The Wanli Thought

Wanli Yang (1127—1206), whose poems have been well thought of since the Nansong Dynasty , is one of the greatest poets in the Middle-Nansong Dynasty. At present, academic circles have done many studies into Wanli Yang. However, most of them are about his literature and many approaches to studying him are typical and microcosmic ones. But as for his thoughts on Li Xue and Yi Xue, there are few comprehensive studies into them, especially into his Cheng Zhai Yi Zhuan, which is his philosophy masterpiece. Therefore, this brings about difficulties in distinguishing his statuses of writer, idealist and politician. So what this thesis is about is Yang's thought on Yi Xue, Li Xue, politics and literature. Before this, with the purpose of knowing Yang's life and works well, I have gone deep into his life.This thesis contains five chapters. The first one is about Yang's life and the origins of his thought and there are important discussions about his experiences when he studied and worked in a government office, and about what his thought comes from. The second chapter is about his thought on Yi Xue. The framework of Yi Xue, the characteristics of his using the history to explain Zhou Yi , as well as his unique expounding system of the study of Zhou Yi is to be expounded. The third chapter focuses on his thought on Li Xue. During the Nansong Dynasty, Ru, Shi and Dao combine; natural science gets more and more developed and people's thought is very active. Man is a part with life of the universe and closely connected with all things in it. How to face and understand the universe is important to the elders and Yang's fellows. Of Yang's thinking system, the theory of universe structure, the theory of universe evolution and other theories are the origin of nature philosophy. He takes the view — the theory of Qi-originated universe. Studied from ontology, Yang is considered as a Dao- ontologist. In the aspect of relations between nature and human, he is a thinker who holds a firm belief that man and God are the same, but he emphasizes that human initiative has a great effect on changing destiny. The forth chapter refers to Yang's thought on society and politics. Because the core of his thought lies in his true feelings that we should manage our own home and our homeland, he desires the emperor to carry out some kind policies, love his people, strengthen the country and make sure the people live peacefully. All through his in-office life, he has performed this kind of ideas. The last one is about his views on literature. It includes Yang's views on literature, prose and poem, as well as detailed analyses of different styles and features of his prose and poems.Every chapter varies in length and mainly based on Yang's thought or what he wrote about, as well as the main topic of this thesis. Generally...