Yangmingism

Yangmingism is a school of Confucian thought founded by Wang Yangming. It emphasizes innate moral knowledge and the unity of knowing and acting.

Wang Yangming: A Ming dynasty Chinese philosopher who founded Yangmingism and served as a military commander and government official. His teachings and writings established the school.
Cheng-Zhu School: The influential Song-era Confucian tradition associated with Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao, and Zhu Xi. Its emphasis on investigating external things contrasts with Wang’s inward emphasis.
Self-Cultivation: The disciplined practices through which a person develops moral character and judgment. Yangmingist cultivation works by removing obscurations of innate moral knowledge.
Taizhou School: A late Ming branch of Yangmingism associated with Wang Gen and broader access to philosophical teaching. It carried Yangmingist ideas beyond elite scholarly circles.
Ming dynasty: A Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 1368 to 1644. Yangmingism developed amid the dynasty’s intellectual and political institutions.
Innate Knowing: Wang Yangming’s doctrine that the mind possesses an inborn capacity to distinguish right from wrong. This moral capacity is the school’s defining account of knowledge.
Zhu Xi: A Song dynasty Confucian philosopher whose synthesis became the dominant orthodox interpretation of Confucian learning. Wang challenged Zhu’s account of principle and the investigation of things.
Sincerity of the Will: A Confucian ideal of making one’s intentions fully genuine and free from self-deception. Wang treats sincere intention as a practical test of moral knowing.
Wang Gen: A Ming dynasty thinker and influential early follower of Wang Yangming, associated with the Taizhou School. His teaching put the unity of knowledge and action into popular and practical settings.
Instructions for Practical Living: A collection of Wang Yangming’s recorded conversations and teachings, compiled by his followers. It preserves early explanations of his approach to learning and moral practice.

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