A Research On The Transmutation Of Individual Values Minds In Ming And Qing Dynasties

As a period of enlightenment in Chinese history,Ming and Qing dynasties are filled with valuable significance.Both ideological emancipation movement that affirms and attaches importance to individuals in the May 4th movement period,and the "public-private" craze in previous years are closely related to the reflection on individual values in the Ming and Qing dynasties.First during this period,the reflection on the one benefited from the reflection of "Mind Is Principle" initiated by Wang Yangming.And then it is also based on the change of social environment and the advancement of the invisible contradiction among the superstructure.The development of commodity economy,on the one hand,provides material basis for the development of society;it,on the other hand,hopes that the strict differential mode of association of Confucianism will be a little loosened,and the demand for individual initiative will become more and more urgent,while the rigid feudal autocratic rules will become more serious.The emergence of this invisible contradiction prompted ideologists in Ming and Qing dynasties to criticize and reflect on the "individual" which is required in the traditional Confucian ethics.What is more,it also makes them discuss the "private" of the "individual".They have shown a respect to the individual’s privacy,hence individual values have been recognized in the field of secular emotional life.Individual dignity and independence cannot be separated from the material basis of "theory about people’s lives",which is a new recognition of Confucianism in Ming and Qing dynasties.During the process of reflecting on individual values,Confucianism in Ming and Qing dynasties achieved the following theoretical contributions where "privacy" was recognized,to a certain extent,and "public" has changed in connotation,and it also put forward the theory of "Repressing the private for the public",reflected on and revalued human nature,and remolded the ideal personality.This idea was born spontaneously from the matrix of feudalism.Ideologists in the Ming and Qing dynasties did not break through the limitations oftraditional minds,therefore,the transmutation road was based on progressivity and tendency towards compromise of traditional Confucian ethics.No doubt,it is connected with the immersion of Confucian traditional thoughts into scholar-officials,and also has something to do with the development level of social productive forces at that time.The study on the transmutation of this thought originated from the feudal matrix will provide reference and reflection for the harmonious road of the relationship between individuals and groups nowadays.As a consequence,it is of great historical and practical significance to study the transmutation of individual values in Ming and Qing dynasties.