Feng Congwu’s Feng Congwu and Guanzhong Academy

While Feng Congwu was engaged in academic writing at home, he was also very keen on giving lectures. In order to promote his academic views and political opinions, he borrowed the Baoqing Temple in the south gate of Xi'an City (today's Xi'an Academy Gate Primary School) as a lecture venue. Feng Congwu had many followers, and soon the audience numbered several thousand, including local officials from Shaanxi in the Ming Dynasty. People at that time commented on him: If he emerges, he will be a true imperial censor, and his voice will shock the world; if he retreats, he will be known as a great scholar, and his books will be fragrant.

Baoqing Temple has a narrow site and small rooms, making it difficult to provide long-term lectures and teaching. In the thirty-seventh year of Wanli (1609), Shaanxi Governor Wang Keshou, Inspector Li Tianlin and others followed Feng Congwu's wishes and allocated land in the Xiaoxi (West) Garden east of Baoqing Temple to build Guanzhong Academy.

In its early days, Guanzhong Academy occupied an area of ??dozens of acres. The core building was the "Yunzhi Hall", with six rooms in and out, and a spacious space. It was a solemn and solemn place with green tiles and red pillars. It was a place for lectures and gatherings, hence its name. From the sentence "Yun Zhi Jue Zhong" in "The Doctrine of the Mean". Around the hall, there are four large rooms (classrooms) built on the left and right, and six rooms (dormitories) on the east and west sides. There is a half-acre square pond in front of the hall, with a pavilion and a stone bridge in it. There is a rockery behind the hall, called "Xiaohuayue". Various famous trees such as locust trees, pine trees, cypress trees, and plum trees were also planted. When the pine trees were blown by the bright moon and the locust trees were fragrant and the lotuses were singing, it "became a magnificent sight". Three years later, the new chief envoy Wang Daoheng built the "Sidaozhongtian Pavilion" at the back of the academy to worship Confucius and collect Confucian classics. After continuous renovation and expansion in later generations, it had reached considerable scale by the late Qing Dynasty and became the largest high-level university in the northwest region.

Guan Xue was first established by Zhang Zai in the Northern Song Dynasty. Later, due to the rise of Zhu Zixue, it gradually declined in the Southern Song Dynasty and Jin and Yuan Dynasties. However, in the Ming Dynasty, due to the efforts of Lu Jingye (Mu Ran) monarchs, it was revived. Guan studies then flourished, and in the late Ming Dynasty Feng Congwu was responsible for summarizing them. Congwu became the first person in Guanzhong after Jingye. Li Erqu said: "In the Guan school, Zhang Zi started it, and he took over the martial arts in Jingye. He came to Mr. (Shaoxu) and gathered them together, and the sect's style relied on it to flourish." ("Reply to Uncle Dong Jun", contained in "Erqu Ji", Vol. 17, Zhonghua Book Company, 1996 edition) Therefore, when studying Guanxue in the Ming Dynasty, Feng Congwu’s thoughts cannot be bypassed. However, the academic lineage of Zhang Zai's Guan School, which was "based on ethics" and advocated Qi studies, changed several times after Zhang Zai's death. First, Zhu Lu graduated from the sect of Er Cheng, and later "Guanzhong people" were also "like Cheng Zi." Gate"; following the spread of Zhu Xi's studies to the north, Xu Luzhai spread Zhu Xi's ideas in the north, and people from Guanzhong, such as the Gaoling Confucians, "singed with each other, and they all studied Zhu Xi." It is said that this is the beginning of Wang Xue in Guanzhong. After decades of dissemination, "Wang's studies are extremely prosperous". For example, Lu Jingye studied at Zhanganquan and learned from Zou Dongkuo (Shouyi), a disciple of Wang's family. This shows that many scholars in Guanzhong learned from their hearts. I learned from Xu Fuyuan (Jing Mian), and under his influence I not only focused on "investigating things", but also believed in "conscience", so I was able to "unify Cheng, Zhu, Lu, and Wang into one" (see "Bo Jingwei Xiaoxiao" above) "Knowledge", contained in "The Continuation of Guan Xue"), and embarked on his own academic path. Huang Zongxi listed Feng in the "Ganquan Academic Case", but the Guan Xuesong style of practicing and advocating integrity founded by Zhang Zai left a deep imprint on Congwu. Congwu faced an academic situation in which the empty and sparse academic style of the late Ming Dynasty was increasingly prevalent. Therefore, he took it as his own responsibility to remedy the shortcomings of the times, and formed his own independent academic style. He was the first to turn Western scholarship towards practical learning at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

1. "Stick to the basics and uphold the truth", reject the superficial and promote practical learning

