Through philosophical and sociopolitical lenses clearly a study on mid ming intellectual, cai qing 4

Before I go into how from an intellectual historical perspective can aid us in understanding Cai Qing better, I would like to do a review of how scholars have understood some relevant is

Introduction

Cai Qing 蔡清, a mid-Ming (I have defined mid-Ming as from 1458 to 1548)

intellectual who appeared in the Records of the Ming Scholars (Mingru Xue’an 明儒學 案) as a Neo-Confucian whose commentaries on Sishu (Sishu Mengyin 四書蒙引) and

Yijing (Yijing Mengyin 易經蒙引); together with his disciples Chen Chen‟s 陈琛 (1477-1545) and Lin Xiyuan‟s 林希元 (ca 1480-ca 1569) commentaries on Sishu—

Sishu Qianshu 四書淺説 and Sishu Cunyi 四書存疑 respectively, were very popular

among examination candidates throughout most of the sixteenth century until late

1620s As commentaries on Sishu constituted the most important part of the civil

service examinations, virtually all students would read these examination aids.1According to Huang Zongxi 黃宗羲 (1610-95), the abovementioned commentaries

were still studied extensively during his times.2 Huang classified Cai Qing as an adherent of both Lu Jiuyuan‟s 陸九淵 (1139-93) and the latter‟s most outstanding

disciple, Yang Jian 楊簡 (1141-1226) One of the reasons Huang gave was that a large

part of Cai Qing‟s teachings was preoccupied with cultivation of one‟s morals (de 德)

and nature (xing 性 ).3 Modern scholars in most cases carry out philosophical interpretations on Cai Qing‟s ideas Of the more detailed studies on Cai Qing out of the already scarce works that I manage to come across, all of them, interestingly, either regard him as a staunch advocate of Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130-1200) and that of the Cheng

1

Chow Kai-wing, “Writing for Success: Printing, Examinations, and Intellectual Changes in

Late Ming China,” Late Imperial China, 17 (1996), 130-3

2

Huang Zongxi 黃宗羲, Mingru Xue’an 明儒學案, Jingyin Wenyuange Siku Quanshu 景印文

淵閣四庫全書 (Taipei: Commercial Press, 1983), 48.14

3

Ibid., 48.16-7

brothers—Chenghao 程顥 (1032-1085) and Chengyi 程頤 (1033-1107)—or one who expanded Zhu Xi‟s thoughts, while at the same time, came up with breakthroughs in

the interpretation of philosophical ideas such as qi 氣 and Li 理, thereby enriching the

contents of major philosophical elements 4 Scholar Zhao Haifeng even concludes that

Cai Qing is an advocate of “feudalism (fengjian 封建).”5

I cannot help but feel that this understudied figure has regrettably been stereotyped It baffles me that Cai Qing was classified as an advocate of Lu Jiuyuan‟s school of thought when apparently he had devoted his life to penning commentaries on

Sishu and in most cases, advocated the books‟ teachings Had the author of Mingru Xue’an, Huang Zongxi, classified Cai Qing as such because he was more sympathetic

towards Lu Jiuyuan‟s teachings than Zhu Xi‟s teachings as both Huang himself and Lu were natives of Yaojiang 姚江? 6 As mentioned, in contemporary studies, Cai Qing is

regarded as a philosopher of great stature and an influential expounder The studies I come across are insightful but they have at the same time limited our vistas when his teachings are being confined to only philosophical interpretations For this reason, a comprehensive study of his commentaries is conducted and it proves to be invigorating Simply categorizing him as a “typical Ming philosopher” has blinded us to many latent

4

Zhou Tianqing 周天庆, “Xujing Gongfu yu Ming Zhonghouqi de Rudao Jiaoshe—Yi Zhu Xi Houxue Cai Qing Weili” 虛靜功夫與明中後期的儒道交涉—以朱熹後學蔡清爲例,

Dongnan Xuashu 東南學術, no 6 (2008), 93-9 Xiang Shiling 向世陵, “Cai Qing‟s

Development and Expansion from Zhu Xi‟s Original meaning of the Zhouyi—Taking his Annotations of Two Idioms as Case Studies” 蔡清對朱熹《本義》的折中修正—以“保合

太和”與“繼善成性”的註解為例, Zhouyi Yanjiu 周易研究, no 2 (2009), 54-9 Zhao

Haifeng 趙海峰, “On the Study of Cai Qing's Philosophy Thought” 蔡清哲學思想研究, (MA

thesis, Xiangtan University, 2009) Zhu Bokun 朱伯崑, Yixue Zhexue Shi 易學哲學史

(Beijing: Huaxia chubanshe, 1994), 106-37

historical facts By contextualizing his ideas, I discover that Cai Qing was in fact, very concerned about practical issues A significant part of his teachings were no doubt about self-cultivation But by reading them in accordance with his thoughts on practical issues, I realize that imbedded in his so-called “concerns on moral issues” were views on governance He definitely had a mind of his own when it came to the roles the clan (family), state and universe could play

Before I go into how from an intellectual historical perspective can aid us in understanding Cai Qing better, I would like to do a review of how scholars have understood some relevant issues about Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism so that we will

be better able to see where Cai Qing, as my case study, can be situated and be useful in enhancing (even rectifying) our understanding of Neo-Confucianism in Ming history

Literature Review China‟s intellectual revolution from around 1917 to 1923, the rise of Chinese Communism and the retreat of the Nationalists to Taiwan constituted important watersheds in the development of Chinese intellectual history During the May Fourth Movement, scholars in Mainland China were faced with attacks on Confucianism They were confronted by impacts of Western modernization in political and social areas as well as in science and technology In response to these impacts, some scholars endeavored to promote Chinese culture with Confucianism as its core 7 The cultural movements in the 1950s and thereafter also saw their roots in the May Fourth Movement Among these scholars, there were the traditionalists who rejected Western thought; there were also the neo-traditionalists who opposed wholesale westernization but were in favor of using western ideas to support Chinese culture They chose to

7

Tan Sor-hoon, “Contemporary Neo-Confucian Philosophy” in History of Chinese Philosophy,

Bo Mou, ed (New York: Routledge, 2009), 539-40

adopt an eclectic approach.8 These scholars were collectively known as New

Confucians, or Xinrujia 新儒家. 9 How was Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism understood

by some influential New Confucians?

Qian Mu 錢穆 held that Ming intellectual trend was basically a continuation of

Song Neo-Confucianism but the former lacked the creativity and profundity so pronounced in the preceding dynasty Ming intellectuals were neither “broad-minded” nor “conscientious” in their philosophical endeavors and all they were preoccupied with were discussing about the dissention between Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan.10 Qian Mu saw the period before Wang Yangming 王陽明 (1472-1529), which he termed as the early period, as a time when “germination [of ideas] [was] taking place under a blanket

of snow,” implying that the thoughts then were simplistic, lacking of luster as well as substance.11 He maintained that it was a side effect that had been caused by Yuan dynasty—a period of “foreign rule.”12 Under this foreign regime, China plunged in its cultural development and experienced a period of deteriorating governance.13 It therefore took China some time, “until the appearance of Wang Shouren (Wang Yangming) that learning of the Ming shone with brilliance,” he commented, referring

to the period in question as mid-Ming.14 As for the intellectuals who came after Wang, Qian Mu perceived that they were much influenced by the former The importance that

he attributed to Wang Yangming is apparent First, Wang was used as a temporal division of Ming intellectual development Second, Wang was taken to be the sole

intellectual representative of the entire Ming dynasty that actually lasted for nearly three centuries.15 Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism was simplified into the dominance of Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan in Song and Wang Yangming in Ming.16

The contents of Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism was also being simplified (unfortunately) by Feng Youlan‟s 馮 友 蘭 studies when diversities in the two

dynasties were farther narrowed down into two “sects (pai 派 )”—one being

preoccupied with the learning of Li (lixue 理學) and the other, the learning of xin

