Research On Yan Yuan's Thought Of Shixue

At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty,society changed drastically,thoughts were extremely active,academic masters continued to appear,and new academic viewpoints emerged in an endless stream.Among these famous academics,scholars such as Huang Zongxi,Gu Yanwu,Wang Fuzhi,and Yan Yuan are particularly eye-catching.Although the research on Yan Yuan’s thought has made great progress for a long time,it is still slightly inadequate compared with the depth of research of the first three scholars.This research intends to fully explore the internal logical structure of Yan Yuan’s thought and deeply interpret the connotations of its implications,from the perspective of Shixue,based on Yan Yuan’s basic literature,through text analysis and conceptual combing.The first chapter mainly conducts in-depth textual research on Yan Yuan’s life experience,thought transition process and the influence of teachers and friends,analyzes the reasons for the generation and development of Yan Yuan’s Shixue thought,and interprets the root of Yan Yuan’s Shixue thought.Yan Yuan lived in the country for a long time,worked and practiced himself,and had extensive exposure to the actual situation of the grassroots of society,which laid a solid foundation for his pragmatic thinking.He is clear-headed,good at summarizing and reflecting,not superstitious,not credulous,and daring to question and criticize.This independent thinking spirit is an important source of his pragmatic thinking.He has no schooling,no family history,and the learning environment is very difficult.It is precisely because of this that he is free from too many ideological constraints and can break through the barriers of Song and Ming Confucianism.His academic thoughts are changeable.He first advocated Taoism,then liked Lu Wang Xinxue,then studied the Chengzhu Neo-Confucianism,and finally turned to the Confucianism and Mencius,and then realized the Shixue.This unique experience of ideological transformation is an important reason for the fact that scholars have become a family of thought.In order to learn,Yan Yuan made mentors.These mentors criticized the abuses of Neo-Confucianism,or advocated the practical application of the world.This enabled Yan Yuan to fully absorb the nutrients of the Shixue trend of thought between the Ming and Qing Dynasties,which greatly promoted The emergence and promotion of Yan Yuan’s Shixue thoughts.The second chapter mainly expounds Yan Yuan’s theory of "nature is the nature of temperament".Yan Yuan believes that human nature is reality rather than emptiness.He opposes the metaphysical destiny of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and Buddhism’s view of emptiness.He maintains that there is only one human nature,that is,the true temperament based on the human body.In order to refute the views of Cheng Zhu’s NeoConfucianism and Buddhism theoretically,he constructed a world metamorphic schema in which the two "Qi"（气）and four virtues generate all things.In this scheme,"Li"（理）"Qi" is inseparable,"Li" is the "Li" of "Qi",and "Qi" is the "Qi" of "Li";when "Li" and "Qi" runs to generate human beings,"Li" gives human nature and "Qi" gives human body;because "Li" and "Qi" are inseparable,nature and body are inseparable.Therefore,there can be only one human nature,that is,the nature of form.This form of nature,Yan Yuan also calls it the nature of temperament,and believes it is absolutely good.He opposed Song Confucianism’s saying that the temperament,sentiment and talent are evil.He believes that both temperament,sentiment,and talent are bestowed by universe’s two "Qi" and four virtues.Although there are differences between people,they are all good.The reason why there is evil in the world,he believes,is because people are affected by the acquired environment,that is,"Yinbi xiyan",and people do not use the inner goodness of the four sides of the heart,that is,"misuse of their emotions." He pointed out that since human nature and material are good,everyone can become a sage.Therefore,only when people strive to become a sage that benefits society can they truly fulfill their own nature.The third chapter mainly analyzes Yan Yuan’s learning theory.Yan Yuan believes that for the purpose of learning,it is necessary to be practically useful to the country and society,to face effective knowledge and skills,and to learn through physical practice,so that learning is truly useful.Yan Yuan grew up in the wars and disputes during the Ming and Qing dynasties,and strongly opposed scholars who were studying behind closed doors to talk about their nature.He pointed out that protecting the people’s right to life,survival,and development is the most important purpose of learning,and other learning is secondary or even unnecessary.Therefore,he advocated that learning is not purely for the sake of seeking knowledge or enhancing morals,but also to increase practical talents,so that one has the knowledge and skills for the benefit of the people;applying what has been learned