In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the study of mind was at its peak. However, Yanxin scholars, a group in eastern Zhejiang, represented by Wang Longxi, advocated the theory of innate righteousness and tried to explain the ready-made conscience. However, because they emphasized the essence and neglected the work, they gradually fell into the "arrogant and unscrupulous" tendency; Jiang The right group, represented by Zou Shouyi, Luo Hongxian, etc., corrected the deviation of Longxi, and used the same subject, so they supplemented their theory with the cultivation skills of returning to silence and mastering tranquility. By the late Ming Dynasty, Wang Xue had developed from a humble style to a rampant and unscrupulous approach, which gradually obscured Zhu Zi's theory of inquiry and principles. Therefore, there were Gu Xiancheng, Gao Panlong and other Donglin people who opposed the tendency of Yangming's disciples to only focus on innate conscience and deviate from the Wang sect's solid kung fu. So they began to harmonize Zhu and Wang, emphasizing both innate conscience and acquired kung fu to rectify the Ming Dynasty. The end of academic failure. Feng Congwu and the Donglin School lived in the same era and had the same academic background, and had a common understanding of issues. Therefore, he took the promotion of "sacred learning" as his own responsibility, consciously shouldered the responsibility of the times to save academic deviations, and became a leader in China in the late Ming Dynasty. A representative of the West who "severely punishes the disease of abandoning cultivation of words and enlightenment in the last days, and ineffective teaching hindering reality" (Jiang Zhongwen's "Preface to the Collection of Shaoxu").

"Xingshi" states that his theory "takes the mind of Confucius and Mencius as the essence, sincerity and respect as the effort, the unity of all things as the measure, and following the heart's desires without exceeding the rules as the ultimate principle." This comment can roughly mark the relationship between Feng and Cheng Zhulu. It is a unified academic direction and a practical learning purpose that opposes "wasting the cultivation of words and understanding, and making empty classes hinder real practice". According to the "Yun Zhi Tang Ping" written by me for Guanzhong Academy:

"The ethics of the general code must be upheld, the heaven and earth and all things must be integrated, the official must be done for a long time and quickly, the joys, anger, sorrows and joys must be moderate, and the speech must be moderate. You must be careful in receiving and receiving, and you must be polite when listening, speaking, and acting. This is what is contrary to what is called the human heart. It is called the practical learning of fulfilling one’s nature and fulfilling one’s destiny.” ("Xing Shi")

This paragraph contains the same concepts of essence and kung fu, cultivation and enlightenment, value and realm, Taoism and etiquette. , understanding of the relationship of integration and non-duality, and the moral orientation of "doing one's best to one's life" are the keys to grasping his philosophical thoughts and practical style of study. It can be seen from this that he used Zhu Zi's knowledge of things to make up for Wang Xue's neglect of time and the direction of his thoughts.

Like Donglin scholars, I pointed out bitterly that Wang Xueliu fell into arrogance and unscrupulousness at the end of his life. At the same time, he also pointed out that he was weak in the essence and made general remarks about Kung Fu. He said:

"Modern scholars often pursue false views and follow rules and standards. The disadvantages are that they make people arrogant and wantonly follow the villain without any scruples. This is related to the human heart and the world..." (Volume 15, " "Reply to Lu Quezhai")

"The scholars of the world only know that one thing in the original body cannot be tolerated, but they do not know that all things in the original body are prepared. Therefore, they all fall into the theory of nothingness and have no real basis. According to it, people are rampant and self-indulgent." (Volume 12, "Quotations from Guanzhong Academy")

"In modern times, there are only ten people who are sick and separated, and nine out of ten are rampant." (Volume 15, "Reply to Yang Yuanzhong") "Yun Chang")

From my opinion, scholars at that time either only focused on Kung Fu and ignored the essence, and fell into fragmentation; "Gongfu is not very clear to distinguish." He emphasized that the essence should be combined with Gongfu. The essence is Gongfu and Gongfu is the essence. On the contrary, "If you discuss Gongfu without considering the essence, then you will use it in a general way and it will be fragmented and entangled; if you discuss the essence without considering it, If you talk about Gongfu in vain, you will lose the shortcut." ("Lun Xue Shu", see "Ming Confucianism Cases Ganquan Xue Case") This theory points out the root cause of Yangming's study of pure essence and neglect of Gongfu. Then he combined Zhu Xi's "investigating things and purifying principles" with Yangming's "achieving good knowledge" and believed that "my Confucianism takes the supreme good as its essence and knowledge as the effort... one must investigate things and then know the cessation." If Abandon the investigation of things and ignore them, and "do not seek the way to stop knowledge. This heretical study of suspended enlightenment is not the purpose of my Confucianism" (ibid.). Zhu Xi's "investigation of things" was used to correct the innate conscience theory of post-Yangming studies, which is the embodiment of Congwu's tendency of the late Ming Dynasty's academic style to return from emptiness to reality. Gao Panlong commented: "Those who cultivate without realizing it will miss the root of the problem; those who do not fully realize it will recognize things as rules. Therefore, those who are good at talking about Kung Fu are afraid that those who talk about the essence will hinder their cultivation; those who are good at talking about the essence are afraid that those who talk about the essence will hinder their cultivation. Those who talk about Kungfu hinder their enlightenment, but those who want to practice must seek the essence, and those who want to understand must seek the Kungfu. Without the essence, there is no Kungfu, and without Kungfu, there is no essence. "Right to the middle", this is exactly what I "show people most clearly in "Ji"". ("Preface to the Collection of Feng Shaoxu")

