A Study On Gu Xiangcheng's Practical Learning Thought

Gu Xiancheng (1550-1612) was a famous thinker and statesman that is thought to play a key role in thought turning in the late Ming Dynasty. With Gao Panlong, He rebuilt Donglin Academy, advocated Practical Learning (Shi Xue). He lectures at Huisan second spring, splitting Wang Shouren's "ontology of no good nor evil" theory. The Donglin School "Apart from lectures, often ridicule proposed royal government, the discretion of people", ruling and opposition parties should be temporary and, with the "Eunuch Party", known as "Tung-Lin Party" (Donglin Party). The Book of "History of the Ming Chronicle cart before the horse" says:"Today's battle started in the portal, the portal is begun by Donglin School, Donglin School is begun by Gu Xiancheng.In the first chapter, the author will focus on the conception of this article and stated the following key questions, namely "what is Practical Learning advocated by Gu" and "why Gu and the Donglin school scholars are so enthusiastically participating in political affairs", and introduce the scholars'research results on this field, and then the research methods used in this thesis is to set out and explained. In the 2nd chapter, the late Ming's socio-economic and political situation is reconstructed, and notes that the Confucianism under Centralism turning to Practical Learning is an inevitable trend, as a result of a misunderstanding of the centralized system; and a detailed account and analysis of the Gu Xiancheng's biography is stated, which is also the awakening of Practical Learning's growth process. Furthermore Practical Learning is thought to be transported in the Ming Dynasty, as a peak is pointed out with the idea has a significant impact on the Qing Dynasty through generations as well. In Chapter Three, Practical Learning's content and the classification of the contents is of detailed analysis and pointed out that the Practical Learning is not a complete a physical Confucianism political and management practices, which is refined from his humane idea (the manifestation of the idea of benevolence (ren), as a party of the Confucianism Ontology) as well as the moral salvation philosophy, which was specific Confucian academic system. In the fourth chapter, as a conclusion of this thesis, the authors summarized the Practical Learning thought of Gu Xiancheng and noted that the idea Practical Learning is to fill Mencius's philosophy as a system emphasizing the attribution as the physical part to Confucianism metaphysics, that is Gu that carried out a specific and profound practice of the Confucian academic reform, additionally in the condition in late Ming which is with heavy social crisis and acute social contradictions, for which that the Donglin School showed its political property so strongly; In addition, the author also points out its limitations.The meanings of this study, is more than answering the two questions mentioned above, but also for us today to re-examine the Confucian doctrine put forward it in new aspects, in order to inherit and carry forward the Chinese Culture with new advice and suggestions.