Gu Xiangcheng’s Shi Xue Thought

The Shixue Trend of Thought during the Ming and Qing Dynasties was a product of specific time in our country. It was also a kind of advanced ideological trend. Donglin School whose maily leaders were Gu Xiancheng and Gao Panlong started this trend. The trend was developed for the reason that the idealist philosophy of the Song and Ming Dynasties was gradually in decline, especially the philosophy of the mind was buddhised. This advanced trend firstly started in academic field, then it spread to the fields of politics, economy, and science. That time GuXiancheng had the knowledge that academy which was hollow and didn’t combine well with practice would do harm to the country and people. Therefore he advocated Shixue vigorously and exalted the Confucianists’good traditionof running the society with practicality, which aims at telling people to perform practical deeds and useful political policy. Gu Xiancheng also bring up the idea of revolution and ask people to work at pratical knowledge that would do good to the whole society. In order to resist the climate of degeneration, on ontology Gu Xiancheng believed people were bom good and he was against the No Evil and No Good theory of Mind Noumenon. In such way, a nonumenon was given reality. On moral cultivation, he adovates the combination of noumenon and effort. He opposed those who only payed attention to noumenon and neglected effort and sank into idealism. Gu Xiancheng promoted school education activitely and made the Donglin charter himself. He also presented school education should attach importance to Decorate Four Dos, Defeat Two Bewilderment, Adore Nine Benefits, Shield Nine Injuried. Gu xinacheng attempted to adjust people’s mind and academy to achieve the purpose of adjusting politicas. On politics, he insisted that the great dispute of a country depend on the people of the country. This theory depended on the political principal of saving the world and helping the people. He also promoted talents in untraditional ways. He never set his own likes and dislikes as rules of promotion, instead,he focused mainly on maral cultivation. Gu and Donglin School have changed from Neo-confucianism to adoring practical knowledge and started the clue of trend of thought during Late Ming and Early Qing Dynasties.