Another manifestation of the frivolous academic style at that time was that he did not give lectures, or even though he lectured, he "taught non-study words." The so-called "non-study words" are words that are "talking about mysteries and empty words", words that are unable to "keep your mind quiet", words that fail to eliminate "all sounds, sex, money and profit", or words that are "reading books and writing about current affairs", or words that cannot be "concentrated on". The words "exerting the truth" in the context of experience may not be able to eliminate the "motivation of running for business", and may only pursue utility rather than abiding by "indifferent" words, or words that are specious, etc. The core of which is "not me". "Confucianism is the study of advancing virtue and cultivating karma" (see Volume 11, "Chiyang Quotations"). "Words that are not academic" is Congwu's summary of the teaching atmosphere at that time. Congwu regards correcting this academic atmosphere as his academic responsibility. He said: "During the Warring States Period, Yang Mo's words were popular all over the world, and Mencius was the first to refute them. From the Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, the words of Buddha and Lao were all over the world, and Cheng Zhu's words were the most popular. Today, the world is full of unscientific words. If someone like Mencius and Cheng Zhu were to say something, I would be willing to hold the whip for them." (Volume 7, "Baoqing Quotations") and issued "My Confucianism". When will the way be revealed, and when will the evils of the world be revealed?" The sigh! (Volume 3, "Records of Doubts") In order not to "kill future generations with academics", I think we should start with lectures.

He once quoted Lu Jingye's words that "learning is unclear if it is not taught", and Zou Dongkuo's saying that "studies are not taught, and the saints are worried" to emphasize the importance of lectures, and pointed out that lectures should "begin with the cultivation of morality" ( Volume 6, "Records of the Academy"), "Studying things means giving lectures, and you cannot talk about mysteries and empty words." ("Suspicion Record" in "The Cases of Confucianism in the Ming Dynasty Ganquan Study Cases") At that time, some scholars often talked about mysteries but did not practice them. , some people doubt whether lectures can cure this disease. From my point of view, "Those who suffer from the disease of Xuanxu in medicine should practice the word "Xuanxu". Since scholars talk more about Xuanxu, it is right to say that "Xuanxu" can be cured by practicing medicine. But there is no need to talk about anti-yunxue, so why? ?" and pointed out that this statement is "a theory that favors mysteries and hinders others' differentiation" (Volume 7, "Baoqing Quotations")

In order to correct the academic atmosphere, follow me first. Rural studies began. In the autumn of the year Bingshen (the twenty-fourth year of Wanli), Congwu and other gentlemen held a meeting to give lectures at Baoqing Temple in Chang'an, and formulated the "Learning Agreement" which later had a far-reaching influence in Guanzhong. In December of the following year (1597), Congwu presided over the formulation of the "Guanzhong Scholars' Meeting". It is worth noting that the "Covenant of the Society" not only clearly stipulates the content of lectures that "the speeches should be based on the principles of ethics", but also specifically proposes to establish the principle of "advocating truth and simplicity first, guarding against empty talk, and being strict in practice." The issue of practical academic style. The so-called "empty talk", in my opinion, those who "talk about nothing" are empty talk, those who talk but "don't practice" are also empty talk; those who like to talk about others but don't practice it themselves are empty talk, "good talk" Those who "praise themselves to others" but "do not practice" themselves are also empty talk. Only by practicing diligently can we avoid empty talk. Therefore, when I give lectures, I always "encourage with deeds" and call out, "Wow! In order to learn, don't talk too much, be careful and listen carefully." (Volume 5, "Xue Xueyue: Two Questions and Answers") Congwu emphasized: "A scholar must have a firm footing and be thorough in order to be successful." (Volume 11, "Chiyang Quotations") Be careful not to be vain, not to be vain. Being impetuous, guarding against empty talk, and being diligent in practice are the most practical principles in my "Learning Agreement". He himself can also set an example. Therefore, Wang Xinjing said: "It is impossible to reject all the glitz and glamor of Hanyuan." ("Guan Xue Sequel·Mr. Shaoxu")

