Gentry In The South Yangtse River And The Reconstruction Of Moral Order In The Late Ming Dynasty

In the late Ming Dynasty, the development of commodity economy led to the popularity of extravagance, which bring a big blow to the gentry class who admire the original plain, especially result in the decline of the school system on which the feudal dynasty depend to cultivate scholars. The new turn has a strong impact on the original moral order. The students'number of schools increased in the late Ming, but a passer-by entering political stratum is difficult, which is one of the main reason caused demoraliza- tion of the members groups of the late Ming Dynasty. At the same time, both of the students and the local retired official people have become a major participant in tuition and charitable activities in the south Yangtse River. Gentry in the south Yangtse River decline to restore moral order of society by tuition, organizing benevolent meetings, and participating in the Buddhist acts which have an important influence on society. Guan Zhidao and Donglin scholars are the representative giving lectures during this period in the south Yangtse River. Through the expression of different ideas in their own lectures they express their understanding of rehabilitation and reconstruction of the social and moral order; the prosperity of the Buddhist charity and the rise of the benevolent meetings are more concrete practice to rebuild the social and moral order of gentry in the south Yangtse River. In the process of pursuiting reconstruction of moral order of gentry in the south Yangtse River, there are tension between Yang-ming scholars and Donglin scholars, national and local, Confucian orthodoxy and Buddhism, and even the Yang-ming scholars have internal competition.