is the most important yardstick for testing learning,and the knowledge and skills learned should be combined with practical applications..Make practical contributions;those who study should actively pursue the public interest of the country and take the responsibility of assuming the welfare of the people as their own responsibility.Therefore,he believes that the content of learning must be oriented to the needs of the society,and learn the real facts that are beneficial to the people of the country and society;the learning method must be based on practical actions and exercises,and the whole body must be engaged in repeated exercises to nourish the body and mind.One’s own capabilities have been enhanced.Therefore,he proposed that in the order of learning,you must act first,but not seek knowledge first;only by learning by doing and thinking by doing,can you gain insight into things and truly master knowledge and skills.The fourth chapter mainly explains Yan Yuan’s theory of Actual deeds change the world."Jingshi zhiyong" is the main line of Yan Yuan’s Shixue thoughts.Compared with ethical governance,Yan Yuan pays more attention to actual deeds and expects to benefit the people all over the world.He yearned for the rule of the ancient three generations and looked forward to the reappearance of this flourishing age.Therefore,in his thoughts on state affairs,he fully referred to the Confucian kingly thought and reformed it in light of the social reality.In the field of people’s livelihood,he proposed to implement the wellfield system with the equal distribution of acres as the core,in order to fundamentally change the social problem of excessive land occupancy gap and achieve social fairness and justice.In response to the heavy taxation and uneven tax burden of the common people,he advocated reducing taxes and proposed evenly divide the field to achieve an average tax burden.In the political and military field,he believes that in order to achieve long-term peace and stability in the world,it is necessary to implement a political system of enfeoffment and divide the world into small states;implement a military system in agriculture to enable the people to be able to defend themselves in the face of war.In governance,the country should be governed by etiquette and music,and people’s temperament should be cultivated with etiquette and music to promote social harmony.In the field of selection,he advocated reforming the imperial examination system,believing that the actual moral talents of people cannot be tested by written words;He advocated a selection system in the township examination,and suggested that the actual performance of morality and talent should be used as the criteria for selecting candidates through layers of training.And selection to deliver outstanding talents to the country.In the field of hiring,he emphasizes career first,choosing people according to the situation,advocates hiring talents first,and vigorously uses practical talents.In his ideals,the wellfield system,the enfeoffment system,the system of incorporating soldiers in agriculture,the system of rituals and music,and the system of elections in the villages must be implemented in cooperation with each other in order to achieve effective governance.The fifth chapter mainly explains Yan Yuan’s Shixue education thoughts."Prefer to be rough and solid,and not to use falsehood" is the general principle of Yan Yuan’s educational thoughts,and the pragmatic concept has always been implemented in his educational thoughts.For the purpose of education,he advocates cultivating truly practical talents.This kind of practicality is not only good for students’ body and mind,but also refers to the usefulness of the country and society.The training of practical talents is divided into two categories,one is the ability of comprehensive public management generalist,one type is a professional who is proficient in one or several knowledge and skills.In terms of educational content,he advocated that the content of teaching is the content of social governance,so that learning is what you use,and what you use is what you learn;instead of teaching principles related to mind and human nature,he teaches six arts and military,agriculture,water,fire,and engineering.He pays attention to the integration of moral education and intellectual education,and strives to cultivate talents with both morality and ability;he insists on both civil and martial arts,and aims to cultivate talents with both civil and martial arts.In terms of educational methods,he contrasted with the teaching methods of reading,speaking,writing,and thinking at the time.For knowledge-based courses,he adopted a teaching method that combines reading,lectures and practice;for skills-based teaching methods,In the course,he adopts the practice teaching method based on physical exercises;the common point of the two is to encourage starting from the small,starting from the rough,accumulating small to big,from the rough to the refined,in order to improve the effectiveness of learning.