(xinxue 心學) Feng believed this phenomenon had already budded in the teachings of

the Cheng brothers and subsequently reached its maturity in Ming Cheng Hao was

deemed as the pioneer of xinxue while Cheng Yi, that of lixue Feng then commented

that the latter‟s teachings attained the heights of development thanks to Zhu Xi.17

As

for the successor to xinxue, Feng attributed implicitly to Zhu‟s contemporary Lu

Jiuyuan when he brought to our attention that Lu‟s teachings were “although different from Yichuan 伊川 (who was Cheng Yi), is similar to that of Mingdao 明道 (who was Cheng Hao),”18

Yang Jian was to be the next prominent advocate of Lu‟s teachings19

and in Ming, Wang Yangming became the key figure to the furtherance of xinxue Feng‟s perspective of the line of transmission of Confucian teachings (ruxue 儒學)

from Northern Song to Southern Song and to Ming had deep impact on other scholars.20

Feng Youlan 馮友蘭, Zhongguo Zhexue Shi Vol 2 中國哲學史（下） (Shanghai: Huadong

shifan daxue chubanshe, 2002), 280-1

Ibid., De Bary draws our attention to this phenomenon too in his discussion See William

Theodore de Bary, The Message of the Mind in Neo-Confucianism (New York: Columbia

University Press, c1989), 286

The bifurcation of Neo-Confucianism into what is now commonly understood

as “sageliness-within (neisheng 内聖)” and “kingliness-without (waiwang 外王)”—a

notion widely accepted by many scholars, finds a vestige from Mou Zongsan‟s 牟宗三

ideas of “inner cultivation (neizai yilu 内在義路)” and “enquiries and learning of Dao

(daowen xue 道問學).” He elaborated that Lu Jiuyuan‟s teachings had encouraged a

theoretical introverted self-cultivating process which he coined as “neisheng” but alas,

it was difficult to be actualized by men Zhu Xi, on the other hand, established relatively easy rules for others to follow to better themselves These rules differed from those of Lu in the sense that they targeted on extroverted learning The emphasis was

on “learning (weixue 為學).” Finally, it was Wang Yangming who established the

rules of which the emphasis was on the self-cultivation of Dao (weidao 為道), or the study of one‟s heart-mind and nature (xinxing 心性), that others could grasp easily

The study of xinxing (xinxing zhixue 心性之學) therefore experienced its inception,

development and culmination under the Lu-Wang system.21

So far, we observe how some New Confucians interpreted Song-Ming Confucianism when only metaphysical aspect was being emphasised—a way of

Neo-interpretation which contemporary historian Yu Yingshi describes as “separating daoti

道体 form daoxue 道學” where daoxue is “the most creative part of Song

Neo-Confucianism” and daoti is “the most metaphysical part of daoxue.”22

The humanistic and moral aspects of Neo-Confucianism became the foci of their studies In the late

21

Mou Zongsan 牟宗三, Songming Lixue de Wenti yu Fazhan 宋明理學的問題與發展

(Taipei: Lianjing chuban shiye gongsi, 2003), 238-9

22

Yu Yingshi 余英時, Zhu Xi de Lishi Shijie—Songdai Shidafu Zhengzhi Wenhua Yanjiu Vol

1 朱熹的歷史世界（上）—宋代士大夫政治文化的研究 (Taipei: Yunchen wenhua, 2003),

33

1950s, a group of scholars including Tang Junyi 唐君毅, Mou Zongsan and Xu

Fuguan 徐復觀 led by Carsun Chang 張君勱 published an article titled “A Manifesto

for a Re-appraisal of Sinology and Reconstruction of Chinese culture.” They expressed their concern over the shortcomings of contemporary approaches (mainly of the West)

to sinology They believed that “„xin-xin‟ (concentration of mind on an exhaustive

study of the nature of the universe), which is a study of the basis of ethics” was “the nucleus of Chinese thought” and “the source of all theories of the „conformity of heaven and man in virtue‟.” They deemed that Song and Ming had encouraged the

development of “xin-xin” which they understood as Chinese Rationalism, allowing it

to reach its apex and become “the highest intellectual achievement.” 23

This treasure of Chinese culture had unfortunately been ignored when Qing dynasty deprecated Song-Ming Confucianism because of the former‟s emphasis on textual criticism These scholars saw Ming intellectuals principally stressing the cultivation of the heart-mind, which was a practice different from their Song predecessors who were much more

critical in nature In Carsun Chang‟s words, Ming intellectuals were “extra-logical and over-speculative (both italics are mine).” 24 These New Confucians equated morals to concepts and ideas, both from which historical events stemmed Their aim was to highlight the “modern” aspect and advanced characteristics in Chinese thought to prove that Neo-Confucianism was neither backward nor obsolete The study of Confucianism then became a highly metaphysical journey as it was believed that cconcepts and ideas (moral principles) were the means to understand the history of China

The concerted effort of these scholars who tried to promote Chinese culture with Confucianism as its core was actually a response to Marxism-Leninism that had penetrated China Advocates of Marxism-Leninism including Hou Wailu 侯外廬, Qiu

Hansheng 邱 漢 生 and Zhang Qizhi 張 豈 之 believed strongly in science and

materialism, and found Confucian teachings to be backward, encouraging conformity and authoritarianism These scholars maintained that there is a need to review Chinese history and reconstruct it form a “scientific approach” to demonstrate the position and effects of Neo-Confucianism Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism was portrayed by them

as a governing tool of which the strength reached its apex in Ming—a period they termed as late feudal China.25 The discussions and commentaries of the classics by Neo-Confucians were intellectual straitjackets aimed to indoctrinate the people Hierarchy issues such as respect for parents and elder brothers as well as transmission between teachers and students were all “trash of feudalism.”26

Early-Ming succumbed

to the mental clutches of Zhu Xi‟s teachings while mid-Ming was dominated by those

of Wang Yangming These scholars rendered Neo-Confucianism as a polluted political ideology poisoning the people, women and young people To advocates of this ideology, science could solve all problems.27

There are modern scholars who are less critical of Neo-Confucianism as they have taken a more objective perspective They have observed that the teachings of Neo-Confucianism were not intended to serve as straitjackets or inordinateness to the masses For instance, when Chen Lai 陳來 discusses how Neo-Confucianism teachings

educated the people to suppress certain human desires in order to meet social moral

25

Hou Wailu 侯外廬, et al., preface and introduction to Song Ming Lixue Shi Vol 1 宋明理學

史 (上) (Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1982) 5-24

26

Ibid., 21

27

Ibid., 1-24

standards, he justly highlights to readers that when Zhu Xi encouraged man to eradicate their desires for the benefits of the society, he did not refer to all sorts of basic human desires but to those selfish ones.28 When Chen labels Zhu Xi‟s ideals as

conservative (fengjian 封建) that brought about suppression to individuals, I find it

hard to concur with him A discussion on this issue is too immense for this paper I would still like to bring to attention an aspect that Chen‟s discussion has failed to clarify and which is related to the paper in general By using the term “collective” in his discussion on how Neo-Confucianism encouraged the masses to adhere to “social needs,” I think Chen fails to realize that Neo-Confucianism as interpreted by different schools was itself not an unanimous or universal ideology The phrase “collective social needs” denotes a perspective too general My paper will enhance understanding

in this area by detailing what “social” means to our Neo-Confucian protagonist—Cai Qing

It becomes clearer now that most of the past approaches to the study of Confucianism in Mainland China bore much political burden The humanistic, conservative, authoritarian and modern aspects were disproportionately emphasized by different groups of scholars Neo-Confucianism in Ming was then understood as shallow, empty and lacked of creativity as Ming scholars were over-zealous about metaphysical issues; an indoctrinating tool of which the strength culminated in Ming;

Neo-being demarcated into the learning of Li and that of xin by two principal schools of

transmission—Cheng-Zhu and Lu-Wang respectively

The abovementioned perspectives are share by some modern scholars from Mainland China too Zhang Liwen 張立文 believes that Neo-Confucianism was a

