taoism and the meaning of life from his own unique perspectives first to his servants then to the local Miao people. Some of his disciples would come to Longchang to visit him and attend his lectures, whose participation naturally delighted Wang Yang-ming very much! They strolled in the open fields, appreciated the moon beside the creeks, drank wine by the candle in the thatched shelter, and explored the Sages ’ spirituality. The following poem is the proof of the situation:

There’s true joy in lecturing

When we laugh absent of vulgarity.

Confucius in the breeze in Yi River¹² we reminisce;

Thousands of years apart but with so much similarity.

He found great joy giving lectures to his disciples, which was precisely what made his situation similar to Confucius ’. However, some disciples could not stand the hardships and would leave after two or three nights’ stay, which left Wang Yang-ming with remorse and conjecture. He wrote a poem,

Hundreds of miles you came,

But three nights later you left.

The guqin¹³ you wouldn’t play,

The wine you wouldn’t taste.

With the profound respect you are hurrying away,

Just due to the care from me you are not content?

His poem represented his addressing his disciples, “You came here from the places hundreds of miles away, but how could you say goodbye when you have only stayed here for three nights. I have guqin here but you don’t play. I treat you with wine but you don’t drink. The fact that you came from afar to see me indicates the profound respect you want to display to me. Could it be that you are not satisfied with my improper care of you so you are now hurrying away?” He thus said to his disciples,

Like the dust is the wealth, uncontrolled;

Like the catkin is the fame, afloat.

Enjoy the pondering together, my disciples,

My philosophy you may feel, interesting.

Why not come, bringing your books,

With me in the cottage, we reside.

The poem can be explained as, “Wealth and fame are like the dust on earth and the floating catkin in the sky since they are leisurely and uncertainly flying up and down. Although the living conditions here are difficult, you may find the real pleasure and enjoyment from the lectures and discussions on the Tao of Sage . You disciples, why not bring your books to live in the cottage with me, together pondering the Tao of Sage and appreciating the joy of life?” These poems clearly revealed Wang’s serene mental state as well as his persistent pursuit of Tao of Sage and Truth, in addition to his deep concern and affection toward his disciples.

In 1509 (the fourth year of the Zhengde Emperor ), there came to Longchang a guest named Xi Shu , Courtesy name Yuanshan, deputy Tixue Shi , an education official from Guizhou Province . On hearing about Wang’s Enlightenment in Longchang and his giving lectures in Longchang, Xi Shu came and wanted to ask him for his insight on “the similarities and differences between Zhu and Lu.” What were “the similarities and differences between Zhu and Lu”? Zhu was Zhu Xi while Lu was Lu Jiu-yuan , both of whom were famous philosophers in the Southern Song dynasty, and who constantly argued against each other, both sticking to their own viewpoints. When it came to the later generations, “the similarities and differences between Zhu and Lu” became a significant philosophical problem among the scholars and intellectuals, therefore an essential problem in Chinese ideological history as well. When Xi Shu came to consult with Wang for his insight on the matter, Wang Yang-ming did not answer directly; instead, he elaborated on his enlightenment in Longchang , which he called “The Oneness of Knowing and Doing .” Since Xi Shu had never heard about “The Oneness of Knowing and Doing,” he was dubious of this theory, and returned to Guiyang even more confounded. Several days later, Xi Shu made a second visit and Wang Yang-ming discussed with him again. After several visits and discussions like this, Xi Shu finally came to believe in Wang Yang-ming’s philosophy of “The Oneness of Knowing and Doing ,” convinced that it was the real Tao of Sage . He could not hold his joy and excitement, claiming “I had never imagined that the real Tao of Sage would strike me at this moment!” As a result, he tried his best to invite Wang Yang-ming to Guiyang Academy to spread his new thoughts to the students and learners there.

Of course, Wang Yang-ming gladly accepted the invitation since lecturing was his interest and it would definitely be beneficial to the spreading of his philosophy of “The Oneness of Knowing and Doing.” The History of Ming¹⁴ documented Wang Yang-ming’s lecturing in Guiyang Academy in 1509 (the fifth year of the Zhengde Emperor ), claiming that this incident made a great contribution to the construction and development of Guizhou culture. This was also an initial spreading of Wang Yang-ming’s unique thoughts to the outside world.

