Research On Gu Yanwu’s Practical Learning Thought

When traditional Confucianism developed into the Ming and Qing dynasties,an academic climax in line with the development of the times emerged,the Ming and Qing Practical Learning.Gu Yanwu(1613-1682),as an outstanding representative of the practical learning,is still a widely respected and well-learned example.Together with Huang Zongxi and Wang Fuzhi,he is honored as the "Three Confucianists in the Late Ming and Early Qing Dynasty".However,in previous studies on the Ming-and-Qingdynasty Confucianism,among the "Three Master Confucianists",Huang Zongxi and Wang Fuzhi were the hot spots for a long period.Comparatively,Gu Yanwu was neglected by the researchers.Gu Yanwu lived in an era when Chinese society was in a period of turbulence during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Politically,"partisanship","civil riots" and "frontier troubles" mixed together.Economically,commodity economy in the lower Yangtze River region developed well;agriculture,handicrafts,and commerce were undergoing transformation;a new civil society was gradually come into shape,and the seeds of capitalism have initially appeared.Academically,the emptiness and sparseness of Wang’s school ran counter to the reality of practical use.Therefore,Gu Yanwu and other patriotic scholars faced real problems and looked for answers to "questions of the times".The formation of Gu Yanwu’s pragmatic thinking is inseparable from the combined effect of multiple factors such as the pragmatic thoughts in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties,the pragmatic tradition of the Gu family,and the pragmatic atmosphere of Jiangnan Fu Association.He consciously accepted the idea of "applicability of Ming style","emphasis on facts" and "empirical evidences",and the Gu family’s high-quality academic conditions and precepts and deeds.He joined Jiangnan Fu Association and solidified patriotic thoughts and national integrity.Gu Yanwu’s practical learning mainly includes four aspects:world outlook,axiology,methodology,and thoughts on society governance,which are internally interrelated and constitute a fairly complete content system.Among them,"the world is nothing but qi" is the philosophical foundation and the basis of the practical learning values of "clarifying the way to save the world".The practical learning methodology of "grasping the classics for practical use" is subordinate to the practical learning value of "clarifying the way to save the world",and the practical learning and statecrafts thinking of "cultivating oneself and governing the world" is the basic proposition of "clarifying the way to save the world".Gu Yanwu’s worldview of practical learning comes directly from Song NeoConfucianism,mainly Zhang Zai’s Qi-based theory and Zhu Xi’s Reason-based theory.Gu Yanwu opposed the Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism’s idea of "preserving the laws of nature and destroying the desires of man",and emphasized the Action of "benefiting commoners".In terms of the relationship between "benevolence" and "reason",Gu Yanwu believes that the "private" is based on and determined by "benevolence"."Human affairs" and "heavenly principle" are integrated in "life",while "heavenly principles"reside in "human affairs",that is,"human nature and heavenly principles coexist in’learning,action,loyalty and reputation’",so "right action" is especially emphasized.In terms of the relationship between "nature" and "qi",Gu Yanwu believes that "qi" is the primary one."Qi is between the heaven and the earth",and the movement of "qi" is manifested as the "gathering" and "scattering" of things.That is "reason".Gu Yanwu opposed Cheng-Zhu’s Neo-Confucianist view of Tao and Qi,and put forward the view that "Tao resides nowhere but in qi".Gu Yanwu doesn’t believe in ghosts and gods,but he has the idea of "human affairs concerned by the Heaven",which shows that Gu Yanwu’s practical learning worldview is not so thorough.Gu Yanwu took "clarifying the way" and "saving the world" as the fundamental value orientation.In his view,the purpose of "clarifying the way" is to "save the world",and the key to "save the world" lies in "action".In terms of "clarifying the way",he emphasized that "clarifying the true meaning of the six classics".He advocated the integration of academic research with the national economy and people’s livelihood.He believed that "way,inquiry and learning" are based on "respect for virtue",and "seeking knowledge" is "learning to know" and should be based on "right actions".He proposed,"the study of classics is in virtue Confucianism".In terms of "saving the world",he advocated "the application of Confucianism in the world".Through his