A Study On Yanjun' Thoughts

Yanjun was an important thinker on the histroy of Taizhou-School in Ming Dynesty. Through a popular interpretion on Confucian sutra and theory of Wang yangming school, he founded a particular theory system named "Dazhong Philososhy".And by giving lectures everywhere, he led Mind-theory to popularization.Yanjun lived in an era with flourishing commerce .rising citizen estate and developing popular culture . What he thought and practiced indicated that Confucian scholars was adapting for social changes and offering academic explanation for them.The theory on "Dazhong Philosophy" made him a creative ideologist . About ontology of mind and human nature , he advanced an idea that "benevolence" was the noumena of mind, which included richer connotation on humanity than that of other seniors belonging to Wang yangming's School. About the method of self-restraint, he advocated an acclimation for human nature in order to experience "benevolence", and peristed in a method of sitting-still which was extinguished by obstructing ones sense during time of seven days and nights. About axiology of life,he proposed that people should cherish and safeguard body and life of themselves.There were four characteristics on his theory which could be discribed by naturalism ? anti-reasonalism > civilian consciousness > proud and chivalrous style.At the same time, an inner-tension of theory, between regression to the tradition of Confucius tearing and deviation from the orthodoxy of Neo-Congfucius, aslo existed in his thoughts. The contradiction displayed discomfitural circumstances with which Taizhou school met in its farther evolvement. How to retain a balance on the elite confucius and demos confucius, and accelerate the development of confucius? It is a difficult problem needed to be faced with and resolved, not only existing in Late Ming which Yanjun or other scholars lived in.but aslo existing in mordern times and blocking in the course of the mordern transformation of confucius even all our traditional culture.