Wang Yang-ming spent almost 1 year lecturing in Guiyang Academy. In the spring of 1510 (the fourth year of the Zhengde Emperor ), his 3 years of relegation came to an end, and he was promoted to Zhixian ¹⁵ of Luling County.¹⁶ His actual stay in Longchang was 2 years, to be exact.

Luling County , now Ji’an County in Jiangxi Province , while a small county at the time, was quite well known due to the cultural celebrities like Ou-yang Xiu ¹⁷ and Wen Tian-xiang .¹⁸ We could guess that Wang Yang-ming was happy when he was finally able to leave Longchang. He once wrote, “Spread the word please, you white crane on the mountain peak; this common man is to leave Longchang finally.” It is true that it was at Longchang where Wang had his mental leap-forward and experienced the Enlightenment, but the isolated location and the hard living conditions made it difficult to spread his ideas and thoughts. However, he could never expect that he was to face even more severe circumstances in Luling County . All the incidents that would happen after he arrived there were going to be real tests of his political management ability.

Wang Yang-ming assumed office in Luling County on March 18, 1510 (the fifth year of the Zhengde Emperor ). On the first day of his arrival, thousands of local people swarmed into the county office building, shouting and yelling angrily, full of rage and uproar. When some officials proposed to bring in county guards to drive those people out of the building, Wang Yang-ming did not agree. Although he did not understand what the local people were talking about and what they wanted to do, he was certain that they came here for some reasons, possibly because of difficulties or injustice. As their tribune, when the local people came here for help and protection, how could he drive them away?

Walking down from his seat immediately, Wang Yang-ming talked to several experienced and reasonable men, enquiring about what problems they had encountered. In 1507 (the second year of the Zhengde Emperor ), a eunuch surnamed Yao , as imperial commissioner, came to Jiangxi , requiring all the counties to pay a tribute of ko-hemp cloth every year. The quantity of ko-hemp cloth depended on the size of the county. If some counties did not have a sufficient quantity of cloth, they needed to go to other counties to purchase it. Luling County did not produce ko-hemp cloth, so it needed 105 taels of silver to purchase it from other counties. The poor local people, unable to bear the additional taxation allotment, objected to the policy strongly. In 1508 (the third year of the Zhengde Emperor ), the two officials in charge of levying the additional allotment could not levy any silver from the local people, and then, under the huge pressure from superior officials, turned over their own money to the superior officials. In 1509 (the fourth year of the Zhengde Emperor ), the two officials, again against their own wills, turned over their own money to the superior officials. In 1510 (the fifth year of the Zhengde Emperor ), before the arrival of Wang Yang-ming, the two officials visited the local people for levying the additional allotment, making the local people realize this sum of silver was mandatory and would be levied every year. In those years, the taxes and levies in Luling County were rather high; due to its mountainous location, Luling County needed to pay tribute to the Imperial Court every year, such as fir, nanmu, charcoal, farm animals, and so on, equal to 3498 taels of silver. In 1510 (the fifth year of the Zhengde Emperor ), the total sum of silver was tripled, amounting to more than 10,000 taels of silver, plunging the impoverished local people into misery and despair. When the local people learned of the arrival of the new county magistrate , they spontaneously carried out group petitions for the reduction of taxes and levies.

Having learned about the details, Wang Yang-ming was overwhelmed with sadness and sympathy. He had never imagined how destitute life the local people led and how heavy the taxes were. If the situation could not be improved, it would definitely threaten the stability of the whole Luling County. Immediately on the spot, he announced, “You fellow folks, please go home right now. I will report your misery and difficulties to the higher authorities. Not only the 105 taels of silver for ko-hemp cloth will be exempted, but also all the other taxes and levies will be exempted for this year.” Hearing this announcement, the local people calmed down and dispersed.