28

Chen Lai 陳來, Song Ming Lixue 宋明理學 (Shanghai: Huadong shifandaxue chubanshe,

2003) 142-4

doctrine developed by the society in Imperial China which was characterized by

segregation (dengji shehui 等級社會) so as to fortify the authority of the emperor in a

centralized bureaucratic system.29 Zhang describes that the teachings of Zhu Xi, in

particular the “three cardinal guides and five constant virtues” (sangang wuchang 三綱

五常), served the purpose of establishing a human network with the emperor as the

ultimate power to be obeyed Subsequently, the typical family network in which the father was the head of the family when magnified would develop into a political network where the emperor would be the father figure of the state.30

Another modern scholar Zhang Xuezhi 張學智 likewise agrees that only a

top-down administration had existed ever since Qin dynasty unified China By examining Neo-Confucianism through only a philosophical lens, Zhang‟s studies have ignored subtleties that existed in different locales He believes that the sole duty of local officials was to administer locales on behalf of the emperor who was the highest authority China‟s administration has thus been simplistically dissected into the

“official” and “commoners” arenas.31

When he uses the terms “sageliness-within” and

“kingliness-without”—both of which I have discussed previously—in his elucidations,

it becomes all the more apparent that Neo-Confucians‟ concerns in his understanding was for most of the time, if not all, to carry out administration duties on a national scale.32 We cannot deny the contributions of philosophical discussions to our standing

of metaphysical aspects of Neo-Confucianism However, neglecting social differences

in the vast imperial China leads us to conclude erroneously that ideals and concerns of

Neo-Confucians (Zhang Xuezhi has conveniently lumped Confucians from all periods

of China together) were universal, or “paradigmatic,” as how Zhang has coined them, and that Neo-Confucianism served to consolidate all powers in the hands of emperors

My thesis will show that not all Neo-Confucians were only preoccupied with metaphysical achievements such as attaining moral perfection Neo-Confucianism was propagated with the people‟s interests as its core value

Some scholars saw Neo-Confucianism in very different light Using Wang Yangming as the main example of her studies, the late Julia Ching maintained that Ming was neither a period of intellectual trough nor classics regurgitation, and the more these claims were true with the rise of Wang‟s teachings She was empathetic towards the political condition Ming Neo-Confucians were wrestling with Many intellectuals refused to serve in the officialdom or even take the civil service examinations because they did not want to compromise their convictions and characters to the despotic nature of the government Examinations then encouraged only meaningless rote learning 33 They chose instead to spend their lives in semiretirement, devoting their time to moral cultivation to attain self-perfection.34 It was not as what Qing scholars had said that Ming intellectuals had had been interested only in speculation and not practical affairs because of the influence of Wang Yangming and his disciples A big bulk of Ching‟s study was consecrated to analyze Wang Yangming‟s philosophy which she understood as not concurring with the official Confucian ideal of Cheng-Chu school of thought then.35 Her understanding of Ming thought was less politically inclined and empathetic

33

Julia Ching, To Acquire Wisdom: The Way of Wang Yangming (New York: Columbia

University Press, 1976), xxi-xxii

34

Ibid

35

Ibid., 21

De Bary also points out that Ming has been mistaken as a lifeless period in intellectual endeavors Ming has also been disparaged when to scholars, no other intellectuals but only Wang Yangming was regarded as an independent thinker Ming has been seen as an “unfavorable” period in Chinese history.36 Huang Zongxi was the very rare one, if not the only scholar, who saw the contributions of Ming Neo-Confucians De Bary is for the view that there existed creativity, diversity and individualism in Ming thought He is not convinced by Mainland Chinese scholars

simplifying or stereotyping Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism into the so-called lixue and xinxue.37 The “stress on the mind appears very early in Ming thought and reflects the Cheng-Chu inheritance from the Sung and Yuan…the general trend of Ming thought is from introversion to extroversion; from the metaphysical speculation and contemplative character of Sung thought to the more practical concerns of Ming.”38

He

contends that xinxue was just as important, if not more important than lixue, and was

all the while present in the thoughts of Cheng Yi, Zhu Xi and their disciples as well as

in fifteenth and sixteenth centuries De Bary even shows reservations about whether

there was indeed an emphasis on learning of the principle (lixue) in the mind He

denies the existence of any animosity between “Cheng-Zhu” and “Lu-Wang” schools.39

De Bary‟s stance shows that Southern Song Neo-Confucians placed metaphysical and self-cultivation issues above other concerns Ming thought, however, departed from that of Song and according to him, there was “a decline in rationalistic metaphysics in favor of personal experience of the truth in practice…„quiet-sitting,‟

36

William Theodore de Bary, introduction to Self and Society in Ming Thought (New York:

Columbia University Press, 1970), 1-28

interiority self-consciousness and individualism”; “increasing emphasis on the reality

of the physical world and physical self, expressed philosophically in a monism of

qi…”; “a return to the original essence of Confucianism, away from Song metaphysics

and back to the personal example and teachings of Confucius.”40

Contrasted with Northern Song Neo-Confucians, those in both Southern Song and Ming treated the question of the individual with an unprecedented level of interests

Such a perception of Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism was also reflected in the thoughts of de Bary‟s student—the late Edward Ch‟ien As an historian of ideas, Ch‟ien deemed it acceptable to discuss philosophical ideas of Ming figures without going into questions on state policies as that was the job of institutional historians.41Ch‟ien maintained that an event does not become historical simply because it has occurred It acquires its historical status from the fact that it has been recounted and it

“constructs meaningful totalities out of scattered events in accordance with whatever point of view which the narrator may embrace.”42

Human beings are complex entities: one cannot judge an individual by what he thinks about himself so the view of the ancients as better informed than ourselves about the time they lay nearer to is erroneous.43 Together, de Bary and Edward Ch‟ien represent the alleged Columbia School of intellectual history.44

These philosophers and intellectual historians‟ common understanding of Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism can be summarized as they understanding Neo-Confucians of Southern Song and Ming dedicating a large part of their life project to

40

William Theodore de Bary, “The Ming Project and Ming Thought,” 22-3

41

Edward T Chi‟en, Chiao Hung and the Restructing of Neo-Confucianism in the Late Ming

(New York: Columbia University Press, 1986), 26

42

Edward Ch‟ien, “Neither Structuralism nor Lovejoy‟s History of Ideas: A Disidentification

with Professor Ying-Shih Yu‟s Review as a Dis-course,” Ming Studies 31 (1991), 58

the search for personal, spiritual repose, as if they had already forsworn the Confucian quest for active political engagements As such, many scholars regarded Wang Yangming as the intellectual icon of Ming It can also be a case where because the metaphysical aspect of Wang Yangming‟s philosophy has been disproportionately emphasized coupled with the fact that he is the only figure being given detailed study, these scholars arrived at the conclusion that Ming thought was speculative and metaphysical; that Wang Yangming‟s creativity brought about rationality, individualism and equality as what Shimade Kenji has also pinpointed.45 Wang‟s philosophy was meant to realize man‟s sagehood and ethico-religious aim.46

Confucianism is understood to be a secularized religion.47

Neo-The studies abovementioned are informative and give us much food for thought but unfortunately, they have neglected a large part of the influence that historical events had on history It matters not to these scholars whether socio-political situations had influenced the actions of historical intellectual figures In cases where they take into account such situations, those situations are not thoroughly examined besides having these scholars mentioning the despotic nature of Ming government and overpowering influence of the civil service examinations The reasons why the thought

of historical figures were accepted are not given thorough examination in relation to socio-political forces but are attributed to only what these scholars termed as philosophical insights and personal charisma accepted by Ming society The lack of

45

Gan Wanping 甘万萍, trans., preface to Zhongguo Jindai Siwei de Cuozhe 中國近代思維的

挫折 (Nanjing: Jiangsu renmin chubanshe, 2008), 1-10

46

Tu Wei-Ming, preface to Neo-Confucian Thought in Action—Wang Yang-ming’s Youth (1472-1509) (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976)

47

De Bary points out that Max Weber thinks likewise See introduction to de Bary and the

Conference on Seventeenth-Century Chinese Thought, The Unfolding of Neo-Confucianism

(New York: Columbia University Press, 1975), 3

contextualization of evidence results in what Yu Yingshi understands as “speculation.”