At that time, some scholars were "empty talk" instead of "implementation" , there is another reason, which is that knowledge often misses the point, fails to grasp the fundamentals, and falls into fragmentation. Congwu believes that this is also related to the style of study that cannot be "honest". He believed that "the origin of the ontology is not clear, so it has endless consequences later on" (Volume 11, "Chiyang Quotations"), so the key is to pursue the "roots of sacred learning" and explore the "origin of sacred learning". He emphasized that "the way of learning must be thorough at the origin and gain strength where it has not yet developed. Then the development is all in the middle, take it from the left and right, and follow its origin. Everything should be done naturally; otherwise, just check everything. , there will eventually be no place to stay, this is my Confucianism's outline and guideline" ("The Case of Confucianism in the Ming Dynasty·Ganquan Study Case 5"). From my point of view, this "origin" is nothing else but Neo-Confucianism. At that time, there was a saying in Guanzhong of the so-called "Four Excellences", namely Wang Duanyi's "Song Gong", Yang Hushan's "Jieyi", Lu Jingye's "Neo-Confucianism", and Li Kongtong's "Articles". Chongwuwei believes that "Neo-Confucianism" is the foundation, saying, "Although a gentleman attaches equal importance to the work of husbands, integrity, Neo-Confucianism, and articles, all three have their functions, and Neo-Confucianism is the foundation. If the fundamentals are strong, their functions will be different." (Volume 16, "Farewell to Weibin to the Minister of Bi Dongjiao") But what is the "foundation" of Neo-Confucianism? According to Congwu's understanding, it means "taking the mind as the essence and learning as the skill". Therefore, he always grasped the core concepts of Mencius' "goodness", "sincerity" and "undeveloped" in "The Doctrine of the Mean", Cheng Zhu's "reason", and Yangming's "conscience", and pondered them. In Congwu's opinion, "The knowledge of sages always works hard in the heart, otherwise it will breed all day long and belong to the branches and leaves." (Li Weizhen's "Preface to the Record of Bianxue") As Mencius said, "The great one must be established first", that is, it should be established first. Work hard on the main body, not on the end. He said, "If you lose this mind, don't get rid of the 'essence', and only want to be happy, angry, sad, and happy, and listen, listen, speak, and act in a manner, then you really abandon the basic and focus on the last." (Volume 12, "Quotations from Guanzhong Academy") It is inevitable to fall into the "hanging learning" of the heresy of Buddhism and Laoism. In short, only by "adhering to the basics" will not "do things at the end", so that we can outline and draw out the main points; "Advocating the truth" will not be "hanging in the air", so as to be different from the mysticism of the Buddha and the elders, so that "my Confucianism's study of moral cultivation" can be seen All practical effects. It can be seen that although Congwu adheres to Xinxue, he is very different from the last stream of Wangxue. The latter "drives away the end and loses sight of the essence." From my point of view, the main body is the same, and the essence and the end are the same.

2. Learning to "have masters" and "self-satisfied" can only lead to "further study in the Tao"

I once served as a censor, and then resigned and stayed at home for nine years. For years, I can think hard and practice without leaving home. After giving lectures for more than twenty years, I finally realized something.

He believes that "modern scholars" mix Buddhism, Lao Confucianism and Confucianism because they "focus too much on false views", fall into "emptiness", fall into "arrogance", or "chasing the end and losing the essence", fall into "fragmentation". Some may use "specious" arguments to confuse people's minds, or others may follow others' opinions, etc. The origin and origin of this are unknown. The origin is unknown, and it is related to the vain culture of not being independent in learning, not being "satisfied", and not having the courage to "create the way." Opposing "emptiness" and "fragmentation" and emphasizing "satisfaction" and "creating the way" are Congwu's strongest efforts.

First of all, Congwu emphasizes that the most important thing in learning is to have a master. He said: "Knowing your thoughts and ideas is all you need to know when learning." (Volume 12, "Quotations from Guanzhong Academy"). The so-called "idea" means firstly having an "opinion", that is, on the basis of a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the academic object and a comprehensive understanding of it, once you form a certain understanding or understanding that you think is correct, you must stick to your opinion, generally not for external reasons. influenced by factors. Just as Hong Yisheng said when commenting on Congwu's "The Picture of Good Benefits": "The most painful thing about learning is that it is restrained by both ends." And Congwu "knowledge cuts everything in two, cutting into the bones and marrow" (Volume 8, Preface to "The Picture of Good Profits" "Appendix" of ""); the second is to know the "origin". If the "origin" is not clear and you just use effort, you will achieve nothing. From what I say, "Only when you know the idea can you use the effort easily. ... If you don't know the idea, Then the effort will be in vain. Such empty learning and fragmented learning are not contained in the holy way." (Volume 12, "Quotations from Guanzhong Academy") Only by "having a master" in learning can we eliminate the "emptiness and sparseness" of the late Xinxue. The "fragmentation" of just using kung fu; third, the "purpose" of learning must be clear and the core should be grasped. As I have warned students many times, the "purpose" of my Confucian learning should be clear, with "mind as the foundation", and the nature of mind Learning is based on "sincerity and respect", and ultimately returns to the "perfect goodness" of nature. Therefore, Bi Maokang said: "Mr. Tie Guan's learning is valuable and has a master, not two or two, not three. Use it in practice, mix it with edicts, and don't make it empty. It is borrowed by those who steal and indulge in it. If you have a master, it will last for thousands of years." Change without confusion, and practice will lead to success and cannot be deceived." ("Preface to the Collection of Feng Shaoxu") Compared with Zhang Zai's "learning from the number of changes" and Yang Ming's "regret for twenty years of misusing his mind", from I do have something special about me. Yang He said in the "Preface to the Record of Distinguishing Studies": "Mr. Qingming is bowing, and his ambition is like a god. However, he sits upright all day long, as if he is thoughtful, responding to things, like holding a jade as if holding a ball, and he has never let go of this heart for a moment. Mr. This is how learning with a master can be seen. In the past, Hengqu learned a lot about things, and Yangming also regretted that he had used his mind wrongly in the past twenty years. He was far ahead of others."