With the crowd gone, Wang Yang-ming sank into deep thought. On the first day in office, he made such a big decision of granting tax exemption, which would probably displease and offend the Imperial Court and lead to his demotion yet another time. However, as the county magistrate , he would place the interests of the local people above personal interests, rather than only taking his own interests into consideration. “Seeing the common people’s difficulties, one could not help but to solve them; knowing the current malpractices, one could not dare to expostulate.” These would never happen to Wang Yang-ming . Therefore, he sent 100 taels of silver levied last year to the higher authority on the one hand, and on the other hand, he drafted a document asking for the tax exemption in Luling County , stating, “If the Imperial Court blamed me for the tax exemption in Luling County, I will take the full responsibility, willing to be dismissed from office and back to countryside farming, without any complaints nor bitterness.”

After handling group petitions, Wang Yang-ming went to the countryside to observe the people’s condition and to learn about the folk customs in person. On his way, a group of common people stopped him, wanted him to redress an injustice, thus he asked them to visit the county government office building the next day. It was absolutely unexpected that as soon as the door of the county government was opened the next day, thousands of people rushed into the house, claiming to file lawsuits. Wang Yang-ming calmed down these people and invited those with the loudest cry to hand in their written complaints. After reading and inquiring, he found what they argued about were either trifles or false claims, so he dismissed the crowd. Thereupon, he acquainted himself with the simplicity and honesty of the folk customs as well as its lack of humility and virtuousness. As long as any conflict or disagreement arose, the local people would litigate nine times out of ten. Hence, for one thing, the folk custom was short of humility and virtuousness, for another, the county government failed to deal with piles of cases in time. Another statement was made: “from now on, the county government will not take up any new cases from the local people. The season for spring plowing has come, and the spring planting should be in full swing. If I continue to deal with various lawsuits, thousands of people will come to file lawsuits neglecting what is required for each season, which definitely does no good. If there is any great grievance that needs to be addressed, I will make investigations and redress any injustice. Neighbors are expected to show understanding and friendliness, and make compromises to each other. When any conflict or disagreement arises, the two parties should first discuss with each other, through mediation if necessary, about any dispute, showing more tolerance and forgiveness toward one another. Fighting legal battles will hurt the feelings and harmony of the neighborhood, which is absolutely not the philosophy of life. Now I will make an agreement with you folks: From now on, lawsuits will not be engaged unless it is a major and urgent case. Filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness are extolled among folks. I will call on and pay tribute to those families who are well-known for their kindness and friendliness.”

Curiously enough, after the posting of this statement, one by one, people came to withdraw their lawsuits, hence the change of the local customs.

When the summer came, Luling County suffered a severe drought, which dramatically decreased the yield of autumn grain. What was worse, the drought led to more serious problems. To sum up, they were: (1) the spread of epidemic diseases. The severe drought and water depletion resulted in poor sanitation and food insecurity, which further caused epidemic diseases. What is worse, rumors of plague flew among folks. When there was an ill person at home, everybody fled and escaped, as if he had been infected by a plague. The patient’s family members would not take care of him, afraid of being infected, resulting in the starvation of the patient and the death of the whole family. Such a vicious cycle aggravated the epidemic disease. (2) Frequent fire hazards. The dry and hot weather easily caused fires. When a fire broke out, there was no water to use, leaving lots of residential houses burned down. In that year, more than 1000 family homes were victims of fire, leaving thousands homeless. (3) A theft and burglary plague. Due to both natural disasters and man-made hazards, many local people in the county got into groups for stealing, or formed gangs. They would loot, burglarize, or simply rob the neighborhoods. Gangster groups in nearby mountainous areas also joined in these horrific activities. For a time, the Luling County became a hell for the poor, who were literally struggling to just stay alive.

Facing such grave problems, Wang Yang-ming , as the magistrate of Luling County , was fully dedicated to drought relief, making efforts to resolve those problems. He streamlined his efforts into three areas: Firstly, to cope with epidemic diseases, Wang Yang-ming, on the one hand, called on family members not to abandon their sick members but to take good care of them, and most importantly to keep their living quarters clean and hygienic. If the patients unfortunately died, the families needed to bury them as soon as possible to prevent the outbreak of a plague. On the other hand, he called upon the rich to donate grain, medicine, and silver to support the poor, and the government sent doctors to various towns and villages to help the patients.

