Xinxue and the Declination of Elite Culture in Qing Dynasty

Wang Yangming's Xinxue(Mind learning)was greatly attacked in the course of the academic development of Qing Dynasty.Learning of Qing Dynasty was more characterized by the scientific nature which was in the sense of modern science,while Wang Yangming's Xinxue was more inclined to his personal will,and,after all,it was unfavorable to the academic development from the perspective ofseek truth from factsadvocated by the learning of Qing Dynasty.That's why Xinxue was not highly appraised by scholars of Qing Dynasty.However,Dai Zhen's Commentaries on Mencius is noted for its voluntaristic tendency like Xinxue.Dai Zhen's expectation on the value of this book showed that the desire for spiritual independency presented by Wang Yangming's Xinxue was still kept in the heart of those orthodox academic masters like Dai Zhen.Rulers of Qing Dynasty disrupted the elite culture group developed from Ming Dynasty by means of suppressing the intellectuals and officials and taking their advantage,and this resulted in the discouragement of the intellectuals and officials as cultural elites.Learning of Qing Dynasty strove for scientific nature of seek truth from facts,while it had no requirement for experessing personal moral will,and this proved nothing but the decline of human learning.