On The Transition Of Confucian Ideal Personality From The View Of Theory Of Liang-chih

Combing the history, we can know that every school in ancient Chinese established their own ultimate concerns on humanity, while their ultimate humanity concerns on life reflect on their pursuit to ideal personality. To be great is the main question that has been studied throughout the history of Confucianism, from its founder Confucius to the end of ancient Chinese philosophy. The Neo-Confucianism is a very important stage in the long history.The Neo-Confucianism sought ultimate basis for Confucianism and made the discussion of ideal personality to be mature gradually. As one of the most important scholars of school of mind, Wang Yangming made the mind as the core of his theory and interpreted mind with Liang-chi. Based on this, Wang Yangming had his own understanding about the ideal personality, which made a great transition of that theory. This article tries to analyze the great transition through deep research of Wang Yangming's theory.The article consists of introduction, the main text, and conclusion.Introduction:It briefly analyzes the characteristics of ideal personality in different times, and then enters into the environment of Wang's time to analyze the background of Wang's thought. After combing the research situation of Wang's thought, the introduction shows the basic structure of the whole article.The first part:it discusses the establishment of liang-chi as the ontology and pointed that liang-chi is the theory basis of Wang's ideal personality. Wang continued the tradition of Confucian and carried forward the unity of universe. Wang thought that things and man comprised the universe, they are one in the original and can't be separated from each other. The unity of things and man could be manifest in the lifetime. Wang took liang-chi as the value resource and thought everyone could have a value system of his own and reflects the value of everything.The second part:mainly discuss the effort of self-improvement, which is the way to be great. In Wang's thought, everyone has the possibility to be sage, but we are not born to be. So for most of all, they need effort to understand the value resource in one heart. Wang interpreted "the Great Learning" creatively. He took rectifying the mind, removing the evil, learning liang-chi and doing things according to liang-chi as the necessary way to be great.The third part:it mainly shows Wang's idea about ideal personality. Wang took liang-chi as the value resource of being great. The differences between sage and normal people lie in their mind. The sage could understand their mind, which is pure and wasn't shade by desire, and they can show their mind during their normal life. The mind can be reflected on everything.The forth part:compared with ideal personality theory in different times, the article pointed the transition and breakthrough made by Wang Yangming. Wang thought that sage lived in every one's heart. Sage is not a name or an aim. Everyone should live in a sage way, should do things like a great man. There is no certain standard of sage. The ideal personality became diversity. And Wang pointed that everyone should try to succeed in careers, which means the return to original Confucianism.Conclusion:This part mainly discusses the development followed. The transition made by Wang has a very profound effect in the afterworld. Since then, sage has not only been a distant aim and meant a lofty realm of life, but also various and colorful characters, and what's more sage was highlighted as a life style and attitude. The aim to be a sage could be realized in ordinary life.