Secondly, to prevent fire outbreaks, Wang Yang-ming himself carried out site surveys of residential structures in Luling. He found that the main reasons for frequent fire outbreaks included narrow streets, close proximity among housings, high buildings, and no fire walls between houses. So, once there was a fire, it would spread very quickly from home to home and become a big fire, burning down many houses at a time. During the reconstruction after fires, he initiated a series of new requirements to make residential structures more fireproof. For example, when rebuilding their houses, all were required to retreat three feet to widen the streets; two adjacent families were required to increase the space between two houses by two inches each side, and all the houses along the streets could not be higher than 5 m, and the multi-storey buildings not higher than 7 m. In addition, Wang also redesigned the water supply grid map, and built various water storage facilities in different neighborhoods, in case of a fire emergency. All these measures could cut off the fire source effectively and made it much easier to put out a fire to save life and property. Though these measures were like mending the fence after the breakage, they became useful in future firefighting efforts.

At this point, we need to mention A Chronicle of Wang Yang-ming’s Life,¹⁹ which recorded an incident of a severe fire outbreak when Wang “prayed against the wind, offered a sacrifice of blood, and extinguished the fire.” In other words, he carried out a religious ceremony to change the direction of the wind and put out the fire. Certainly its truth cannot be proved, but at least it can show the fact that Wang Yang-ming made great efforts to fight against disasters. On the other hand, Wang Yang-ming used Taoist magic arts to get rid of the crisis, which would not be the first nor the last time. He used the same method in getting rid of Zhu Chen-hao’s chase, which we will mention in later chapters.

Thirdly, to fight against thefts, robberies, and burglaries, Wang Yang-ming implemented the Baojia System ,²⁰ a community-based system of law enforcement and civil control. In cities, ten families would be one Jia while in the countryside, one village constituted one Bao. With Bao and Jia as the basic units, the folks were expected to maintain harmonious neighborhood relationships, helping one another, and when robbers or burglars attacked the place, all in the units would come to support and help to fight the thieves, robbers, and so on. With the implementation of the Baojia System , a network of self-protection and mutual defense among folks was established, effectively curbing the rampant banditry. Wang liked the Baojia System so much that, 5 or 6 years later, he again used it in Jiangxi, Huguang , Fujian , and Guangdong Provinces, in the crackdown on banditry in those places. But he improved the Baojia System substantially and renamed it Shijiapai System ,²¹ which played a significant role in combating crime.

During his 7 months as Magistrate of Luling County, Wang Yang-ming successfully dealt with a series of emergency incidents, including group petitions, collective litigation, drought, epidemic diseases, fire, thieves, and brigands. The effective handling of these outbursts of crime and natural disasters reflected his outstanding political talent and statesmanship in challenging situations. During his 7-month period of being an official, he was assiduous in government affairs, provided good service for the people, building up an image of a diligent and loving magistrate . He focused on people and their livelihood, committed to long-term social stability, fully devoted to the restoration and reconstruction of the social life and production after the drought and fire disasters, all of which spoke well to his remarkable political vision. He definitely was not a person who was anxious to achieve quick success and get instant results only for his own political gains. In the following chapters, we will see more examples of Wang’s aiming for long-term results in handling city affairs and his devotion to serving the common people throughout his life, wherever he was.

In the autumn of 1510 (the fifth year of the Zhengde Emperor ), Liujin was executed. In November, Wang Yang-ming was summoned to the capital city to meet with the emperor, thus ending his career of being a county magistrate . Before his leaving, he issued his last proclamation, in which he first criticized himself, and then expressed his sincere hope that local people would continue to educate and discipline young people, promote courtesy and kindness toward one another, maintain trust and harmony among neighbors. He told his people that kindness was the root of happiness, and happy families could protect properties, as well as enhance feelings of well-being in life. Finally, he said: “Alas! Words have limits, but my sincere wishes for you all are limitless. I have to go now, so I’m saying farewell to you. But please be sure to remember what I have said!” The few sentences reflected his deep love for the people in Luling.

