The Study Of The Philosophy Of Tunglin School

Instead of focusing on the thoughts of pragmatism or classics in those article on Tunglin School study,which were lack of the research of its philosophy,especially lack of the research of the unity and systematicness of the philosophy,this text tries to make a entirely and systematicly research of the philosophy of Tunglin School.This text does not support most of the scholars' views,which regard the thought of Tunglin School as revisionism of Wang School(Liang QIchao and Ji Wenwei),or revival theory of Zhu School(Okada Takehiko,Hou Waihu and Ge Rongjin),or mediation theory of Zhu School and Wang School(Lao Siguang,Zhang Xuezhi and Qian Ming),but regards it as an absolute academic thought.To be responsible for the country and the people,Tunglin School tried its best to rectify the learning atmosphere and make a compromise between Cheng-Zhu Neo-confucianism and Wang Yangming's Philosophical System,and this made it clear in developmental thread and distinct in theoretic characters.To discover the developmental thread of the thoughts of Tunglin School,the text will choose Shao Bao,Gu Xiancheng,Gao Panlong and Sun Shenxing as representatives and comb their philosophy thoughts from the origination,developing,perfecting and tend to profound finally.To discover the theoretical features of the thoughts of Tunglin School,the text will emphasis on that how did it compromise Cheng-Zhu Neo-confucianism and Wang Yangming's Philosophical System,and at the same time analyze the difference from the two theories.Cheng-Zhu took Neo-confucianism as its noumenon,Yangming took heart-and-mind as its noumenon,while Tunglin School took characteristics and kindness as its noumenon.Zhu Xi showed the knidness of human nature by analyzing the kindness of Neo-confucianism,while Tunglin School shows the knidness of human nature by analyzing the kind noumenon.Yangming and his followers separate 'extension of intuitive knowledge' from 'investigation of things',while Tunglin School took 'investigation of things' as 'extension of intuitive knowledge',and emphasised that the reason one investigates things and then exhausts the principles of things is to extend his intuitive knowledge.Tunglin School agrees on Zhu Xi's thought about exhausting the principles of things,and also supports Wang Mingyang's view of extension of intuitive knowledge,and from this can easily find the characteristic of fusion of Cheng-Zhu Neo-confucianism and Wang Yangming's Philosophical System.Instead discussing the characteristic of the philosophy of Tunglin School in a special chapter,the text makes relevant discussion with the discussion of philosophical thoughts of the representatives.According to the time sequence,the philosophical thoughts of Shao Bao,Gu Xiancheng,Gao Panlong and Sun Shenxing will be accounted one by one in order.Shao Bao is Xue Yingqi's teacher,and his thoughts was the direct origin of the philosophy of Tunglin School.Shao Bao learned from Cheng-Zhu,who pioneered the view of investigation of things and kept single-minded in heart-and-mind,and cautious and afeard in doing things.Shao Bao regarded Cheng-Zhu Neo-confucianism as the orthodox Confucianism and inherited it not just for scholary,but expected the realism can treat the current malpractice.Gu Xiancheng is Xue Yingqi's student,who originated the Tunglin School at the very time that the followers of Yangming were the most popular and also the time the inferior followers of Wang bred.In order to change the inferior followers of Wan,Gu urged to return to Cheng-Zhu Neo-confucianism and criticized the theory of saving the people and the country which was empty talked by followers of Wang.He proposed the opinion of 'one's nature at birth is good' and combined the universalistic good of noumenon and the specific good of noumenon.Though Tunglin School expressed their own opinions under the banner of returning to Cheng-Zhu Neo-confucianism,their wish of saving the people and the country determined they must make great reform for Cheng-zhu instead just returning to it.The reform mainly reflects in Gao Panlong's discussion.From the Gao's point of view,the focus had been changed from heavenly principles to moral subject of the people.He disagreed Zhu Xi's view of showing the kindness of human nature by analyzing the kindness of Neo-confucianism,but came up with kindness ontology.Also he disagreed Yangming and his followers separate 'extension of intuitive knowledge' from 'investigation of things',but emphasized the coherence of the both,with the view of point of one investigates things and then exhausts the principles of things to extend his intuitive knowledge.During the developing period of the Tunglin School philosophy,the three representatives--Gu Xiancheng,Gao Panlong and Sun Shenxing had the same theoretical features on the fusion of Neo-confucianism and Philosophical System.They all objected theory of no good and no evil,and tried to regular the manners and morals of the society.Anyway,they all had their own characteristics.Gu Xiancheng was the founder of Tunglin School and he emphasised on refuting the inferior followers of Wang.But he did not research deeply in analysis about nature noumenon,mind noumenon and principle noumenon.Gao Panlong presented his opinion of kindness is nature and raised kindness to the level of noumenon.He asserted that it was important to regain human nature by learning.And he made a more in-depth and careful study than Gu Xiancheng in theory.Sun Shenxing insisted monism of human nature and opposed dualism by Song-dynasty philosophers.He raised the thoughts of Self-discipline,which set the culmination of the thoughts of Tunglin School.Gu,Gao and Sun separately presented the early,middle and late development period of Tunglin School Philosophy,and the inheritance and transcendence among three of them shows clear development context of Tunglin School Philosophy.