Secondly, learning "with a master" is. It is based on "self-satisfaction" and "deeper than creating the Tao". It is emphasized that learning to "have one's own mind" does not mean being stubborn in one's own opinions, but rather "creating the way" through "self-acquisition". In fact, Zhang Zaixue's many changes and Yang Ming's regret for "misusing his mind for twenty years" are another manifestation of "having an owner" in academics. If there is "no owner", one can only follow what others say, and there is no need to correct or regret oneself. The problem is that Congwu has always regarded "having masters" as his academic consciousness. "Zhengde" was put forward by me based on the development of Mencius' thoughts and in response to the shortcomings of the academic style at that time. Mencius said: "A gentleman who studies the Tao deeply wants to achieve it by himself." ("Mencius Li Louxia") This "self-acquisition" refers to the unique understanding gained through his own in-depth study and understanding. Congwu believes that if you are "weary of the merits of further study, knowledge and detailed explanation", you will never be "satisfied". "Creating the Way" is the soul of academics, and "self-satisfaction" is the realm of academics. "If you cannot learn to be self-satisfied, you will end up being fragmented, and you will never be able to make the right and the right." (Volume 12, "Guanzhong Academy Quotes") About "Consciousness" ", the relationship between "having a master" and "creating the Tao", Congwu said: "Knowing the mind and ideas in learning and furthering the Tao are all for self-satisfaction. It is the understanding of self-satisfaction that deepens learning, and the understanding of self-satisfaction, taking self-satisfaction as the goal, using the Dao as the skill to further study, and using both sides as the secret to self-satisfaction. This is where Mencius gained great success in learning in his life." (Volume 12, "Quotes from Guanzhong Academy") 》) That is to say, "furthering one's studies in the Tao" requires "renewing" on the basis of "erudite and detailed explanations", and only by "reneging on the covenant" can one have "self-satisfaction", and only by "self-satisfaction" can one have "idea", so it is said that "the idea is all in contented". That is to say, when there is "self-satisfaction", one can reach the time of "creating the way". The reason why Congwu can stand on his own is that he can handle the relationship between Bo and Yue well, so he can be "satisfied" on many issues. He criticized the impetuous trend of some people who are unable to be "extensive" and often want to "form their own family", and said, "When it comes to studying, such as writing, you must understand hundreds of schools, and then you can form your own family. If you only stick to one family, you may be lonely. I can't have a family." (Volume 7, "Baoqing Quotations") However, if you are knowledgeable, you must break the contract.

From my understanding of the thoughts of Confucianists in history, I can make general conclusions and grasp the main points. For example, he believes that Confucius is marked with the word "benevolence", Mencius is marked with "benevolence and righteousness", Zengzi is marked with "prudence and independence", and Zisi is marked with "benevolence". It is marked with "Weifa", the Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty marked it with "Tianli", Zhu Xi marked it with "Zhu Jing Qiong Li", Yangming marked it with "Zhi Liangzhi", etc., but from the perspective of Taoism, these are all connected: " "When it comes to the Taoist body, there are no two schools of thought throughout the ages" (see Volume 7, "Baoqing Quotations"). It directly explains the consistent Taoist body of Confucianism in one sentence. It is difficult to achieve without the merit of erudition and anti-convention. Because he learns to "have his own master" from "self-acquisition", his lectures "do not create new ideas, nor follow the usual, do not engage in mystery, and do not involve the humble. They should express what they have gained, make the purpose clear, and explain the details in detail." (Volume 8, "The Theory of Benefit and Benefit"). For example, he admired Yangming's theory of "leading to good knowledge" out of "self-attainment", and he also criticized Yangming's "no good or evil body" out of "self-attainment". He pointed out that the theory of "leading to conscience" affirms the "supreme goodness" of the ontology, while the theory of "no good and no evil" denies "goodness" from the ontology, and the two are contradictory. "Since we know that knowing evil is good knowledge, we can see that there is good and no evil as the body of the heart. Now we say 'the body of the heart without good and evil', but we can also say 'the body of the heart without good and evil'. Is this wrong?" (Volume 16, "Miscellaneous" "Farewell to Li Zi's Gao Yan")

