On Li Erqu's Political Ethic

Li Erqu was a famous scholar at the turn of the Ming and Qing dynasties,and put forward a series of political and ethical propositions that criticized the shortcomings of the times with the core of "emboding in the loftiest ideal in behavior".He contributed his own strength to the trend of practical learning in the early Qing dynasty,which was based on caring for reality and applying to the world.In order to trace its related thoughts,it is possible to examine the relevant content of its handed down and non handed down writings to restore their original appearance.From the perspective of the content construction of Li Erqu’s political ethics thoughts in his related writings,this paper explores his theory of "sageliness within and kingliness without",which contains Li Erqu’s systematic ideas with political ethics implications such as political ethics values,political moral standards,political qualities,political ideals,and the deepening of the practical direction of political ethics thoughts,Linking the two parts of cultivating one’s moral character and governing the country closely and using them as a foundation for construction requires adhering to the principle of "governing the law based on mental law" in political activities;Based on this political ethical value,he prescribed the general observance of political ethics with the political moral criterion of "help and benefit the people";In shaping political personality,Li Erqu proposed to pursue political qualities that connect both internally and externally;All of his political and ethical thoughts ultimately point to the political ideal of "solid and practical politics",and the personality ideal of "solid and practical politics" runs through the realization of this political ideal from beginning to end.The beginning of the kingly way based on "well-off society" and the completion of the kingly way of "promoting virtue through orthodoxy" are the phased characteristics in the process of realizing this political ideal.Li Erqu’s political ethics thought also has its academic dimension expanded and deepened,which can be further developed along the path of social enlightenment,with the moral internalization of political actors as an external factor,supplemented by specific political implementation recommendations.He intended to cure the people’s minds through scholarship and boost them through lectures and speeches.Li Erqu has also personally practiced and implemented his teaching philosophy of "enlightening the academic world and awakening the people".In the course of his lectures,Li Erqu also advocated personal consciousness,guided by "repentance and self-renewal",to internalize morality,and set a higher moral internalization requirement of "purity and no hypocrisy" for politicians.When it comes to the moral internalization and externalization of political actors,it is implemented in specific political actions.To this end,Li Erqu put forward relevant suggestions on the selection and employment of officials,the formulation of political policies,and the production and maintenance of people,as well as farmland and water conservancy.Integrating the path of social enlightenment,the moral internalization of political actors,and suggestions for specific political measures can further deepen and improve Li Erqu’s political ethics thoughts,fully understand and play a practical role in their political ethics thoughts.The historical positioning and evaluation of Li Erqu’s political and ethical thoughts are conducted in both vertical and horizontal directions.From a longitudinal perspective,a comparison of Li Erqu’s political and ethical thoughts with those of Gu Tinglin,Huang Lizhou,and Wang Chuanshan of his contemporaries can clarify the characteristics of his political and ethical thoughts of "reflecting on Confucianism" and "democratizing Confucianism.".From a horizontal perspective,it is necessary to examine the inheritance and innovation of his ideas through disciples represented by Wang Xinjing,and the impact of his writings.At the same time,Li Erqu also contributed to the popularization of Confucianism in the process of its modernization.The affirmation and development of modern Neo-Confucianism to his theory of "sageliness within and kingliness without" also further deepened the influence of Li Erqu’s political and ethical thoughts,and further promoted his creative transformation and innovative development.To this day,his political and ethical ideology of "a learning both sound in theory and practice",which is based on "emboding in the loftiest ideal in behavior",can still play a positive role,and can draw positive factors from it to help Ming’s personal virtues,uphold the political ethics of social and political governance,and even provide Chinese wisdom for the establishment of a new international political order.