Being the magistrate in Luling County was his first administrative position. In these 7 months of service, he adeptly handled a series of emergent events, and effectively practiced his abilities in coping with unexpected and challenging situations. Moreover, these experiences were his first applications of his philosophy of the Oneness of Knowing and Doing .

At this point, let us go back and give some explanations of Wang Yang-ming’s philosophy of the Oneness of Knowing and Doing . Generally speaking, before we can carry out an action, we need first to figure out how to do it. In other words, before an action can be taken, we need to develop the knowledge about this action. If we do not know how to do it, how could it be possible for us to do it? Therefore, in our common sense, knowledge precedes action. Zhu Xi agreed with this “knowledge preceding action” sequence. He maintained that we must first obtain or develop necessary knowledge about any action before it can be taken, that is why we should first “Gewu” before “Zhizhi”—gaining knowledge is a must before taking actions. After the Enlightenment in Longchang , Wang Yang-ming believed that there was something wrong with this common-sense theory of knowledge and action sequence. If we apply this knowing before doing doctrine to morality, we would encounter serious problems. Why? He explained, if knowledge came first, then in reality, people probably would overemphasize the importance of knowledge while neglecting the importance of action. Since knowledge has no limits, people might spend their whole life in pursuing knowledge, without any actions, leading to the false dichotomy of separating knowledge from action, leaving knowledge meaningless in reality. Thus, Wang Yang-ming argued that to overcome this problem of false dichotomy, we must advocate the philosophy of the Oneness of Knowing and Doing , that is, to let people know that taking concrete steps to do things is much more important than just developing or acquiring some abstract knowledge.

Wang’s advocating of the Oneness of Knowing and Doing, on the one hand, was to correct the popular misperception of “knowledge prior to action”; on the other hand, the original meaning of knowledge and action was that they are two sides of one coin, i.e., they were two aspects of the same thing, which had been ignored by people. Then how to unite these two aspects? Wang Yang-ming would often use daily examples to illustrate his point. For example, in “I want to write,” the thought of “I want to write” was the knowledge, while preparing the ink and lifting up the brush was action; if one truly wanted to know how to write a word, he needed to write it down in practice, thus knowledge and action were unified as one. For another example, a person who was well aware of filial piety but never served his parents accordingly could not be called a filial son, and only when he took the real action of filial piety, such as greeting, attending to, and serving his parents, could he be called a filial son who truly understood the essence of filial piety. During his time in Luling County , Wang Yang-ming once said “Seeing common people’s difficulties, one did not help to solve them; knowing the current malpractices, one could not dare to expostulate,” which were perfect examples of “knowing” without “action,” and then what was the use of the county magistrate ? Here “seeing common people’s difficulties” was knowledge, while “solving them” was action; “knowing the current malpractices” was knowledge, while “correcting them” was action. If we not only “saw common people’s sufferings, but also took measures to solve them; and if we not only knew about malpractices, we also dared to confront and correct them,” then we could call it the Oneness of Knowing and Doing . After the fires, he investigated the causes of the fires, attributing them to too-narrow streets, too-dense housing, and too-high buildings—this was “knowledge.” Then he took action and required them to widen the streets, increase the space between houses, and limit the heights of the houses—this was “action,” just as Wang Yang-ming emphasized, “if we know something and we know it clearly and thoroughly, such knowledge could only be realized by action, in which case knowledge would be necessarily unified with action; if we carry out an action in an orderly and systematical way, such action is the ultimate embodiment of true knowledge, in which case action is also necessarily unified with knowledge.” Those people who talked about their knowledge about certain action without any real movement nor practice would not, at any rate, be called to have possessed this knowledge; consequently, knowledge and action were not only originally unified as one, but also in real life, they were combined as a whole. Wang Yang-ming stated, “Knowledge is the beginning of action while action is the fulfillment of knowledge, which can be called fulfilling any action started, embodying the whole process of knowledge.”