Distinguishing the wrongness of the mind and body of "neither good nor evil" was a hot topic in the academic circles at that time. Donglin Gu Xiancheng and Gao Panlong spared no effort to reject it. According to my analysis, the core argument of grasping the "perfect goodness" of his nature is by no means a copy of what others say. He was satisfied with many theoretical issues such as "innate" and "nurture", "undeveloped" and "already developed", which were hotly discussed by Confucian scholars at that time, as well as Confucianism's "follow one's own desires without exceeding the rules", especially his works "The Theory of Benefit and Benefit", using goodness and benefit to distinguish saints from ordinary people is something that has never been done before. Because he was very proud of his studies, and his lectures were often based on his own ideas, he was highly praised by scholars, who regarded him as "just one person" after the masters of Hengqu and Jingye (Cui Fengzhu's "Biography of Mr. Gongding Feng Shaoxu") .

3. Advocate justice and avoid evil, and strive to change the atmosphere

For knowledge, it is the academic conscience that every scholar should not be coerced by heresy and have the courage to adhere to justice and right views; It is the moral responsibility of every scholar to dare to resist and resist in the face of bad academic, scholarly, and rural customs. It can be said that in this regard, Cong Wukan was regarded as a model in Guanzhong in the late Ming Dynasty, which greatly contributed to the "sacred learning". Therefore, "Xingshi" says: "Advocate the righteous and ward off the evil, the Qin Dynasty will change, and Taoism in the country will be revived."

“Advocating righteousness and avoiding evil” is the academic attitude that Congwu has determined driven by a sense of moral responsibility. In his "Self-Praise" written for himself, he clearly stated that "Buddha and Lao are the masters of Zou and Lu." It can be seen that the core of the "righteousness" he admires is "taking the mind as the essence and sincerity as the skill". The Confucianism of Zeng Simeng, Zhou Cheng, Zhang Zhu”. The "evils" to be refuted include the "two clans" heresy, the "sad" that sometimes Confucianism "falls into empty talk about silence", and the unhealthy trends in the academic world. ” (Wang Xingjing: "Continuation of Guan Xue·Mr. Shaoxu Feng") However, this is not because I am "easy to distinguish", but because of "last resort". At that time, when "obscene words and heresies were spreading all over the world", Congwu "wanted to rectify people's hearts" and had to "find out where they concealed concerns and restore them" (Li Weizhen's "Preface to Bixue Lu"). His "Book of Distinctions" mainly focuses on the differences between Confucianism and Buddhism. Its purpose is to clarify "the true biography of my Confucianism", so that it can "confuse the common confusions of ordinary Confucianism, and often break the Tao", and more It will not cause "the evils of Buddhism" to "block its source" (Tu Zongrui's "Preface to the Record of Distinguishing Learning"). It is worth noting that although "strengthening the two sects" has been the common aspiration of scholars of Guanxue and even Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty since Zhang Zai, what Zhang Zai denounced was the Buddha's "raising and destroying the heaven and earth with the mind's law", The theory of "emptiness" that "takes mountains, rivers and earth as the basis for disease" establishes the ontology of the universe that "too much void is qi". What I distance myself from is Buddha’s theory of mind. He believed that all kinds of confusions in people's minds at that time "all originated from unclear learning, unclear learning, and unclear nature of mind." Wang Yangming believes that there is no "two views" between Confucianism and the "two sects". "The uses of the two sects are all for my use." "The Complete Works of Wang Yangming", Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1992 edition, page 1289) therefore, regarding the issue of mind and nature, he believes that Zen's "knowing one's mind and seeing one's nature" is connected with Confucianism's "carrying one's nature to one's destiny". Later scholars such as Wang Longxi only focused on the innate essence and paid less attention to the merits of self-restraint and self-denial. This made Wang Xue gradually become empty and sparse. This may be one of the important reasons why Congwu was able to differentiate between Buddhism and Confucianism in the late Ming Dynasty.

He mentioned in many places that Yang Ming said that "there is only a slight difference between Buddhism and Confucianism", but he only argued that their purposes are completely different. For example, he said, "My Confucianism is based on principles, while Buddhism is based on life and death." "Zong"; Confucianism's "exerting one's mind to understand one's nature" and Shi's "clear mind and seeing one's nature", the two "may be the same but they are actually far apart" (Yang He's "Preface to Bixuelu"), and Shi's concealment lies in the unclarified "goodness" Its origin is "reason"; the so-called "directly pointing to the human heart" of "Confucianism" refers to the "weiwei" "Tao heart", while the so-called "directly pointed to the human heart" of the Buddha refers to the "weak and dangerous" "human heart"; What "Confucianism" calls "seeing nature" means seeing the "good" nature of the ontology. What Buddhism calls "seeing nature" means seeing the "nature of temperament." Although this statement is not necessarily correct, its purpose is clear, that is, by distinguishing the differences between Buddhism and Confucianism, we will explore the ideological roots of the Kongshu style of study at the end of Wang Xue. He repeatedly discussed the inseparability of ontology and kung fu, and criticized the "empty learning" of contemporary Confucianism, which was obviously targeted in terms of academic style.

