A Study On Gong Dingzi’s Political Thoughts

Gong Dingzi had a nearly 40 year’s career of being an official,and is a witness of the revolution of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Exploring Gong Dingzi’s political thought is helpful to enrich his case study and deepen his understanding of the history of the late Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasties.The formation of Gong Dingzi’s political thought was influenced by multiple factors.In the late Ming Dynasty,the current situation was in turmoil.In the court,the party disputed;Locally,there had been years of war and chaos,making it difficult for the people to survive.After the Qing Dynasty entered the Pass,Neo-confucianism gradually revived and became the ruling weapon of the imperial court.In this context,the emergence of various political propositions influenced the formation of Gong Dingzi’s concept.When examining the family situation,it can be found that gong Dingzi’s grandfather,father and uncle had a great influence on the formation of his thoughts.From his personal experience,the formation of his political thoughts were also inseparable from the accumulation of his official career experience.Gong Dingqing’s political thought had rich connotation.As for the concept of the king and the minister,Gong Dingzi carefully respected the king and the minister,and maintained the authority of the monarch.He also pursued the rule of the king and his ministers,hoping that they would do their part.But when faced with difficulties,he failed to be loyal as the king.As for the concept of talent,Gong Dingzi divided his ministers into two categories:gentlemen and villains,and believed that there was an irreconcilable contradiction between them.He also advocated the reform of the imperial examination system to select practical talents.As for the concept of criminal name,Gong Dingzi pursued the association of crimes and emphasized that a criminal official should have a heart of love.As for the concept of people’s livelihood,Gong Dingzi attached great importance to raising the people and teaching them.First,advocate wide to raise the people,help the recovery of agricultural economy.Second,attach importance to the moral education of the common people,and actively promote the construction of local schools.As for the concept of military and government,Gong Dingzi realized the importance of restoring power together,and advocated combining soldiers with agriculture.His political thoughts had two main characteristics:one was to emphasize practicality;the other was to balance flexibility and principle.His political ideas have played both positive roles and limitations.On the one hand,Gong Dingzi’s political thoughts played a positive role in maintaining local stability,attracting available talents and promoting the process of judicial Confucianism in the early Qing Dynasty.On the other hand,his political thoughts were also mixed with private contents,sometimes putting personal interests above the interests of the imperial court.In general,most of his political thoughts were the contents of inherited nature,and they failed to jump out of the traditional Confucian category.