WANG YANG-MING (AIL 1472-1529) in Japanese, Oyomei (q.v.), a Chinese philoso pher, who has probably influenced the mind o A modern China, though_largelec-shsough—Japa in the direction of action and reform, m e than any other teacher since Confudus, Men cius, or the medimval reconstructor of the an cient thought, Chu Hi (q.v.). In Japan this Oyomei philosophy formed the mental food and furnished the motive to the reformers who since 1868 have modernized their country. Largely through the thought of Wang, thus embodied and reformulated by Japan, China has received the new mind that enables her to harmonize modern and Occidental ideas with her age-old orthodoxy. In the history of Chinese thought we recognize Confucius as the transmitter of ancient tradition, who handed down in good literary form the ethics, ritual and world of thought in which the Chinese patriarchs lived, sfiewing man in harmony with the universe and its laws. To this Con fudan system Mencius (q.v.) gave fresh ex position and popularity, espec.ially in its appli cation to govenunent Then followed cen turies of commentary. Meanwhile the rivals of Confucianism were Taoism (q.v.) and Budd hism— one the more speculative native and the other the more metaphysical Hindoo faith —gained adherents, the former with the schol ars and the latter with the masses, in whose minds the three systems blended. It may be truly said that China extended her empire more through the propaganda of culture than by the sword. In the 12th century there was an out burst of populism, with a challenge of old ideas, compelling to deeper thought. The Chinese thinkers led by Chu Hi (q.v.) (1130-1200) recast and made restatement of the national faith, virtually blending Hindoo and Mongol ideas. Through his commentary on the classics, Chu Hi gave an interpretation, by which Con fucianism took the form of a creed, which became the virtual religion of most gentlemen in all the lands of eastern Asia, and which became the official orthodoxy, approved by gov ernments, to doubt or impugn which might, in varyingmeans of displeasure, mean ban, perse cution, imprisonment or death. Chu Hi was a realist, believing that things exist in their own right, apart from the mind. Against this sys tem Wang Yang-ming, an idealist of the monist type, protested. From this,point of view nothing exists apart from the muid. To lmow was to be. 1Cnowledge and action, in the superior man, were one. Finding fault with the commentators later than Confuaus, including Chu Hi, whom he accused of adulterating with Buddhist no tions the ancient purity of Confucianism, Wang called for a return to the ancient classics. He thus brought the primitive system, as taught by the master, into its true domain of prac tical ethics. This achievement of Wang in the realm of thought ranks him, relatively, and results, with the great European masters, Augustine, Luther, Calvin and Kant; for his teachings have revolutionized the thinking of a fourth of a human race. Yet so far from being a man of books and study only, Wang was a statesman and successful general, whose victorious campaigns over the rebels in south ern China fill a brilliant page in the history of the empire, under the Ming dynasty 034% 1644). Descended from a long line of military
heroes and scholars,' Wang saw the light on the 30th day of the ninth month A.D. 1472. The usual portents attending the birth of a great man are related by his Uographers. Unable to speak until five years of age, he astonished his grandfather by then repeaung the contents of lus books, saying, tI remember what I heard you read?) With his father, he visited the capital and surprised the elders with his poetic ability. Besides training in horsemanship, archery and the military art, he became an adept in the system of the Taoists and Bud dhists, being made at 28 a member of the Hanlin or Imperial Academy. After appoint ment to higher offices and further study of Taoist and Yoga doctrines, he built a !some near the Yang-ming grotto, resigned office and lectured to the students who flocked to his chair. Made inspector of the army, he shielded faithful officers, but thereby fell into disfavor with a powerful eunuch at court. He was exiled and lived for some time in the motsntains as Kweichow, here receiving the great enlighten ment —the duty and delight of ((investigating things for the purpose of extending knowledge* — and wrote a commentary on the Five Clas sics. Restored to honors, rank and office, he put down the rebels in southern China, thereby greatly extending and consolidating the empire. During his prolonged activities in the field, he never ceased his meditations or discourse on the great problems of being, life, duty and the ideals of conduct. Yet despite his military success and civic honors, his jealous enemies charged him with heterodoxy, and the heresy hunters poisoned even the mind of the emperor against him. In time, however, imperial favor returned. He was made viceory and loaded with fresh honors, his disciples multiplied and the voices of slander were hushed. After the last of his victories he established a college for the subdued people. Worn out with his manifold labors, he visited his ancestral temple, ordered his coffin made, and in full possession of his faculties, with parting words to his disciples, closed his eyes in death, at the age of 57. His body was reverently washed and arrayed for burial by his disciples and ((the noise of weeping shook 'the earth.D He was buried at Hungcht a few miles from Hangchow (q.v.). Posthumous memorials, in defense of Wang's orthodoxy and in praise of his virtues. were sent to the emperor. Thousands of his fol lowers came to his tomb to mourn. Pos thumous honors were awarded by imperial edict in 1567 and again in 1583, when the emperor commanded sacrifice to be made to the Teacher (Wang) in the Confucian Temple, after sacrificing to Confucius. Beyond this, higher honors to a subject could not be pa'cl. Wang's effigy is still preserved in many temples in China. In Japan his philosophy received relatively wider acceptance and thus mediately, through Japan, the Chinese intellect was re fertilized in our own day to the renovation of his own country. Consult (The Philosophy of Wang Yang-nun& (translated by Prof. F. G. Henke, Chicago 1916).