The Hard Earned “Conscience Study”: Wang Yangming's Efforts for Politics and Lectures

With the historical data in the following books,The History of the Ming Dynasty,The Records of the Ming Dynasty,Wang Yangming Chronicle,and Wang Yangming Complete Works as the base,and with Branch Road Case and Longchang Course,Chaos of Chen Hao and lectures given in Yuyao,and Peaceful Solution to Sien and last words as the main clue about the important experience of Wang Yangming's life,this paper combines the history and thought to present a Wang Yangming unfamiliar to us from the perspective of the history of ideas. Through the exposure to the differences and disputes between Wang Yangming and two emperors of the Ming Dynasty,the paper points out that Wang Yangming was not afraid of power,and he adhered to the conscience as the core of his lectures. Under strong pressure,he conducted the unity of knowledge. At the same time,he also stressed on the moral value and significance of moral conscience in the dark ages.