At the time, Wang Yang-ming’s philosophy of the Oneness of Knowing and Doing was a radical new school of thought that had a powerful impact. Those who attended his lectures were skeptical about his theory at the very beginning, but gradually they came to firmly believe in his theory. From the time he started giving lectures in Guiyang Academy, his original new thoughts enjoyed rapid dissemination. It should be pointed out that the Oneness of Knowing and Doing represented Wang Yang-ming’s first stage of innovation, his ideological realization after the Enlightenment in Longchang , as well as the crystallization of practice in unifying knowledge with action.

By the way, though the Oneness of Knowing and Doing was first advocated and defined by Wang Yang-ming, it had indeed historically originated from Confucianism. For instance, here is the very first sentence in The Analects ,²² “Isn’t it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned?” “Study” was knowledge and “practice” was action. In the same way as “study and practice” were the Oneness of Knowing and Doing. One constantly applies knowledge to practice and comprehends the correctness of knowledge, bringing him/her endless joy, which is definitely “a pleasure to study and practice what one has learned.” Here was another interesting sentence in The Great Learning ,²³ “Girls don’t need to learn how to raise children before they get married.” Once they get married and have children, they would naturally know how to bring children up. This was also the Oneness of Knowing and Doing , and was regarded as the origin of this ideology. Consequently, though it was Wang Yang-ming who first explicitly advocated the Oneness of Knowing and Doing , this concept had indeed historically originated from Confucianism. In short, knowledge is meaningful only when it is put into practice, which is the essence of the Oneness of Knowing and Doing theory.

In November 1510 (the fifth year of the Zhengde Emperor ), Wang Yang-ming left Luling County for the capital city to meet with the emperor who bestowed upon him the position of the Zhushi of Xing Bu ,²⁴ which meant he was restored to his former official position since he used to be Zhushi of Xing Bu before his demotion to Longchang . From this period until 1515 (the tenth year of the Zhengde Emperor ), he experienced frequent position changes, finally ending with the position of Honglusi Qing in Nanjing , a Level Four official among imperial official rankings. Those jobs were often not very demanding, therefore this was the period when Wang held lots of lectures. Along with his official travels, he gave lectures in Beijing , Nanjing , Chuzhou , Shaoxing , and so on. We need to know that during this period the main topic of his lectures was still the Oneness of Knowing and Doing . After his dissemination and development, this new ideology had become increasingly important. In his eyes, it was an effective way to realize the ideal of “being a sage .” This new ideology had a tremendous impact on the academia at that time, resulting in his increased influence as a major scholar with more and more disciples.

Certainly Wang Yang-ming was totally enjoying such a lecturing life, deriving joy and pleasure from discussing and debating with his students. However, in 1516 (the eighth year of the Zhengde Emperor ), his joyful lecturing life came to an abrupt end because the Imperial Court appointed him another position, being “Zuo-Qiandu-Yushi-Xunfu of Ducha Yuan ”²⁵ governing Nan-Gan-Ting-Zhang and other places. Ducha Yuan, also Censorate, was a high-level supervisory agency in the Ming dynasty , the main officials being Zuo-Du-Yushi ,²⁶ You-Du-Yushi ,²⁷ Zuo-Fu-Du-Yushi,²⁸ You-Fu-Du-Yushi,²⁹ Zuo-Qiandu-Yushi,³⁰ and You-Qiandu-Yushi.³¹ Qiandu-Yushi ranked fourth among imperial officials. Nan-Gan-Ting-Zhang referred to Nan’an and Ganzhou in Jiangxi Province , and Tingzhou and Zhangzhou in Fujian Province . Xunfu , translated as grand coordinators and provincial governor, was in charge of military affairs and civil administration. At that time, the government office building for Xunfu of Nan-Gan-Ting-Zhang was located in Ganzhou, so from this post name we could clearly know that Wang Yang-ming would set off to Ganzhou , whose jurisdiction area covered the vast bordering land in Jiangxi, Fujian , Guangdong , and Huguang Provinces .

Why did the Imperial Court appoint him to the position of “Zuo-Qiandu-Yushi-Xunfu of Du Chayuan” governing Nan-Gan-Ting-Zhang and other places at that time? What kind of hardship might he encounter after his setting off for Ganzhou ?

(Translated by Wang Xue-qin; Proofread by Sun Xiao-qin)