Li Zhi Geng Dingxiang Debates Research

The debate between Geng Ding-xiang and Li Zhi is a most famous controversial case in therealm of thoughts in the mid to late Ming Dynasty. Their debate, from1584to1595, lasted fortwelve years.Geng-Li debate has been studied by many scholars. Most previous scholars took Li Zhi’s side,considering Li the pioneer of individual liberation and Geng a representative of the fake Taoism,which doesn’t consist with the historical fact. In this essay, the author argues that Geng and Li areboth genuine scholars, whose debate stems from their difference in academic personalities, aswell as different thinking facing the academic and social problems that arose in the mid to lateMing Dynasty. Geng, temperate and conservative, aimed his study at maintaining the ethicsystem of Confucianism and pacifying social unrest and people’s disputes; Li, straight and radical,dedicated himself to “exploring the ultimate reasons of life and death and inquiring into the finaldestination of human beings”, i.e. pursuing the settlement and liberation of the heart. As ZhouLiu-tang said,“Geng emphasizes the orthodox Confucianism, while Li focuses on the ultimatetruth.”The debate between Geng and Li started with expostulating with each other and defendingthemselves. However, they both stuck to their own views and wouldn’t compromise. Meanwhile,no one could persuade the other. Gradually generated mutual dissatisfaction led the debate tosevere criticism, and even harsh personal abuse. Letters and articles about their debate spreadamong friends and disciples, making their dispute public. In the Geng-Li debate, Li’s thoughts andbehaviors became more and more radical and influential over time, which, finally, invited thegovernment’s hostility and persecution.Geng-Li debate covers such issues as the orthodox Confucianism and the ultimate truth,morality and desire, and orthodox and paganism. These are all Chinese philosophical issues thatdeserve debate. Getting rid of the historical prejudice and taking a neutral and objective side, wecan calmly carry on a professional and profound research on Geng-Li debate, which will help havea more comprehensive and fairer understanding of Geng’s and Li’s thoughts. Therefore, we canknow better about the process of the ideological history in the mid to late Ming Dynasty andfurther comprehend the contradictions in Chinese traditional philosophy between differentvalues, such as individuals and society, freedom and order, truth and goodness.To help readers learn the background of Geng-Li debate, the first chapter of this essaypresent a brief introduction about Geng Ding-xiang’s and Li Zhi’s life and thoughts. Chapter Twoexplores Geng-Li debate by analyzing and organizing the letters and articles about their debate.Combining with previous academic results, the author tries to present, in an objective way, thewhole process of Geng-Li debate to readers. Chapter Three analyzes in detail such issues relatedto Geng-Li debate as the orthodox Confucianism and the ultimate truth, morality and desire andorthodox and paganism. Chapter Three consists of three parts, i.e.“the separation of moralityand life in the mid to late Ming Dynasty”,“the debate on desire”, and “the zealous chivalrousnessof Tai-zhou school”. Based on the analyses above, the author does a profound study on thescholars’ ideological trend in the mid to late Ming Dynasty, as well as the contradictions betweendifferent values in the realm of Chinese traditional orthodox thoughts.