The Study On The Intellectual Group In Late Ming Dynasty

The late Ming Dynasty was a stirring time of change in the course of history in ancient China. The intellectuals, as the bearer and continuator of knowledge, whose traditional goal of life---"Excellent Learning Becoming Officials" changed distinctively during this period, were accordingly classified into kinds of groups in the literati.The classification of the intellectual group was rooted in the late Ming Dynasty's political, economic and cultural environment. Politically, the bureaucratic system was in disorder; the government affairs were neglected; all levels of governments were overstaffed; the official positions and ranks could be sold and bought; and there existed numerous political groupings, which had much impact on the intellectuals whose ideal was to pursue the high officials after excellent learning. Economically, the social productivity was enhanced; the relations of personal dependence were loosened; the commodity economy gained a rapid development, which provided the economic conditions for the intellectuals to choose a new life. Culturally, the philosophical thoughts of Yangming Mind Learning Theory, the multi-value concepts and the prevalence of overstepping the ritual practice in society provide a theoretical support in culture for the intellectual groups for their individual emancipation.The intellectual group, in the special background of the late Ming Dynasty, was differentiated into three different sub-groups.The first sub-group was the one sticking to the path of civil service examination. While still taking the traditional road of "good scholar official" civil service examination, they also shouldered the burdens of supporting their families---though the road to the officialdom was increasingly difficult, yet the socio-economic development advanced then. Apart from their preparation for the examination, they were more and more involved in the activities of lectures and speeches, and the associations. They mutually exchanged the writing skills of their essays for their early success of the examination. Their ideological orientations were complex. They had in mind both the utilitarian ideas of overemphasizing the examination success and the propositions of seeking the Mind Learning in order to overcome the rigid form and content of the examination. Their way of life, compared with the previous intellectuals made a difference.The second sub-group was the one abandoning the civil service examination and adhering to the Confucianism. Although the intellectuals gave up the examination and the officialdom, they still read the classical books to content themselves, and they occupied the overwhelming majority of the whole intellectual group. They earned a living by means of becoming a teacher in private schools, or by means of writing the epitaphs for others and writing the popular literature to sell, or by means of monetary support from their friends for their excellent literary competence. In behavior, these intellectuals had more time to make friends, attend to the associations, and have a sightseeing tour and so on. They demonstrated their literature and art with friends, rather than how to write the old-fashioned and boring essays for the civil service examination. In terms of ideology, they were contented with and reading and writing, pursued the satisfactory and rich life; and they wanted the society to be purified and in order so that the contents of life more full and more meaningful. The sense of their individual emancipation had taken shape.The third sub-group was the one that the intellectuals abandoned the Confucianism for business. The main reason why they went onto the road of business was that the commodity economy then had a rapid development and objectively needed the businessmen to undertake the commercial trade. But they still read books in their time, made friends with other intellectuals, and participated in their family clans' local affairs. Their ideology had reflected a tendency of a combination of Confucian knowledge and business.With the classification in the late Ming Dynasty, the social life of the intellectuals was increasingly rich, and their daily social interactions became more active. The interaction with officials, businessmen, prostitutes, owing to their own respective advantages and their mutual complementariness, was a two-way exchange and a mutual situation. While the interaction with the ordinary people, owing to a big power of social discourse of the intellectuals, was a one-way communication and was always positive. The interactions manifested the characteristics in the special political and economic background in the late Ming Dynasty t in turn, reflects from a different side of the particularity of the late Ming dynasty, and the characteristics, in turn, reflected the particularity of the society from the different aspects during that time.The western civilization was introduced and had a significant influence on the society in the late Ming Dynasty. The attitudes of the intellectuals toward the transmission and the content of western civilization were varying--- enthusiastic and exclusive. Those who were enthusiastic showed great interest in the western science and technology, and in the scientific methods in logical reasoning. Meanwhile, they were aware of the social function of the Catholic doctrines, believing that the Catholicism could modify the Confucianism and change or even discriminate against the Buddhism. While those who were repulsive held that the science and technology of the western civilization was just nothing but a skill without much value, and it could be negligible. But what should be refuted, they thought, was the destructive effect of the Catholicism on the current politics and the Confucianism. The two groupings of the intellectuals had a fierce conflict in politics, ethics and philosophy, but their conflicts did not interfere in the social reform and reversely maintained the social stability, which reflected their self-cultural consciousness in face of the foreign culture. The emergence of new social trends in the late Ming Dynasty had much with the intellectual group. The emancipation of the intellectuals in materialistic concept and desire concept fermented the prevalence of social luxury and indulgence. Meantime, the intellectuals'admission to the new moral concepts also shocked the malign customs of the traditional practice of servants waiting on nobles, juniors respecting seniors and women following men. In a word, the intellectuals took a lead of the social vogue through their individual emancipation.Although the period of the late Ming Dynasty was one part of history full of drastic changes, but, for the nature and degree of social changes, we can not overestimate. As long as the basic social quality was concerned, the background of feudal society did not change, and the feudal agricultural economy, the sovereign autocracy and Confucianism were still dominant, and the tradition was still the mainstream and fundament of the society. Correspondingly, among the intellectual group, those who were not affected by the material desires or not inspired by the new western civilization, and regarded themselves as by-standers of the social reform in ideology and concept, were majority. Therefore, as we are making a research on the intellectual group, we should lay emphasis on the drastically changing factors as well as unchanging factors.The late Ming Dynasty showed such a phenomenon of both passion and reason and for tradition and conservativeness which had much more with the different ideological concepts which were owned by the sub-groups classified from the intellectual group. It was the co-existence of this interweaving of old and new social forces that made the society of late Ming Dynasty colorful. And in the contrast of forces of the old and the new, the old one was still dominant, making the society present new hope, while the society did not either disintegrate or collapse, either decline or die. Doing research on the intellectual group can provide us a specimens of history study to analyze and understand the complexity of the late Ming Dynasty.