The Ming Dynasty was one of the last main dynasties of Ancient China. Ruling from 1368-1644 AD, Neo-Confucianism dominated life in the early Ming Dynasty. Gradually, this philosophy changed into more of a combination of Buddhism and Legalism as time went on. This was because of the frantic government trying to keep control over the dynasty which led to philosophers studying different texts from different philosophies to find one that would match to the crisis.
[1]Richard Hooker, "Ming Philosophy," Ming China, last modified March 2, 1997, accessed November 17, 2014, http://richard-hooker.com/sites/worldcultures/MING/PHIL.HTM.
[2]"Confucianism," United Religions Initiative Kids, last modified 2002, accessed November 11, 2014, http://www.uri.org/kids/other_conf.htm. [3]Ronnie Littlejohn, "Daoist Philosophy," in Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, [Page #],http://www.iep.utm.edu/daoism/#H7. [4]Yuan Huang, "Excerpt from Ledger of Merit and Demerit," in Asia for Educators (n.p.: Columbia University, n.d.), [Page 1], accessed November 11, 2014, http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/yuan_huang_ledger.pdf. [5]Zhu Yuanzhang, "An Imperial Edict Restraining Officers from Evil," in Asia for Educators (n.p.: Columbia University, n.d.), [Page 2], accessed November 14, 2014, http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/china/restraining_officials.pdf. The change |
Neo-Confuciansim “By the Ming dynasty, the dominant philosophy in China had become the Neo-Confucianism of Chu Hsi (1130-1200), who argued that there was an immaterial principle (li ) that inhered in all things and gave to all things form and essence.”[1]
Neo-Confucianism was a mix between Confucianism and Daoism. Confucianism promoted filial piety: ones with less power should respect the ones with more. It also taught 5 basic virtues: "1) kindness 2) righteousness 3) sobriety 4) wisdom 5) trustworthiness"[2] Furthermore, the Daoism part also came in when emperor Hong Wu’s beliefs converted from Buddhism to Daosim. He believed in the low path and that everything in the universe has a life force: “Instead, they have preferred to focus on understanding the nature of reality, increasing their longevity, ordering life morally, practicing rulership, and regulating consciousness and diet. Fundamental Daoist ideas and concerns include wuwei (“effortless action”), ziran (“naturalness”), how to become a shengren (“sage”) or zhenren (“realized person”), and the ineffable, mysterious Dao (“Way”) itself.”[3] The combination of the two beliefs led to Neo-Confucianism. This affected the way the government ruled the society. For example, one can see the Confucianism in the rules: “Conduct for which one gains one hundred points of merit: Saving a person’s life, Ensuring the fidelity of a woman …” [4] As previously stated, filial piety was important and the second rule in the quote explicitly shows that Confucianism was incorporated into daily life. Daoism as well: “...there were many ambitious men competing for power who did not treasure their sons and daughters but prized jade and silk, coveted fine horses and beautiful clothes, relished drunken singing and unrestrained pleasure, and enjoyed separating people from their parents, wives, and children. I also lived in that chaotic period. How did I avoid such snares? I was able to do so because I valued my reputation and wanted to preserve my life. Therefore I did not dare to do these evil things. ” [5] Daoism believed in getting rid of all things not needed to live and so this official got rid of all pleasures in life. This worked for a while as the people in the society took tests based on neo-confucianism to join the society. |
However, neo-confucianism starts to crumble as the government because insecure. The emperor was using too much money on landmarks and naval advancements. Although important to the civilization to show their power, it did not have a very positive effect to the people in the society. In fact, it took more taxes and used the people more to create these monuments. The people were getting tired and annoyed of the waste of time and money the emperor was using upset the people and they started rebelling against the emperor and the government. In a panic, they had to switch their philosophy into a stricter, harsher philosophy to keep control. So they chose Legalism. “With a new ruling house, it is no exaggeration to say that overnight, the literati’s political and historical subjectivities completely shifted.”[6]Legalism believed that in order to live peaceful lives, the people should follow it’s government. This was a great philosophy for this time because they really needed the people’s cooperation to get the society back in order. One can see the Legalism working in the government through the laws. “After
I
discover
the
truth,
I
capture
and
imprison
the
corrupt,
villainous,
and
oppressive
officials
involved.
I
punish
them
with
the
death
penalty
or
forced
labor
or
have
them
flogged
with
bamboo
sticks
in
order
to make
manifest
the
consequences
of
good
or
evil
actions.
”[7] This rule said that it would punish any wrong doers harshly and without any mercy, which was a Legalist idea. All of a sudden, the government seems to completely forget about filial piety or following the low path.
[6]Ying Zhang, Politics and Morality during the Ming-Qing Dynastic Transition, 1570-1670, accessed November 18, 2014, http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/77736/yingaa_1.pdf. [7]Yuanzhang, "An Imperial Edict Restraining," in Asia for Educators, [Page 3] |
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The results of the philosophies
In the end, however, none of the philosophies worked out. The people still rebelled, further angered by the sudden change in philosophy and tactics. They did not like how everything got much stricter and harsher. They rebelled so much that the emperor started to bend to the people’s wishes. He stopped all monumental landmarks and he stopped one of the things the Ming Dynasty was well known for: it’s naval. He destroyed all ships until only the smallest of ships were left. The trade route established was abandoned, and in fact all ships were banned from travelling out the Ming Dynasty. This was because the philosophy they had failed.
In conclusion, the Ming Dynasty at first had Neo-Confucianism as it’s orthodox philosophy. It worked for a while as the people obeyed. However, the people soon disliked how the emperor was ruling and decided to rebel. Scared of losing control, the government frantically switched to Legalism, but got worse effects instead. In the end, the government listened to the people and this led to the decrease in the power and wealth of the dynasty.