"Advocating frugality and adhering to the moral style" is also an important aspect of Congwu's efforts. Therefore, he tried to connect his lectures with upright scholarly customs and customs. Most of them lamented the decline of scholarly customs in Qin. . The most typical rural customs related to the academic style include "disputing" and "slandering" each other, unable to "beauty adults"; "fearing others' blame", not distinguishing between right and wrong, unable to uphold justice; liking to discuss other people's faults; discussing academic matters, They may be self-righteous, or they may be self-satisfied, or they may not be able to "empty themselves and serve others", they may be "too arrogant", etc. Congwu was deeply touched by the Qin people's custom of not being able to achieve adult beauty. He said: "The most meritorious thing in the world is greater than the beauty of adulthood. Whenever the southerners see a person doing a good deed, everyone will praise it, and their mission will be completed. Qin custom If you fight for ridicule and slander, you will ultimately lose. In this way, the master will benefit from it, and the disciple will suffer more. "Junior and disciples should respect each other and not slander each other, otherwise both sides will suffer." Let me give an example to illustrate: "Wang Yangming and Lu Jingye are both true Confucian scholars of our Ming Dynasty. Yangming's disciples are mostly in the sea, but Jingye is not. Although they are not harmed by the two princes, they are not famous in Guanfu." (" "Sequel" Volume 2, "True Customs and Sayings") Feng Gongshen was deeply troubled by the shortcomings of the scholarly ethos in Qin, so he stipulated in the "Guanzhong Scholars Meeting" that "we have nothing to do with each other's disputes. In case there is such a thing, , Everyone should do their best to persuade others to make peace, and not to cause harm to the general body due to small anger." He also hoped that everyone would "make friends when going out and help each other when they are sick", so as to form good local customs. I especially dislike the spirit of hometown desire among scholars, such as not insisting on the right and wrong of "respect" and "respect". This is an example: "The customs of Qin know clearly that respect is right, but they are jealous of it in every way, and seek it in every way. Those who respect him will be helpless. He knows clearly what is wrong with him, but he tries to suppress him in every possible way, and favors him in every possible way, so that he can be benefited by him, but he will not be afraid of it..." (Volume 2, "Principal Popular Sayings") Dare not Adhering to truth and justice without distinguishing between right and wrong will only result in "no tolerance" for the respectful and "no scruples" for the unscrupulous. The atmosphere is getting worse and worse, especially in Qin customs. When it comes to dealing with the faults of academic friends, Congwu can adopt a tolerant attitude. He said, "No one is a sage, and no one can be without faults." For example, the attitude and method of treating gentlemen and villains should vary according to different situations: "On When it comes to communication, you should be close to gentlemen and stay away from villains; when it comes to tolerance, you should respect gentlemen and tolerate villains; when it comes to academics, you should treat gentlemen like villains and treat villains as their own." (Volume 11, "Chiyang Quotes") He is most opposed to irresponsibility. Talking behind his back: "Every time I see friends talking about their faults behind their backs, they refuse to tell them all in person." He believes that "this is not just the fault of my friends, but also of each other, who are not happy to be sincere." So he made an appointment with each other in the "Xue Xue Appointment" with the four words "faults and faults". Regarding debates, Congwu emphasizes that "you must be calm and calm, and be humble and humble. Even if you disagree, you should discuss it in more detail. Don't be self-righteous or overly argumentative." And "Be confident in being self-righteous, and your opinions will be firm, no matter what." "Re-discuss", this "modern scholars often think about this disease", and I warned "we should avoid it". ("Covenant of the Society") As Chen Jiru said: "All the shortcomings of lectures and the ignorance of scholar-bureaucrats' long-standing habits can be seen with a fair eye. They can find out the root of the disease with their own hands, clean it up and then deal with it." ("Feng Shaoxu") "Mr. Collection")

In addition, advocating "advocating truth and simplicity" is also an important aspect of Congwuli's change of culture. The "Covenant of the Society" stipulates that "all communication in the meeting should be declined, and this is the principle of respecting truth and simplicity." It requires that normal communication between scholars should be pure and simple and not pretentious. This is "respecting truth"; Putting an end to all kinds of extravagant behavior and all kinds of complicated etiquette and customs in communication, this is "simple". Most of the articles listed in the "Guanzhong Scholars' Meeting" were to limit or review the etiquette of communication, and most of them were simple and practical. The lines in his words reveal Congwu's deep pain towards the kind of pretentiousness and artificiality that does not come from natural and true feelings.