He sorely refutes such conclusions concerning Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism

Yu Yingshi contends that the vision of Song and Ming Neo-Confucians before the time of Wang Yangming had always been set on political achievements Philosophers and intellectual historians have however chosen to neglect their political concerns and involvements As a result, Neo-Confucianism of Southern Song to Ming has been understood to have developed into a doctrine merely about self-cultivation,

and the sole preoccupation was to achieve “sageliness-within” (neisheng 内聖)—a

term to describe the self-cultivation project of Neo-Confucians He denounces the methodology employed by scholars who hold this view, criticizing that it is aspatial and atemporal In a dialogue with Liu Shuxian 劉述先, Yu demonstrates that if one is

to treat Neo-Confucianism as simply a thought preoccupied with metaphysical issues pertaining to the heart-mind and regarded the aim to achieve social order—

“kingliness-without” (waiwang 外王)—as secondary, then there will be no difference

between lixue and Buddhism or Daoism.48 This is contrary to the doctrines of steadfast Neo-Confucians “Sageliness-within and kingliness-without” is an inseparable pair of Neo-Confucian values They function in a continuum Self-cultivation is therefore not

an end but merely a means.49 The separation of these two is the undesirable result of philosophizing Neo-Confucianism.50

Yu Yingshi compares the political scenes of Song with Ming (using Wang Yangming as a focus) to accentuate his point Song Neo-Confucians had the vision of

garnering the support of rulers to restore Dao in the society—a term he coins as dejun

48

Yu Yingshi 余英時, Song Ming Lixue yu Zhengzhi Wenhua 宋明理學與政治文化 (Guilin:

Guangxi shifan daxue chubanshe 2006), 321

49

Ibid., 323

50

Ibid., 330

xingdao 得君行道—unlike those of Ming In Ming, due to the despotic nature of

rulers and who also disregarded Confucian canonical values, Ming Neo-Confucians

could only hope to achieve the prevalence of Dao though the support of the people by enlightening them—juemin xingdao 觉 民 行 道 Mainland China scholar Ge

Zhaoguang 葛 兆 光 shares ideas along those lines when he points out that the

concerted effort of Neo-Confucians to legitimize the line of succession of Dao

(daotong 道統) exhibited their ambition to keep a check on the power of rulers in

succession (zhengtong 政統).51 The malicious separation of daotong and zhengtong

resulted in a new form of governance that appeared in the 13th century Confucians by Ming times had renounced the quest to collaborate with rulers (particularly through guiding them, especially in the moral aspect) Yu shows that it was only during Wang‟s times that Neo-Confucianism tilted towards self-cultivation and detached itself from the politics.52 As such, the various interpretations of Neo-Confucianism by contemporary intellectual historians and philosophers are flawed

Neo-Not only has Yu Yingshi refuted the adjudication of philosophers and intellectual historians, he also questions the observation by Robert P Hymes, revealing the former‟s dubiety about localism Robert M Hartwell‟s studies, which are intended

to rethink issues on social mobility, explicates in detail the different groups of elite which emerged as a result of economic, political and social changes, allowing us to see new forms of rising power and challenging us to think about developments in various regions in China.53 His studies are utilized by his student Hymes who takes instead a

51

Ge Zhaoguang 葛兆光, Zhongguo Sixiangshi dierjuan 中國思想史第二卷 (Shanghai:

Fudan daxue chubanshe, 2001), 246-9

52

Yu Yingshi 余英時, Song Ming Lixue yu Zhengzhi Wenhua, 353

53 Robert M Hartwell, “Demographic, Political and Social Transformations of China,

750-1550,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 42, no 2 (1984), 365-422.

local perspective and sees Song elite “in a local, as well as a national frame.” 54

Hymes comes to the conclusion that locality was growing in importance in elite social life and that there is a growing separation of elite from the state Elite were spending more time

at and making more contribution to locales where they resided.55 There was a shift from a national strategy to a localist one This phenomenon was especially distinct in Southern Song Hymes then sums up his studies with the activities of two figures—Wang Anshi 王安石 (1021-1086) and Lu Jiuyuan, who are regarded as the virtual

archetypes of Fuzhou 撫 州 elite The former represented ambitious, successful

bureaucrats in Northern Song who strove to reform society from the center; the latter represented occasional and irregular officeholders in Southern Song who spent much

of their life at home or nearby, worked openly to influence the governing of home prefectures and participated actively in local projects.56

Yu does not agree with Hymes for using Wang Anshi and Lu Jiuyuan as the archetypes to demonstrate that the concern of literati had shifted from central orientated to providing local benefits such as building academies and community compacts et cetera, from Northern to Southern Song He firmly believes that Southern Song literati, similar to those of Northern Song, wanted to bring order to the universe via the state apparatus He argues that since Hymes‟ study has been conducted on a locale, trying to apply what is achieved by the limiting microhistory and be conclusive about macrohistory is “sure to expose his flaws.” Yu thinks it is “obvious that the author has not studied in detail the life of Lu Jiuyuan and does not know that Lu…was

eager to „dejun xingdao’…[I]f not, the author will never be so audacious as to treat

Wang and Lu as any sort of „archtypes‟ [sic].” 57 This effectively means that he maintains that to Song Neo-Confucians, the support of rulers and the central authority was indispensible

Yu Yingshi has thus refuted two propositions First, he believes that it was not until the “sudden enlightenment” of Wang Yangming at Longchang 龍場 that the ideal

to promote Dao in the universe by rallying the support of the people (as contrasted

with acquiring the support of rulers) or by grassroots effort emerged A change in political vision did take place, but it took place during mid-Ming instead of Southern Song Southern Song Neo-Confucians still upheld the national ideal of their predecessors of Northern Song.58 As such, the vision and concern of Song and mid-Ming Neo-Confucians are bifurcated Second, concerning history, Yu is not persuaded that localist strategy had already begun in Song In fact, he might not even acknowledge the existence of localism Hymes and Yu both agree on Neo-Confucians‟ grail to put the universe in order The dissonance between them lies in determining Neo-Confucians‟ means to attain it—through state sponsorship or local effort 59

Yu Yingshi‟s propositions are canvassed too by yet another intellectual historian—Peter K Bol Rather than using a political or solely philosophical perspective, Bol uses social history by which he is much influenced to analyze Neo-Confucianism.60 Bol shows us the connections between Neo-Confucianism and social

actions of Song-Yuan-Ming literati in his book Neo-Confucianism in History The

ingenious point about his studies is that it cautions us from being determinist and teleological Instead of accepting (in a teleological way) the reasons why Neo-

Confucianism would have been accepted as a result of social changes, he shows us

how Neo-Confucians had thought about Dao that would have ultimately lead them to

those socio-political ideals. 61 In his perspective, Neo-Confucianism was dependent on local effort as much as how local effort depended on Neo-Confucianism to perpetuate.62 The discussion on philosophy in the book seems like a continuation of

Bol‟s older work This Culture of Ours: Intellectual Transitions in T’ang and Sung China In this book, he maps changes in the life of literati to political context.63 In essence, Bol demonstrates to us the relation between the demises of different social elements (great clans, civil-bureaucratic families and local elite) and monumental intellectual movements from Tang to Southern Song.64 Benjamin A Elman succinctly

and aptly sums up Bol‟s project when he says that Bol sees “[t]he very shih who sought to save Confucian culture (si-wen, „This Culture of Ours‟) suffered through a

crisis of faith in the viability of culture to ameliorate contemporary problems.”65

Both books provide readers a perspective to evaluate how intellectual and cultural events

could have shaped historical events By the same token, Ordering the world: Approaches to State and Society in Sung Dynasty China edited by Hymes and Conrad

Schirokauer tells us how the relationship between the state and the society turned out

to be when political and institutional histories meet intellectual history (a methodology which Edward Ch‟ien chose not to employ) It shows us how Song statesmen and

Peter K Bol, This Culture of Ours: Intellectual Transitions in T’ang and Sung China

(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1992)

65

Benjamin A Elman, review of This Culture of Ours: Intellectual Transitions in T’ang and Sung China by Peter K Bol., 522

thinkers perceived the role of institutions in society.66 The authors, or most probably Hymes,67 observed that Southern Song elite thought and behaved more “locally” then those of Northern Song, suggesting therefore the emergence of a more conspicuous localist strategy.68

Why Study Cai Qing?

