A Historical Study of Confucian Learning:Wang Longxi's High Praise of Yan Zi's Words and Deeds in the Ming Dynasty and his New Three-dimensional Interpretation
Wang Yangming and his students generally attached importance to Yan Zi,especially Wang Longxi.Wang Longxi thought that Yan Zi had not only the characteristics of kind-heartedness and indifference to fame or wealth,but also the traits of focalization,wisdom and bravery.Compared with Zi Zhang,Zi Gong,Zi Xia,Zeng Zi and Mencius,Yan Zi was a true follower of Confucius with the highest level of self-cultivation.Wang Longxi reinterpreted Yan Zi's words and deeds from three angles:ontology,moral cultivation and realm.He interpreted"knowing all"in"knowing all the immoralities"as the essence of con-science;"never repeat the immoralities"was a typical example of inherent moral integrity.At the same time,Wang Longxi pointed out that Yan Zi had reached the highest realm of self-cultivation without trace.Different from Zhu Xi and others who thought that Yanzi was still on the way to perfection,Wang Longxi concluded that Yan Zi had achieved the state of sublimity.Confucius's and Yan Zi'happiness obtained from simple life was from the purity of heart and not from worldly things.Wang Longxi's new interpretation of Yan Zi further confirmed the unique position of Yan Zi in the Confucian orthodoxy.The orthodoxy of Yangming school was expounded on the basis of the"Confucius-Yan"doctrinal succession constructed by Wang Yangming and Wang Longxi.
Wang LongxiYan ZiInnate knowledgeConfucian orthodoxy
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