The "Yue" later "spread all over the world and was admired as a great event". Therefore, more than ten years after the "Yue" was published, Zhou Sinong commented in the article "Guanzhong Hui Yue Shu" that this "Yue" "is a collection of good advice, and The precious teachings of Xie De are to uphold frugality in order to maintain good conduct, to communicate with each other in a discretionary manner, to respect ancient friendships in strict terms, to warn against vulgarity through criticism, to be generous and honest in Zhou Qiu, and to comfort the descendants by teaching them. Virtue. The idea of ??adhering to the basics and maintaining good customs is beyond words. "Advocating thrift, adhering to the basics, and maintaining good customs" are what Congwu put forward in response to the frivolous customs of the late Ming Dynasty. The method of making up for shortcomings is also an important manifestation of the practical style of study advocated by him.

4. Practicing strict discipline and maintaining moral integrity are not easy to achieve.

Practice and respect integrity are the traditions of Guan School. Liu Xuezhi: "Practice Etiquette and Advocate Integrity - Starting from the Three Lis of Guanzhong", published in "Journal of Continuing Education of Shaanxi Normal University", Issue 1, 2001. Feng Congwu inherited Zhang Zaiguan's tradition of practicing and applying his knowledge to the world, and "it is not easy to accept an introduction based on the source of the words". From what I have heard, it is said that "in order to learn, it is not necessary to talk too much, but to focus on how to act" ("Xue Xueyue: Two Questions and Answers"). If "you can talk but cannot do it, this is forbidden in true learning." (Volume 14) , "Lectures") What he means by "practicing" not only refers to concern for the national economy and people's livelihood, but also refers to the need to be conscientious in moral practice. It also includes the need to have hard-earned integrity in life, from which we can see Congwu's spiritual temperament and personality.

From what I have learned in my life, I must not deceive myself, practice my wonderful enlightenment, and have profound knowledge. I cannot bear the rivers of human nature, and I am proud to take it as my responsibility to rise and restore them." ("Xing Shi") He He once criticized Yang Zhu for being "without a king" and "for me", saying: "If you abandon your relatives and people's belongings and only work for me, and regard the world's national affairs as irrelevant to me, what kind of world will you create? Therefore, it is called 'without a king'." ("The Theory of Good Profits") Congwu also implemented this purpose with his own actions. During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court said, "After drinking, you will be killed several times and given to the attendants." From then on, I gave the admonishment of Naizhai Xincao, which included "I am trapped in the bent tillers and drank for a long night, and I entertained the slim ones and feasted and slept all day long" and so on. Shenzong was furious and issued a decree. It coincides with the Changqiu Festival, so I can save my auxiliary ministers. This incident made Congwu famous all over the world. (See Volume 1 of "The Continuation of Guan Xue", "Mr. Feng from Shaoxu") I have witnessed the current situation after Xizong ascended the throne: "There are droughts, famines, thieves, and tangles in the interior", but the scholar-officials "were only cultivating interests and forming cliques for the sake of poverty." "Outside, the Liao Zuo is in danger, and the disaster is to peel off the bed and skin." The generals may abandon the city and flee, or "form their own parties, exclude each other, and do not know the way to harmonious and harmonious". So he resolutely "stepped forward and hoped to restore the situation with uprightness and justice." Whenever he had the opportunity to speak, he could "blatantly, not evade, and show justice to the universe" (ibid.). For the sake of the country, regardless of personal safety, he was really aboveboard and upright! Under the circumstances at that time, although his call was weak, Congwu still made unremitting efforts. For example, he once gave lectures at the Chenghuang Temple with Zou Nangao, Zhong Longyuan and others, "in order to contact the righteous comrades to help the country." (ibid.) When someone When I doubted whether his lectures could help the country, Congwu said sadly: "The country is in trouble, the scholar-bureaucrats don't know about death, and the rats are chasing after each other. It is better to arouse the heart of the people who are close to death, and there is no need to give lectures." ("Xing Xing") "Practice") Therefore, Zou Nangao said that "Feng Zi is the one who practices his own way through learning." (ibid.) From Congwu, it is not difficult to see the tradition and style of practical learning that comes from one continuous line and is concerned with learning, practicing, and applying to the world. We can also Get a glimpse of Congwu’s integrity and uprightness. As Congwu himself said: "A scholar must have meticulous integrity before he can have the atmosphere of standing on the wall." (Volume 3, "Suspicions") Chen Jiru commented: Congwu "lectures all day long, and if you haven't tried it, Give lectures; gather disciples all day long, but if you don't gather disciples, you don't divide people into different families, don't insert feathers, don't follow the current situation, don't hold the power of the government, don't attract people, you are free and surrounded by the wall, and you are aloof and free from speech. , How can we have this unless we practice strict ethics and have pure self-cultivation?" (Volume 1, "Collected Narratives of Mr. Feng Shaoxu") Indeed, without strict moral integrity and "refined" self-cultivation, it is difficult to achieve this! academic level. In short, from Feng Congwu’s academic career, we can get a glimpse of the practical learning characteristics of Guanxue in the late Ming Dynasty and the trend of Chinese academic transformation into practical learning.