So far, most of the discussions that we have seen focus on Wang Yangming It appears that the emergence of the turning point in Song-Ming history, be it for the better or worse, or simply just another revolutionary point, relied on the appearance of Wang Yangming How about pre-Wang Yangming period? This study of Cai Qing, a figure before Wang Yangming‟s influence took the intellectual world by storm, will therefore be a supplement to our understanding of Ming The incongruity that I see

between Mingru Xue’an, contemporary studies of Cai Qing and the thoughts reflected

in his own writings further stimulated me to conduct a research on him to satiate my intellectual curiosity In addition, this mid-Ming intellectual figure has never been evaluated in a historical context As an official (but who sometimes denounced the life

of being in court), a literatus trained in the classics, teacher, and also one who spent a considerable amount of time in his hometown, is it fair for us to still perceive Cai Qing

as one who displayed interests only in metaphysical issues such as Li, qi, xing and xu

虛? Will not his oeuvres tell us his other agendas and other aspects of Ming history?

De Bary has rightly pointed out that one cardinal feature of Ming Confucians‟ thought was the propagation of the unity of one with the universe.69

My research proves that Cai Qing was indeed as such and I am going to go another step

further which brings us to the third reason for studying Cai Qing The socio-political messages that can be inferred from his thought are worth to be studied, especially when his ideas on hierarchy issues prove not to be anything close to “feudal trash” but

to “historical richness.” Last but not least, Cai Qing is able to answer many of my queries regarding the relationship between Neo-Confucianism and their concern for locales: Was it entirely because of the despotic nature of Ming government that had resulted in Neo-Confucians‟ decision to embark on a self-perfection journey like what Julia Ching proposed? Or like what Yu Yingshi contends, did Neo-Confucians from Southern Song to before the appearance of Wang Yangming inherit the vision of their precursors of Northern Song? Had Neo-Confucians always been in support of instilling order in the universe through central effort until Ming rulers compelled these moralist-literati to shun away from government service to engage instead in locale building during Wang Yangming‟s time? Could it not be that adopting a localist strategy was a choice? Were social involvements borne by their dedication to the unity of knowledge and action? Or was it because of moral dynamism, i.e the belief that everyone has innate knowledge and was able to attain moral ultimate goodness through one‟s own effort, that encouraged social involvements?70 With these questions in mind, I shall begin my discussion

Structure of Thesis

I am able to base my elucidations on only evidence found in Cai Qing‟s literary

collections and commentaries on Sishu as a trip to his hometown made in December

2009 was unfruitful The information I could amass was sparse and not more informative than what could already be garnered from official records, literary records written by himself, his disciples and friends, and sporadic studies done by modern

70

William Theodore de Bary, Bloom, Irene et al eds., preface to Sources of East Asian

Tradition, Vol 1 (New York : Columbia University Press, 2008), 442

scholars As like what most studies on families and clans spanning over several generations will encounter, the descendents of Cai Qing, though very earnest in answering my questions, are rather ignorant about the teachings of their literati ancestors My making inferences from primary materials such as commentaries and literary works, and interpreting them as also expounding Cai Qing‟s philosophical, social, political views, might appear to some readers to be audacious However, I believe that it will be akin to losing some interlocking and tessellating jigsaw pieces if

we do not understand them as an organic system, especially when “ordering the world” (though with different means) had been the vision of Neo-Confucians

I shall begin my paper by providing a biography of Cai Qing before proceeding

to discuss his philosophy which will be juxtaposed with discussions on his social and political views As this paper is the first English exposition on Cai Qing‟s philosophy, the translations of many philosophical terms have to be based on my understanding of primary resources I deem it is better in cases when I am unable to find close English equivalents or in a bid to avoid verbosity and facilitate reading, to keep the Chinese

terms and express them using Hanyu pinyin 漢語拼音 I will still provide necessary

explanations The nature of Cai Qing‟s philosophy allows me to reasonably classify it into areas concerning the self, family/clan and beyond (state/universe) These are different stages in his self-cultivation system but are always deeply associated I am going to demonstrate that Cai Qing suggested a hierarchal administrative system in which everyone treats one another like family members.71 The Li 理 that enables such

71

Readers should not confound this familial relationship from that described by Iwama in

“Thought and Society in the Ming Period” where he argued that Wang Yangming advocated a society bound by a family-like relationship to achieve communalism Whether Cai Qing supported communalism or not is beyond the research scope of this thesis My goal is to show that Cai Qing‟s philosophy supported the cordial relationship practiced between kin to be mapped onto a national level

a relationship is disintegrated into the li 理 of xiao 孝, ti 悌 and ci 慈; referring

respectively to the relationship between one and one‟s seniors; that between one and one‟s equals; and that between one and one‟s juniors The second chapter demonstrates

that li has to be first achieved by oneself by illuminating one‟s de Once de has been illuminated, then the li should be extended to one‟s kin This is also what the third

chapter is going to show In the fourth chapter, I will argue that in Cai Qing‟s opinion, this system of thought should and can be applied on a wider scale—governance of the state A hierarchy system is favored for effective governance but no sense of superiority should be observed between the people, officials and rulers; so long as the state provides the people with basic needs, the latter could be left to administer themselves In the concluding chapter, I will reiterate my points and highlight several issues that I am unable to resolve in this thesis but which I believe can be farther studied to enhance our understanding of both Cai Qing and mid-Ming society

Chapter 1: Biography

Political Life

Cai Qing, styled (zi 字) Jiefu 介夫, was a native of Jinjiang 晋江 county He

studied Yijing under Lin Pi 林玭 from Sanshan 三山 county.72 Cai Qing emerged first

in the provincial examination in the year Chenghua dingyou shisannian 成化丁酉十三

年 (1477) and emerged as a first grade jinshi 進士 three years later 73

Cai Qing

requested for leave from office to return to his hometown to teach after his success in the metropolitan examination It was recorded that monks and scholars from the Jiangnan 江南 region would come to travel with and study under him Other than

preoccupying himself with taking care of his parents and studying, Cai Qing neither demonstrated the haste nor interest in remarkable achievements in the officialdom One day, his mother said to him in a depressed tone, “There is a saying that goes: mothers depend on their sons to gain prosperity and lead good lives My days are numbered.” Cai Qing was very much affected by the implication of his mother‟s words

He immediately went to take up a post in the Ministry of Rites.74 He was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel in 1487, and was made responsible for handling merit titles

et cetera This was the result of a recommendation by the then Minister of Personnel, Wang Shu 王恕, who held high regards for Cai Qing‟s Confucian erudition Working

in the same department, Cai Qing and Wang Shu had many opportunities to discuss political issues There was once when Cai Qing took the opportunity during their

72

Lin Jun 林俊, Jiansu ji 見素集, Jingyin Wenyuange Siku Quanshu 景印文淵閣四庫全書

(Taipei: Commercial Press, 1983), 18.4-7

73

Zhang Tingyu et al 張廷玉等撰, Mingshi 明史 , Jingyin Wenyuange Siku Quanshu 景印文

淵閣四庫全書 (Taipei: Commercial Press, 1983), 282.16-9

74

Li Qingfu 李淸馥, Minzhong Lixue Yuanyuankao 閩中理學淵源考, Jingyin Wenyuange Siku Quanshu 景印文淵閣四庫全書 (Taipei: Commercial Press, 1983), 59.4-10

conversation to present two proposals The first one was to urge for more stringent measures over officials‟ discipline; the second one was a recommendation made to promote over thirty officials It was recorded that these proposals were all approved by Wang Shu This particular incident which portrays Cai Qing as a Confucian erudite and responsible official has best be taken with a grain of salt.75 In any case, Cai Qing was later transferred to the Bureau of Honors, and was responsible for processing enfeoffments, inheritance of official status et cetera Sometime later, his mother passed away and he went back to his hometown to observe the mourning period before he resumed his official duty to take up the post of the Nanking Director of the Appointment Bureau.76 It was not long after when he made a request again for an early retirement to fulfill his duty of taking care of his father Two months later, his father died.77 He barely stepped out of the house and spent most of his time teaching

He was grievously affected by the incident but held back his tears in the presence of his kin He abstained from consuming wine and meat After the mourning period, he left his home once again and took up the post of Vice-education Intendant Censor of Jiangxi to supervise schools It was during this time that the antagonism between him and the Prince of Ning grew Their encounters will be recounted later in this chapter

75

Mingshi 明史, 282.16 and Mingru Yanxinglu 明儒言行錄, 6.20 Shen Jia 沈佳, Mingru Yanxinglu 明儒言行錄, Jingyin Wenyuange Siku Quanshu 景印文淵閣四庫全書 (Taipei: Commercial Press, 1983) From what I found out from Yuxuan Mingchen Zouyi 御選明臣奏議,

Cai Qing did submit a memorial to the emperor about the lax discipline and corrupt practices

of the officials as well as about defense matters But as to whether Wang Shu agreed to them

or not is not mentioned in historical records This is also noted from the preface to Xuzhaiji 虛

齋集 So, it is possible the there are two memorials or that the record of submitting Wang Shu

a memorial of which he then accepted is false See Yuxuan Mingchen Zouyi 御選明臣奏議, Jingyin Wenyuange Siku Quanshu 景印文淵閣四庫全書 (Taipei: Commercial Press, 1983), 7.17-20 and preface to Xuzhaiji 虛齋集, Jingyin Wenyuange Siku Quanshu 景印文淵閣四庫

全書 (Taipei: Commercial Press, 1983)

In the last six years of his life, Cai Qing spent considerable amount of time with his favorite disciple, Chen Chen, who was also a native of Jinjiang Their encounter took place one day in the year 1502 when Cai Qing chanced upon writings

by Chen Chen in the residence of a clerk known as Li Muzhai 李木齋, who was

described as being well-versed in the Six Classics.78 Upon seeing the works by the talented Chen Chen, Cai Qing exclaimed, “I study and think hard It is after much deliberation that I manage to gain some insights which I share with others In most cases, these people are unable to understand me But this young man here (referring to Chen Chen) is able to comprehend the essence of the books Today, I shall impart all

my knowledge to him.” Subsequently, Chen Chen presented Cai Qing with a lamb and bolts of silk The latter accepted him as a disciple.79 As mentioned earlier, in 1505, Cai Qing held the post of the Vice-education Intendant Censor of Jiangxi In 1506, Cai Qing went for an educational inspection He invited Chen Chen to accompany him The latter was then a provincial graduate and became the private tutor of his master‟s sons—Cunwei 存微 and Cunyuan 存遠 In the fourth month of the same year, they

arrived at Hongdu 洪都 (present day Nanchang 南昌 ) Cai Qing, at his official

residence, had a loft built for Chen Chen and all day and night, they discussed about nothing else but learning In the twelfth month of Zhengde sannian 正德三年十二月

(1508), Cai Qing was offered the post of the Nanking Chancellor of the Directorate of Education just a few months after he had requested to step down from the post of Vice-education Intendant Censor of Jiangxi to return to his hometown.80 Unfortunately, before the edict reached him, he had already breathed his last on the twenty-third day

of the twelfth month in the same year.81 He died at the age of 56 In the same year, Chen Chen requested for Cai Qing to be worshipped in the shrine for the worthies but

it was not recorded whether the request was accepted In Jiajing banian 嘉靖八年

(1529), Cunyuan, who was then a judge of Songjiang Prefecture (松江府), presented

to Emperor Shizong 世宗 the manuscript of Cai Qing‟s commentaries on Yijing A

duplicated copy was sent to the Ministry of Rites for examination and report The then Minister of Rites Li Shi 李 時 reported that Cai Qing‟s commentaries contained

precious insights to the classics and subsequently, had the Vice-Education Intendant Censor of Fujian to revise them and distribute them to publishers, in the hope of allowing the teachings to spread far and wide.82 During Wanli 萬曆 reign (1573-1620),

Cai Qing was given the posthumous title of the Grand Academician Wenzhuang 文莊

as the result of a request by an Assistant Censor-in-chief Cai Qing was also bestowed the posthumous title—Vice Minister of Rites, which was a request by Li Tingji 李廷機

(1542-1616) who was his disciple from Jinjiang 83 Cai Qing was survived by five sons—Cunwei 存畏, Cunsu 存素, Cunwei 存微, Cunyuan 存逺 and Cunru 存儒.84 In

the fifth month to the eighth month of Yongzheng ernian 雍正二年, there were official

discussions by the Ministry of Rites to worship certain Confucian scholars in the

Temple to Confucius (Kongmiao 孔廟) At the eight month of the same year, Emperor

81

Ibid

82

ZhuYizun 朱彝尊, Jingyikao 經義考, Jingyin Wenyuange Siku Quanshu 景印文淵閣四庫全

書 (Taipei: Commercial Press, 1983), 50.8-12

83

Mingshi, 282.16-9

84

Jiansu Ji, 18 4-7

Yongzheng gave the green light and Cai Qing became one of the Confucian scholars to

be worshipped.85

Demeanor Cai Qing was portrayed as a steadfast Confucian scholar who stood apart with aloof dignity from his contemporaries When he was the Vice-education Intendant Censor, he was sorely detested by Prince of Ning—Zhu Chenhao (Ningwang Zhu Chenhao 寧王朱宸濠) There was once when this arrogant Prince of Ning demanded

that provincial administration commissioners as well as surveillance commissioners

paid their respects to him first before going to Kongmiao the next day to pay their

respects Cai Qing defied this order He tried to persuade his colleagues to pay their respects at the temple before calling on the prince In another incident, Prince of Ning again invited some provincial administration commissioners and surveillance commissioners to his birthday celebration and demanded that they came dressed in proper court attires Cai Qing commented that it was a sign of impropriety He said,

“Court attires are worn by officials only when they have an audience with the emperor and not when they go see a prince.” After having said that, he turned up for the celebration without a knee-hide This infuriated the Prince of Ning Historical records also described that there was a time, in the midst of a feast, the prince ridiculed Cai

Qing, saying that the latter was unable to compose poems (shi 詩) (buneng zuoshi 不 能作詩) Cai Qing replied, “I am never (able to be) impartial (si 私) to anyone (yuren

wusi 於人無私).” “Shi 詩” which means “poems” and “si 私” which means “private

benefits” rhyme Cai Qing was implying that he never engaged in corruptions (unlike

Prince of Ning).86 This incident came as a final straw for the prince He planned to uproot Cai Qing with some false accusations Subsequently, Cai Qing requested to resign from the government Prince of Ning ostentatiously showed his reluctance and even suggested marrying his daughter to Cai Qing‟s son Cai Qing strongly declined and set off for his hometown.87

At about the same time, the infamous eunuch Liu Jin 劉瑾 (1451-1510)

became very powerful at court and wanted to call upon famous scholar-officials to serve the court so as to rally support for he himself It was at this time that Cai Qing was asked to return as the Nanking Chancellor of the Directorate of Education As mentioned earlier, he had passed away before the edict could reach him But even if Cai Qing were to receive the edict before he passed away, he would not have accepted the offer He once wrote in a letter that he exchanged with his close friend Sun Jiufeng

孫九峯 who was a Minister: Since the year of xinyou 辛酉 until today, we have had

meat only once We eat plain rice and drink plain soup I have my sons to eat all these with me so that they will accustom themselves to living in poverty This shows my determination to part with the officialdom This letter was penned when he had just submitted his request to resign from the Vice-education Intendant Censor of Jiangxi.88

When Cai Qing was alive, he was regarded as a philanderer who took good care of his clan members He provided reliefs to those in distress, and even gave burial help and took on the responsibility to raise orphans He often said, “All things under Heaven ought to be shared by all.” He did not bother even when his earnings were

86

Mingru Yanxinglu, 6.20 These incidents were given brief mention in the letter he exchanged with Sun Jiufeng See Cai Qing 蔡清 Cai Wenzhuang Gongji 蔡文莊公集, Siku Quanshu Cunmu Congshu 四庫全書存目叢書 (Tainan: Zhuangyan wenhua shiye youxian gongsi,

depleting.89 Despite attaining an official rank of the fourth grade, he remained poor and was still willing to give others loans.90 He had always been filial to his parents and maintained cordial relationship with friends and clan members.91 He is said to be physically weak but was never tired of learning He was exceptionally alert and intelligent His learning and demeanor made him a well-respected Confucian scholar and worthy of being a role model His commentaries on the classics were studied and followed closely Scholars followed his teachings to set their mind on learning so as to cultivate themselves and refrain from indecorous behavior His teachings were pellucid and taught others to be so While contemporary officials did no more than paying lip service to Confucian teachings, Cai Qing always endeavored to realize what had been learnt.92

By not having overly critical interpretation of texts, Cai Qing was deemed not

to have been distracted from true learning He taught others that when reading, one should prioritize the comprehension of main ideas One should not be bounded by

language and words The sages wrote to illuminate Dao and scholars learn from their writings But ultimately, it is still self-experience that enables one to see Dao The

goal of his and his disciples writing commentaries on the classics was because they understood that it was only by illuminating and understanding the teachings of Zhu Xi

who had conglomerated the Dao of Song Confucians can one be said to have comprehended Dao of sages.93

89

Lipu Zhigao, 58.6

90

Xie Daocheng 谢道承 et al eds, Fujian Tongzhi 福建通志, Jingyin Wenyuange Siku

Quanshu 景印文淵閣四庫全書 (Taipei: Commercial Press, 1983), 69.32

Teachings, Learning and Beliefs

Cai Qing was seen as a leading figure in promoting lixue in Minzhong 閩中,

China Since the reign of Chenghua, teachings of Cai Qing became the main stream of learning in Wenling 溫陵 in Quanzhou Prefecture 泉州 It was observed that scholars

at that time devoted their attention to acquiring profound comprehension of the classics

and Li They read and discussed nothing other than the works and teachings of

Confucius, Mencius, the Cheng Brothers and Zhu Xi In cases where scholars misconstrued these sages, Cai Qing was the one who criticized their faults and rectified their flaws He was deemed as the only scholar since Ming dynasty where there abounded various Masters who captured the genuineness of sages‟ teachings and remained steadfast to them During the period when the teachings of Wang Yangming began to gain wide acceptance in south-eastern China, barely any scholar from the Min region was swayed by his teachings because they remained staunch to the teachings of Cai Qing While scholars from other regions might have looked up to spurious teachings, the commentaries by Cai Qing, Chen Chen and Lin Xiyuan were still studied by scholars in the region agreeably It was believed that the teachings that propagated in this particular region were therefore those that inherited the authenticity

of Han Confucianism Although Cai Qing was not able to fulfill his duties as a Confucian official during his several appointments, his teachings remained alive to educate the people for generations to come.94

Cai Qing was commented to be a person who set his mind on learning at a

young age and was enlightened by Dao in adulthood.95 He immersed himself in the

world of lixue and dedicated his energy to the study of Yijing and Sishu His cultivation

was pellucid and his actions were in accordance with his self-cultivation His teachings emulated sages, made readers feel tranquil and calmed their spirits He wrote, “I start

to chant the word „quiet,‟ then the word „empty,‟ and without much effort, I feel tranquil and very much at ease.” He believed that to learn, one has to cultivate a morally upright character and act in a morally upright way When one familiarizes oneself with the words of sages and reflect upon them, one will be able to discard archaic views and acquire new insights; one will experience changes as days pass by and transform oneself as months flow by.96 If Zhu Xi were regarded as the one who had expounded well the teachings of the sages, then Cai Qing would be the one who exemplified the teachings of Zhu Xi.97

Cai Qing believed that the myriad creatures in the universe share the same

body It is only when one is able to embody Li then is one able to see that all under

Heaven, none is to be neglected and none is to be prized more highly than the rest When one sees this, one will understand that the myriad creatures are always in a harmonious state When scholars of today try to comprehend this principle, they have

to be imperturbable and austere; reverent and happy If one feels bonded and unable to express the principle, then it only means that the roots of hindrance and impious have yet to be removed The knack to grasping the principle is having a void heart-mind, profound comprehension and self-experience Heaven-Earth encourages people to

bring about common good When there is a lack of li, people do evil.98

The development of Cai Qing‟s philosophy can be divided into two stages His

studies at the former stage concentrated on “tranquility (jing 靜)”; at the later stage, it

was the concept of “void (xu 虛 )” that formed the core of his philosophy He

maintained that the myriad creatures revolve around tranquility It is experienced amidst movement too Ruminating this thought again and again, he finally realized that

it could be summarized simply as “void.” He once said, “After much experiencing, I realize that at the end of the day, it is „void‟ that I experience.” He had used to cultivate the feeling of tranquility but he somehow still felt there was some agitation in his heart-mind that could not be overcome It was only when he chanted on the word

“void” that he felt more peaceful Although he was faced with many troubles, keeping the heart-mind void enabled the way these events should unfold to become clear and distinct Neither did he have to exert too much energy to settle them, nor did he feel discouraged by them Learning and studying are all about ridding oneself of all barriers

Voidness is the key for sages to attain Dao.99

99

Mingru Xue’an, 46.12-21

Chapter 2: Cai Qing’s Li as Exhibited in the Self

The idea—coherence of man with the universe, which is also understood as having attained the ultimate goodness and being benevolent, is salient in Cai Qing‟s philosophy Men have to self-cultivate in order to achieve the coherence In concision,

self-cultivation requires one to gewu, zhizhi, chengyi and zhengxin Everyone is able

to attain coherence with the epitome of goodness—Li—as long as one wills to learn

When one learns correctly, i.e to learn for the sake of being benevolent and righteous,

one finds oneself eradicating selfishness and harmonizing with Li All myriad creatures obtain their existence from Li and obtain their concrete forms as qi conglomerates In cases where a harmony cannot be achieved, it is because the qi contained in one is still

turbid Once the turbidity is cleared by self-cultivation, one‟s pristine nature, or the nature of Heaven-Earth will reveal itself and the coherence will be achieved Everyone

is therefore able to attain Li if they are willing to learn and cultivate themselves This

chapter details the process of self-cultivation and allows us to see Cai Qing‟s interpretations of cardinal concepts This sets the basis for us to comprehend his

thoughts before we proceed to see how li in oneself can be extended

Self-Cultivation

All the myriad creatures in the universe are conglomerations of Li 理 and qi 氣

Li is the raison d‟être of all things and without it, nothing can be produced and no

affair is explainable as it determines all workings in the universe It is a single entity

and there is only one Li It is of the purest form and bears all goodness Nonetheless, Li

is able to disintegrate into hundreds and thousands of li 理 which are then internalized

by each and every creature All things therefore possess an individual li in themselves

Qi is the vehicle that allows Li to take concrete forms The metaphysical li become tangible when qi conglomerates according to them and takes shape While Li can be

understood as the metaphysical quintessence of things, qi can be understood as the

vehicle that gives the myriad creatures their tangibility As for conglomerating

processes, they are the results of transformations (hua 化) of yin-yang 陰陽 and the

five elements (wuxing 五行), and are determined by Heaven, or Li.100 Cai Qing said:

In the interior, there is only one Li; at the exterior, then there are

countless li In the interior, it is understood as all the myriad creatures

conglomerating into one Supreme and this is known as the substance; at

the exterior, it is understood as each and every thing having a Supreme

and this is known as functions.101

在内面只一理；在外面方有萬理。在内面所謂萬物，統體一太極，體也；在外面所謂萬物，各具一太極，用也。

While externally, every affair has its own li or the Supreme (taiiji 太極); internally, all

affairs assemble into one Li or the Supreme There is simply one Li while there are countless li as its disintegrations Li is often explained as Dao, which is an entity that encompasses Li It acts like the totality of all li “Dao and Li, the two characters…if we break them up carefully, Dao is regarded as the totality; Li is regarded as the individual

coherence imbedded in things.”102

Cai Qing summarizes his philosophy as a form of

self-cultivation to aim to achieve Dao—the root (ben 本) of benevolence (ren 仁) The

cultivation of Dao is therefore to aim to be benevolent “The self-cultivation of every day comprises four areas—cultivating morals (de 德 ), giving lectures to others

100

Cai Qing 蔡清, Sishu Mengyin 四書蒙引, Jingyin Wenyuange Siku Quanshu 景印文淵閣

四庫全書 (Taipei: Commercial Press, 1983) 1.4-5

101

Ibid., 5.81

102

Ibid., 3.12

(teaching), changing one‟s will to adhere to righteousness, and improving oneself.”103

When one is benevolent, one can say that one has attained the Ultimate of Dao (or the

Supreme)

But since the purest and best Li merely disintegrates and then gets internalized

by the myriad creatures, why then are the myriad creatures different? More specifically, why are some things pleasant and desirable; some, undesirable; while some, a mélange

of both traits? This phenomenon is explainable by the conglomerating process—the

working of qi Qi determines how good or bad; kind or evil; generous or selfish et

cetera someone or something is.104 It gives things their forms and shapes Qi allows all

li to manifest themselves and the myriad creatures become the various manifestations

of Li There are different configurations of qi and this is the reason why the myriad creatures appear different We see that qi is not Li While Li is the epitome of goodness, there are pure and impure qi

In men, Li is manifested as their pristine nature, or also known as the nature of Heaven-Earth (tiandi zhi xing 天地之性).105 This nature of Heaven-Earth is the purest

form of nature and is exhibited as benevolence, righteousness (yi 義), proprieties (li 禮)

and wisdom (zhi 智)—the four virtues of men However, we observe that men in

reality are not identical, be it their nature or appearance How would Cai Qing have explained this quagmire? One might have already reasoned it out: it is due to the

conglomerations of qi Cai Qing believed that men‟s nature is very much alike in the beginning at birth (yuan qi xing, xiang jin ye 原其性，相近也) because this nature is

the nature of Heaven-Earth, or Li It is the habits that men eventually cultivate that

cause their nature to become dissimilar The posteriori nature that is cultivated by

habits is called the “nature of qi” (qizhi zhi xing 氣質之性) The quality of qi and

conglomeration process determine its purity which eventually results in various

exhibitions of li and subsequently, various types of men Cai Qing explained, “The

thing that differs greatly in men is habits and not nature… [This nature] is what is

known as the mélange of nature and the quality of qi when one‟s li is covered by qi In this case, the nature is that of qi and not that of Heaven-Earth.”106

Cai Qing specifically described four types of people ① There are those who are born with absolute pellucidity and whose nature is without a taint of impurity

They are born with the knowledge of Li and require no learning; ② A lower grade of men includes those who are born with a minimal degree of impurity but will to learn to achieve Li; ③ The more inferior ones are those whose level of impurity is higher and whose posteriori nature is turbid However, they are willing to learn to clarify their impure qi to achieve Li; ④ Belonging to the lowest grade are men whose posteriori

nature is absolutely turbid and yet they feel at ease with such a nature and are loath to learn.107 From the classification of the four types of men, we see that in Cai Qing‟s

philosophy, learning or rather, the willingness to learn is important Learning helps men to return to their pristine nature (fu qi chu 復其初), which is the purest nature that

coheres with Li and is free from selfish desires.108 This point is worth taking note of as

we will see how it helped Cai Qing substantiate his vision that all men are equally

capable of achieving the ultimate goodness and cohere with Li

Four Fundamentals Steps—Gewu, Zhizhi, Chengyi, Zhengxin

To learn is to learn to recover one‟s nature of Heaven-Earth and sustain it This learning process to recover the pristine nature has to proceed in an orderly manner

First, one has to make one‟s intention sincere (chengyi 誠意) Yi 意 is the stage when

the heart-mind 心 starts to intend Prior to this stage, the heart-mind is quiet and

tranquil.109 The heart-mind is the mastermind of the body.110 It is the entity that houses

the omnipotent and all-encompassing Li that enables men to surpass all barriers (Cai

Qing would most probably have termed them “phantom barriers”) among one another, and then connect with one another and all other myriad creatures Regarding the heart-mind, Cai Qing writes:

The heart-mind is not a vacant entity The heart-mind is the

master-mind of the body, at the same time, as a substance ( 體 ), its

responsiveness (xuling 虛霛) is capable of commanding all li in the

universe Though li are disintegrated and found in so many things, the

subtleties of these functions (yong 用) are actually simply [controlled]

by one‟s heart-mind 111

心非虛空物也。心雖主乎一身,而其體之虛霛,足以管乎天下之理。理雖散在萬物,而其用之微妙,實不外乎人之一心。

The stage at which the heart-mind starts to intent is a crucial moment because the heart-mind will at this instant, will something good or evil This is considered the instant when a good or an evil intention arises Thenceforth, learning starts At this point, it is important that one‟s heart-mind is in absolute reverence so that what is

willed will only be good intention.112 If what one wills is correct, one is able to cohere with past sages One is even able to cohere with the three former kings as they were

also able to extend their li and others were and areable to receive it:

…cohering with Li, one coheres with Heaven-Earth; Heaven-Earth is

simply Li Cohering with Li, one also coheres with spirits; spirits are

simply Li Cohering with Li, then one also coheres with sages from all

generations; sages are simply Li Cohering with Li, then one also

coheres with the three former kings; the three former kings are simply

Li…When one obtains qi from Heaven-Earth, then one has also Li of

Heaven-Earth My li is that of Heaven-Earth…All heart-minds are the

same and all heart-minds cohere with Li From the ancient times until

now, there is only one Li; all sages have the same heart-mind.113

That is why it can be said that everyone shares the same heart-mind and the heart-mind

coheres with the one and only Li which is atemporal and aspatial Though attaining this level of coherence with Li is one of the epitomes of the learning of the sages and

it cannot be said to be always attainable by everyone (wei keyi fanyan 未可以泛言),

the nature and emotions of the heart-mind remain features that everyone share regardless of whether they are sages, commoners, the rich or poor Those who have

attained the learning of the sages ought to strive for the better and those who have yet

to succeed ought to aim for and practice it When one is able to remain tranquil by successfully keeping the emotions in a harmonized state, one can be regarded as a benevolent person because one has achieved de—a name for li when it is attained by

the heart-mind.114

…the emotions of the heart-mind [of] everyone are the same It matters

not whether it is during ancient times or at the present; [it matters not]

whether one is a sage or commoner; [it matters not] whether one is of

impressive or lowly status Those who are able to attain the learning of

sages ought to strive for the better and those who have yet to succeed

ought to aim for and practice it… When one is able to remain tranquil,

successfully keeping the emotions in a harmonized state, this emotional

state, when being practiced in the family, is demonstrated as father and

son being true to one another, and siblings sharing cordial ties; when

being practiced in the hometown with kin, respect is shown between the

elders and young, and friends trust one another In short, the cordial ties

abovementioned are exhibitions of harmonized emotions housed in the