Study On Gu Yanwu’s Enlightenment Thought

Gu Yanwu’s Enlightenment thought is an important part of Gu Yanwu’s philosophy.To study Gu Yanwu’s Enlightenment thought,we should first understand his life experience.Gu Yanwu’s magnificent life is closely related to his lifelong patriotic struggle of"opposing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty".Whether it was the early restoration period,the middle-aged anti Qing years on the shore of Taihu Lake,or even the exile experience of being forced to travel north in his later years,he could not erase the hope of anti Qing and rehabilitation in his heart.His practical thought of "cultivating oneself and governing others" and his world outlook of "saving the world by enlightened way" are based on his unyielding belief of opposing Qing Dynasty and restoring Ming Dynasty.Combined with the analysis of the connotation of the concept of"Enlightenment",this paper focuses on the three aspects of Gu Yanwu’s Enlightenment thought:the first is the Tiandao theory basis of enlightenment,the second is the heart and nature theory root of enlightenment,and the third is the time theory way of enlightenment.First of all,on the basis of enlightened Tiandao theory,Gu Yanwu advocated the Qi based theory of "enriching the Qi between heaven and earth",and believed that the unity of the world lies in"Qi".At the same time,he also inherited Zhu Xi’s view of"Tao is in the instrument",believed that "if it is not the instrument,the Tao has nothing to contain",and adhered to the life theory of "nature and heaven in the loyalty of literature and behavior".Secondly,at the root of the theory of human nature,Gu Yanwu not only inherited Mencius’s theory of "good nature",but also absorbed Li Zhi’s view of selfishness of human nature,internally unified"no bad nature" and"private common feelings",and put forward the argument of "private feelings are good".Moreover,he also advocated the moral bottom line of "being ashamed of yourself" and the concept of justice and interests of "giving consideration to both public and private".Finally,on the level of time theory approach of education,this paper mainly expounds from two aspects:one is the"self-cultivation theory " of introspection,and the other is the "governance theory" of outward expansion.From the perspective of self-cultivation,the former establishes the moral and ethical basis of"righteousness before benefit",and cultivates the character of integrity and the principle of balance and flexibility through the social communication practice of "erudition" and "Guangshi".From the perspective of "public governance",the latter forms the educational means of"taking name as religion" through the implementation of the political power distribution of "dividing the power of the son of heaven" and the ethical assistance of"zongzi assisting the rule of man and King",so as to achieve the ultimate goal of improving human relations.At the same time,"self-cultivation" and "governing people"complement each other,and finally formed Gu Yanwu’s world view of"gentleman’s learning,Mingdao and salvation".To sum up,Gu Yanwu’s Enlightenment thought undoubtedly has profound theoretical significance and research value for today’s society.Gu Yanwu’s practical learning spirit,patriotism to protect the world and advanced thought of opening up the economy have great educational significance and profound cultural enlightenment for individuals,organizations,society and even the country.