Bibliography for Philosophy
Pictures:
*Hooker, Richard. Ming Dynasty. Image. Ming Philosophy. March 2, 1997.Accesed November11,2014. http://richard-hooker.com/sites/worldcultures/GRAPHICS/MODULES/MING/TITLE.GIF.
**Palace. Image. Preceden. 2014. Accessed November 20, 2014. http://viratis.net/parkisons.disease/images/MingDynasty2.jpg.
***People Taking a Exam to Get into Society. Image. Cultural China. Accessed November 15, 2014. http://history.cultural=china.com/chinaWH/upload/upfiles/2010-08/19/more_info2c89ac16a3d8ad1f271d.jpg.
****Symbol of Ming Dynasty. Image. Chinatown Connection. 2005. Accessed November 20, 2014. http://www.chinatownconnection.com/images/mingdynasty.gif.
*****Where Ming Dynasty Was. Image. St.Martin University. Accessed Novermber 15, 2014. http://homepages.stmartin.edu/fac_staff/rlangill/HIS%20217%20maps/Ming%20dynasty%20map.jpg.
******Confucianism in Chinese Characters. Image. Epoch Times. Accessed November, 20, 2014. http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/images/stories/large/2009/02/19/2008-01-19-xxl--Schriftzeichen-Konfusiu_01.jpg.
Videos:
"Buddhist Music of the Ming Dynasty." Video file, 17:17. YouTube. Posted by Rique Borges, August 17, 2014. Accessed November 20, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HET7q0xfnlY.
Quote:
Goodreads. "Quotes about Mind Dynasty." Good Reads. Last modified 2014. Accessed November 15, 2014. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/ming-dynasty
Button Text Link:
Goodreads. "Journey of the North Star." Good Reads. Last modified 2014. Accessed November 15, 2014. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14741018-journey-of-the-north-star.
Websites: (alphabetical order)
———. "Ming Philosophy." Ming China. Last modified March 2, 1997. Accessed November 17, 2014. http://richard-hooker.com/sites/worldcultures/MING/PHIL.HTM.
Huang, Yuan. "Excerpt from Ledger of Merit and Demerit." In Asia for Educators, 1-2. N.p.: Columbia University, n.d. Accessed November 11, 2014. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/yuan_huang_ledger.pdf.
Littlejohn, Ronnie. "Daoist Philosophy." In Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://www.iep.utm.edu/daoism/#H7.
United Religions Initiative. "Confucianism." United Religions Initiative Kids. Last modified 2002. Accessed November 11, 2014. http://www.uri.org/kids/other_conf.htm.
Yuanzhang, Zhu. "An Imperial Edict Restraining Officers from Evil." In Asia for Educators. N.p.: Columbia University, n.d. Accessed November 14, 2014. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/china/restraining_officials.pdf.
Zhang, Ying. Politics and Morality during the Ming-Qing Dynastic Transition. 1570-1670. Accessed November 18, 2014. http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/77736/yingaa_1.pdf.
Pictures:
*Hooker, Richard. Ming Dynasty. Image. Ming Philosophy. March 2, 1997.Accesed November11,2014. http://richard-hooker.com/sites/worldcultures/GRAPHICS/MODULES/MING/TITLE.GIF.
**Palace. Image. Preceden. 2014. Accessed November 20, 2014. http://viratis.net/parkisons.disease/images/MingDynasty2.jpg.
***People Taking a Exam to Get into Society. Image. Cultural China. Accessed November 15, 2014. http://history.cultural=china.com/chinaWH/upload/upfiles/2010-08/19/more_info2c89ac16a3d8ad1f271d.jpg.
****Symbol of Ming Dynasty. Image. Chinatown Connection. 2005. Accessed November 20, 2014. http://www.chinatownconnection.com/images/mingdynasty.gif.
*****Where Ming Dynasty Was. Image. St.Martin University. Accessed Novermber 15, 2014. http://homepages.stmartin.edu/fac_staff/rlangill/HIS%20217%20maps/Ming%20dynasty%20map.jpg.
******Confucianism in Chinese Characters. Image. Epoch Times. Accessed November, 20, 2014. http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/images/stories/large/2009/02/19/2008-01-19-xxl--Schriftzeichen-Konfusiu_01.jpg.
Videos:
"Buddhist Music of the Ming Dynasty." Video file, 17:17. YouTube. Posted by Rique Borges, August 17, 2014. Accessed November 20, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HET7q0xfnlY.
Quote:
Goodreads. "Quotes about Mind Dynasty." Good Reads. Last modified 2014. Accessed November 15, 2014. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/ming-dynasty
Button Text Link:
Goodreads. "Journey of the North Star." Good Reads. Last modified 2014. Accessed November 15, 2014. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14741018-journey-of-the-north-star.
Websites: (alphabetical order)
———. "Ming Philosophy." Ming China. Last modified March 2, 1997. Accessed November 17, 2014. http://richard-hooker.com/sites/worldcultures/MING/PHIL.HTM.
Huang, Yuan. "Excerpt from Ledger of Merit and Demerit." In Asia for Educators, 1-2. N.p.: Columbia University, n.d. Accessed November 11, 2014. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/yuan_huang_ledger.pdf.
Littlejohn, Ronnie. "Daoist Philosophy." In Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://www.iep.utm.edu/daoism/#H7.
United Religions Initiative. "Confucianism." United Religions Initiative Kids. Last modified 2002. Accessed November 11, 2014. http://www.uri.org/kids/other_conf.htm.
Yuanzhang, Zhu. "An Imperial Edict Restraining Officers from Evil." In Asia for Educators. N.p.: Columbia University, n.d. Accessed November 14, 2014. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/china/restraining_officials.pdf.
Zhang, