New Zhu Xi Or Yangming School

Gao Pan-long was an important founder of Tunglin School. He lived in late Ming Dynasty, which was full of crises in politics. In the academic field, school of Li and school of mind had been extremely developed both, and innate contradiction of the theory of the two schools manifested itself separately. School of Li became stale and inflexible, gradually lost force to unite and attract scholars. The followers of Wang changed Wang's Mind theory with Zen, and discussed Kong and Xuan without restraint, leading to the emptiness atmosphere of the academic circle. Gao expected to make a compromise between school of Zhu Tzu and school of Yang-ming, to reconstruct the moral spirit of Confucian, to correct the maladies of times.Synthesizing Zhu and Wang, Gao put forwards the theory,'Li is Mind', as is well known, Li is the highest category of Zhu Tzu, and mind Wang. Gao holds that all things is one, and whether Nature or Li, there is no difference between inner and outside, and nature is Li, Li nature. All things are complete within us, no Wu outside mind, no Li outside mind. Mind is Li, and Li is mind. As to Wang Yang-ming's criticism on Zhu Tzu's distinguishment between mind and Li, Gao defends positively for Zhu Tzu. On the relationship between mind and Li, Gao adopted some viewpoints of Zhu Tzu and Wang Yang-ming, without proposing his own position.Gao agrees on Zhu Tzu's thought about exhausting the principles of things, and supports also Wang Yang-ming's view of'extension of intuitive knowledge'. He maintains that the goal of investigating-things is to cultivate self, and the reason one investigates things an then exhausts the principles of things is to extend his intuitive knowledge, and after achieving this point, the knowledge extended and the principles exhausted are return upon one's own body and mind. What deserves notice is that in Gao's thought, especially in"investigation of things and extension of knowledge are the way to extend intuitive knowledge", there is an important issue that he regards the"investigation of things is the means to exhaust principle of things"as an essential attainments, and so is"extension of intuitive knowledge". If just considering the words"investigation of things and extension of knowledge are the way to extend intuitive knowledge", Gao is inclined to the latter, which surely makes his view of investigation of things"help to explicate Yang-ming's'extension of intuitive knowledge'"Gao inquires the metaphysical source of Tiandao, in order to re-establish the tradition of the good-nature theory. According to Gao, good is nature, and nature is inherent quality, and there is no matter originally in human nature, and mean is nature of human being. Criticizing Wang Yang-ming's view of'no good, no evil', Gao sets forward some ways to recover one's nature, such as transforming temperament, reflecting upon oneself or self-search, and lessening burden. On the nature-good theory, Gao takes a position over Zhu Tzu's.Gao focuses on self cultivation and introspection, and puts forward his own Wu-Xiu theory. Cultivation is to cultivate one's own self. Investigation of things, extension of knowledge, sincerity of thought, and rectification of mind, all these procedures are developed from and for one's own self. From cultivation of one's own comes the regulation of family, governance of state, peace of world. All the"eight wires"are cultivation. Wu is the culmination of investigating-things. Striving to investigate things and extend knowledge for a long time, one can suddenly achieve complete understanding of principle , and that is Wu. Gao emphasis both on Wu and Xiu to incorporate the thought of Zhu Xi and Wang Yang-ming, and tries to correct the idea of stressing Wu and despising Xiu, which is position of inferior followers of Wang.Based on profoundly analysis and assimilation of thoughts of Zhou Dun-yi, Yang Shi, and Zhu Tzu, Gao advocates his own theory of silence learning, the main thesis of which is that learning wouldn't be effectual without practicing of silence. He believes that if one hopes to keep mind, he must start from silence-sit, and hopes to exhaust principle of things, must from reading books. He adopts Zhu Tzu's words'half day silence-sitting, half day reading books', and develops his own ways to practice and teach. Attaching importance to Yang Shi's'Guishan secret', he improves Yang's thought'in silence–sit introspecting one's own mind state before delight, angry, sorrow, and happy', developing it as the way to introspect nature in silence-sit. On his own theory of silence learning, Gao mainly adopts Yang Shi's"Guishan secret", overlooking Zhu Tzu's viewpoint.Holding thoughts of Cheng-Zhu in high esteem, Gan Pan-long accepted doctrine of Luo-Min school. He pointed out that Buddhism and Taoism pay no attention to Li, regardless of'engaging in society'. He did his utmost to criticize followers of Yang-ming, who advocated to incorporate three religion in one. On one hand, this reflects his position, that is, upholding the Cheng-Zhu school, keeping the current morality and teaching, which played an important role in maintain the social moral. On the other hand, objectively to say, this attitude restrained scholars'field of vision.In conclusion , Gao Pan-long's philosophy is followers of neither Zhu Tzu nor Yang-ming.Gao expected to make a compromise between school of Zhu Tzu and school of Yang-ming, to reconstruct the moral spirit of Confucian.