The Expansion of Conscience Studies

Author: Peng Guoxiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: Yangming Tianquan's enlightenment, transcending both sudden awakening and gradual cultivation. After his death, his major disciple Wang Longxi vigorously advocated the "Four Emptiness Teachings," which stood in opposition to Qian Dehong's "Four Presence Teachings." Whether Longxi's concepts of "establishing the root of the mind-body" and "creating from nothing" went beyond the bounds has sparked significant controversy. In the late Ming trend of the unification of the Three Teachings, Longxi was a key figure. Guoxiang's book cites extensive materials, demonstrating that Longxi drew upon both Buddhism and Taoism in theory and practice while still maintaining a fundamental Confucian stance. His interpretations and analyses are profound and meticulous, making it an indispensable read for readers.
The author begins by taking Wang Longxi, a central figure in the middle and late Ming Yangming School, as a case study, comprehensively and thoroughly examining his philosophical thought. This then expands to the overall context of the middle and late Ming Yangming School, exploring its intellectual connotations and developmental threads. The book conducts both specialized, in-depth case studies and issue-centered analyses to grasp the evolution of philosophical thought history, integrating the two approaches to create a cohesive and organic whole. This allows the rich intellectual content of the middle and late Ming Yangming School to be presented with deep clarity.
The book is well-documented, with a particularly outstanding feature being the depth of its intellectual discussions and theoretical analyses that reveal insights previously unexplored. Within the scope of the topics it addresses, the book achieves impressive depth and breadth, leaving a profound impression on the reader.