A Study Of Early Ming Literati-officialdom' Ideas Of "Zhidao"

Li Dai Ming Chen Zou Yi was a selection of officials' memorials in the past dynasties,which was edited mainly by Yang Shiqi and Huang Huai under orders and came out in the 14 th year of Emperor Yongle's reign in the Ming Dynasty(1416).The memorials in the book of 46 volumes involved various aspects of the national economy and people's livelihood,with those about “governance” composing the largest share.This paper focuses on the memorials about “governance”,to summarize the three major dimensions of “governance” that literati and officialdom of past dynasties were concerned with,namely the way to be an emperor,the way to be subjects and people-oriented governance.The relationships among the three dimensions were analyzed based on the people-oriented way of thinking and by focusing on the relationship between the emperor and subjects.In this book aimed to provide references for the emperor on the throne and future emperors,as direct participators in the political changes during the early Ming Dynasty,the literati like Yang Shiqi not only summarized and selected the theories on state governance and relevant experience in the periods before the Ming Dynasty,but also expressed their pursuit of governance,which embodied the theoretical basis of the relationship between the emperor and subjects,the political ethics and concept of state governance of emperors and subjects,and the political mentality of the literati class in traditional Chinese society.In combination with an analysis of Yang Shiqi's works and relevant literature of the same period,Li Dai Ming Chen Zou Yi showed the political philosophy of literati and officialdom in the early Ming Dynasty,who advocated following the “governance by three generations” of ancient sage emperors and requested the realization of “joint governance” on the basis of emperors' impartiality and fairness and subjects' morality and justice,to finally keep foothold on bringing benefits to people's livelihood and highlighting the people-oriented thought.Against the background of reviving new-Confucianism and gradually relieving the oppressive political atmosphere,literati and officialdom made efforts to “assist the emperor to implement governance”,which made the political configuration and relationship between the emperor and subjects of “joint state governance by the emperor and literati and officialdom” in the Song Dynasty revitalized to some extent during Emperor Renzong's and Emperor Xuanzong's reign of the Ming Dynasty.In this process,literati and officialdom also improved their own dominating position in politics.The emperors Renzong and Xuanzong basically lived up to the expectations of literati and officialdom in the aspects of being impartial and fair,selecting talent,trusting subjects and accepting advice,which showed that the political philosophy and orientation of emperors and subjects coincided to a greater extent,on the basis of their long-term adaptation and communication,and mutual acceptance.