A Study On Academic Thoughts History Of Ming Dynasty During The Republic Of China

In modern times, along with the rise of Chinese Enlightenment thoughts, the Learning of Wang Yangming once again came on the scene and became a widely studied topic in the era of the Republic of China. This period witnessed the emergence of a number of dedicated studies on the different schools of thinking of Ming dynasty, including works on its philosophies, ideas and science development. Most of the research focused on the learning of Wang Yangming and Li Zhuowu. These developments were the results of two intertwining factors:Criticism against Confucianism begun to gain its ground since the Ming and Qing dynasty, together with the revitalization of the mind-philosophy. This trend was reinforced by the historical circumstances at the time, when the whole Chinese nation was struggling for its survival through efforts of establishing democracy. The thinking of Wang Yangming was deemed by the academia community as an unique intellectual tool to achieve that purpose, hence the revival of research on Wang’s learning.This happened in conjunction with the exploration of western learning. The May Fourth Movement opened the flood gate for western thinking’s dissemination in China, where it went through prolonged conflicts with the traditional Chinese philosophy before reaching mutual reconciliation in the end. Many scholars cast eyes on the western world for answers to China’s problem, while many Chinese scholars looked into the country’s own historical wisdom. One of the general features of academic research over that period was a combination of the study of traditional thinking and western learning, as manifested by the studies on the Ming Dynasty’s thought.The paper presents the findings from these studies by analyzing the relevant academic works in the Ming dynasty. It shows that different ideas were formed among Ming scholars amid their efforts to integrate Chinese conventional wisdom with western thinking. We hope this paper can serve as a reference for the academic community for the research on the ideology history of Ming dynasty.This paper is divided into five parts. In the first part, we will analyze the historical background of the research, sharing with readers the evidence of traditional thinking changes embedded in the research of Ming dynasty philosophy, the way the research was conducted and their characteristics. In the second part, we will select four of the most representative works, account for their arguments and then evaluate their contribution to academic inheritance. This will be followed by a more focused analysis on the studies of Wang Yangming and Li Zhuowu. Finally, the paper tries to summarize the different ideas formed around the philosophy of Ming dynasty in writings of philosophy, thinking and academic history during the era of the Republic of China.The first chapter focuses on the historical backgrounds of the era of the Republic of China. There are four distinct features for Ming philosophy studies at the time, namely, Wang’s ideas about freedom and liberty and their integration with western democracy; Li Zhuowu’s opposition to feudal ethics and his advocacy for freedom and liberty, which fit the need of the time; the push to the study of Wang’s thinking by the national salvation movements; and contribution to the domestic research made by Japanese study of Wang’s philosophy. Overall speaking, learning of Wang’s philosophy is divided into two categories:Those that were driven by political motivations and those inspired by the national spirit of academic research, which tend to have higher academic values.The second chapter studies monographs on the history of the Ming Dynasty thought, through in-depth analysis of Rong Zhaozu’s History of Ming Dynasty Thinking, Ji Wenfu’s Late Ming Thought History and Left School of Wang Philosophy Research, as well as Chen Anren’s Ming Dynasty Academic Thinking. Though all completed between the 1930s and 1940s, this four writings have different focuses. History of Ming Dynasty Thinking is a monograph of groundbreaking significance since it transcends the previous works both in terms of content and argumentation; Late Ming Thought History provides a comprehensive account of the academic world in late Ming Dynasty. Both advocate the liberalization of individuals while Chen Anren’s Ming Dynasty Academic Thinking stresses the consistency between Ming and Song dynasties’academic research, proposing that Wang put too much emphasis on cultivation of personal ethics and overlooked the importance of science and pragmatic spirit.The third chapter is solely dedicated to Wang Yangming and Wang Yangming studies, focusing on monographs and papers on the research of Wang Yangming, including Xie Wuliang’s School of Yangming Studies, Song Peiwei’s Wang Shou-ren and Neo-confucinism, Qian Mu’s Wang Shou-ren, Yu Chongyao’s Mr. Yang-Ming Chuan Compile, Zhang Mianzhou’s Lu and Wang’s Learning, as well as Hu Zhefu’s Differentiating Lu and Wang’s Philosophy. In addition, this chapter will review all Wang-related papers, touching upon important doctrines such as "conscience", "Knowledge and Action", and the spread and subsequent adaptive changes of Wang’s philosophy. We will show that under the influence of western learning, different views, theoretical frameworks and research approaches were held by scholars at the time.The fourth chapter focuses on Li Zhuowu. Li’s thinking has the strongest advocacy for freedom and liberation. Therefore it was the most resonated school of thought among scholars in the era of the Republic of China. Academic research of this time was closely related to the opposition against the feudal autocracy and call for freedom and liberation. This chapter selects works by Wu Yu, Zhu Wei, Rong Zhaozu and Wu Ze. With comparative analysis of research works at different times, we will explore their characteristics and relations with their historical circumstance. Meanwhile, some other Ming Dynasty thinkers are also studied in-depth.Chapter five expounds the different research methods employed by scholars of the Republic of China era and schools. There are three major methods:more traditional research methods, analysis from the perspective of Marxist historical materialism, and the neo-Confucian system with integration with western learning. We try to present the different views held by different schools in that era through these analysis.Through a comprehensive review of relevant research on the Ming Dynasty philosophy in the era of the Republic of China, we will reveal their special historical relevance and sophisticated features in terms of content, methodology and argumentations. Underlying these features are the guidance of important figures’ perspectives. Both of the two major categories of research, Marxist historical materialism approach and Neo-Confucianism, which integrates Chinese wisdom with western thinking, are developing to their maturity with relatively thorough research.