A Study On Liu Zongzhou’s "Prudent Only" Time

Liu Zongzhou(1578-1645),known as Qidong and alias Niantai,was known as Mr.Houttuynia because he taught at Houttuynia Hill in Shangyin.During the late Ming period in which Liu Zongzhou lived,there were sharp social conflicts and peasant uprisings;the development of commodity economy brought impact to the self-sufficient small peasant economy;under the stimulation of real economic factors,the morale of the people also changed.At that time,the scholars no longer took it as their duty to worry about the world,but were obsessed with sensual pleasures,and the hearts of the people were in debauchery.The orthodox ideology at that time could not save the above crisis.Wang Yangming established the "school of the heart" to better meet the needs of the subject’s spirit and resolve social conflicts.The different opinions of Yangming’s later scholars on Wang’s school made the shortcomings of Yangming’s later school more and more obvious.Liu Zongzhou continued to explore and form his own system by combining the development of prudence in Song and Ming philosophy,and established a very personal idea of "prudence" in order to "correct the hearts of the people",thus saving the late Ming crisis and rebuilding the moral and rational ontology.Liu Zongzhou’s ethical thought of "prudence and independence" is based on the ideas of the Confucian scholars,and he has given the word "independence" an ontological meaning,saying that "independence " It is not only the essence of the universe,but also the essence of moral reason,the ultimate root and basis of the value of life.As the ontology of "Shen Dao","Doku" bridges the gap between mind and nature,and realizes the coherence between heaven,man and matter.The nature of "solitude" is the nature of heaven,which is inherently good;the nature is manifested in the mind,and the nature is the master of the mind,so the mind must be good.The unity of mind and nature at the level of teleology makes the a priori moral and rational essence appear in the activities of the acquired empirical consciousness,and establishes that everything is "the best" in the empirical realm.He also proposed the theory of nature goodness,in which the nature of qi and the nature of righteousness are one nature,and the theory that the human heart and the moral mind are one mind,both of which belong to the category of teleology.Liu Zongzhou unites the ontology of "solitude" with the work of "cautious solitude",which is the ontology of work."Therefore,"prudent solitude" is the most important way of moral cultivation.Liu Zongzhou corrected the shortcomings of Yangming’s later studies,which were either metaphysical or natural,and advocated that the essence and work should be combined into one.He emphasized that the essence is the main brain,and that if one does not know the essence,there is nowhere to start the work;if one only talks about the work,the essence will flow into the metaphysical void.The relationship between the essence and the work is one of the sources of the body and the work.In his later years,Liu Zongzhou attributed "prudent solitude" to "sincere intention",and "solitude" is also the "root of intention"."It is the master of the heart and has a chastening effect on the heart,and has the moral character of good and evil."Sincerity" means to keep one’s heart dedicated,so that the reason of nature and heaven will naturally prevail in the subtlety of one’s heart.In daily ethical activities,the mind is moved by things to form "thoughts",and then "delusions" and "evils"arise,and the moral level of "uniqueness "The ultimate goal of transforming the mind into the heart and changing the good into the bad is to become a saint.The source of moral "evil" is called "delusion" by Liu Tsung-chou."Delusion" is not a real fault or evil,but "fault and failure",which is the possibility for the human heart to be drowned,and it is parallel to "independence" and cannot be eradicated.Liu Zongzhou makes a distinction between transgression and evil,and the process from transgression to evil is not a simple quantitative change.He believes that"transgressions that do not change" form evil,and "thoughts" play a qualitative role.The "habit" is a solidified qi accumulated by the "thought" of "knowing the fault but not changing it"."The "faults and failures" are not an abyss that will lead to the end of the world,but they are the place of "reform".In the theoretical construction of Liu Zongzhou’s thought,the unity of mind and nature,the unity of ontology and work,and the unity of intention over mind,man is able to experience the supreme moral essence through his own inner being,making the metaphysical moral world connected with the reality of the inner subject spirit,and he proposes the cultivation work of sincere intention and prudence as the way for the subject to realize the supreme goodness.The process of moral practice from top to bottom and from inside to outside reflects Liu Zongzhou’s high demand for human subjectivity and self-discipline.In Liu Zongzhou’s view,everyone could be a saint through "prudence and solitude".His moral cultivation work of "prudence and independence" had a profound impact on the society of that time and later generations.In the late Ming period,when people were not in harmony with each other,Liu Zongzhou rebuilt the moral and rational essence and corrected the trend of Yangming’s later studies which were metaphysical and insubstantial.However,his insistence on morality to save politics and his attempts to right the hearts of people through moral self-discipline were out of touch with reality.Liu Zongzhou’s moral cultivation work of "prudence" still brings profound inspiration to our moral construction in modern times,and is of great significance in strengthening one’s sense of moral self-discipline,realizing one’s value in life,and promoting harmony with others and society.