essays,he combined "clarifying the way" with political affairs,common people,and good deeds,so as to give full play to the value of "salvation" of studies.He paid attention to"governance",believes that academic research is "practical" and "not seeking fame",and the emphasis is on "enhancing people’s livelihood and strengthening the country’s power"and put forward a reform plan,plus "learning from the past to teach the present".In line with the practical values of "clarifying the way to save the world",the practical learning methodology of "studying the classics for practice" also includes two aspects:"clarification" and "application",and the "clarification" serves the "application".Gu Yanwu advocated that "study must be beneficial to the world" and that "the scholars should put the knowledge of the instrument first",and focus on "human affairs" to study scholarship and highlight the "education of people’s mind".He inherited and developed the traditional Confucian "clarification" method,insisted on "critical thinking" and"practice",advocating the inclusive "learned in literature" and "resembled goal" of thinking and inspection,and improving quality of the "clarification" in the social investigation "out of house".On the basis of "clarification",he constructed the"application" methodology with "textual research" as the main method.He combined the use of "history tracing",(inductive method)and "reverse inference"(deduction method)in order to discuss "reason" based on "classics";he focused on drawing nourishment from the original data and insisted on the practical principle of "picking copper from mountains".He stressed the method of "inferring from one another" to realize the realm of "comparable to analogy" with the skills of dredging the "source" and "evidence".According to Gu Yanwu’s practical learning of "clarifying the way to save the world"and the "practical methodology of Confucianism",his thoughts on practical learning and society administration the so-called "self-cultivation and governance of others"."Cultivating oneself" mainly starts from the perfection of moral cultivation of scholarbureaucrats.The fundamental purpose was to "govern people",so it pays special attention to "practicality".Gu Yanwu’s "shame for ignorance" advocates "self-cultivation" based on "shame",that is,"action with shame" as the principle,insisting on the clean government of "righteousness first and then profit" and "filial piety" before "loyalty".This ethics help perfect moral cultivation.In terms of "governing people",he followed the principle of "righting people" by "righting oneself" adhering to "the benevolent loving others".He advocated the people-oriented view of "common interests",and emphasized that literati and bureaucrats should use political decrees,enlightenment,and criminal laws in governing the country.This initiative is to "combine the privates of the world to become the public of the world","right people’s minds and foster customs",and "integrate Confucianism and Legalism".In summary,Gu Yanwu’s Practical Learning is undoubtedly the "essence" that emerged from the Ming and Qing Dynasties’ paradigmatic thought.Therefore,it is necessary for us to further analyze its main characteristics,historical value and practical enlightenment.In terms of characteristics,Gu Yanwu’s practical thoughts have the common characteristics of the era’s emphasis on "entity" and emphasizing the application to the world,and its individual characteristics are reflected in the ethical and methodological levels,namely "shame" and "empiricism".In terms of historical value,Gu Yanwu,as an outstanding representative of the Ming and Qing ideological trends of practical learning,achieved the "learning of Confucianism" through the "extensive learning",and played a role in promoting the "transition" of Song-Ming NeoConfucianism to Qing Dynasty Textology in the academic history and thus laid the solid academic foundation.In the new era,we have every reason to inherit Gu Yanwu’s practical learning thoughts for the use in "modernization",including insisting on seeking truth from facts and inheriting the epistemological method of "truth-seeking",which connotes "induction as the body,deduction for use";carrying out practical learning application,contributing high-level articles beneficial to the national economy and the people’s livelihood;inheriting his learning spirit and upright temperament,and consciously shouldering the "responsibility" for commoners.Of course,Gu Yanwu has inevitable limitations due to his position of "improving" the feudal autocratic system.We should evaluate him from the perspective of development,taking "Gu Yanwu’s practical learning thoughts" as a mirror and looking forward to the future.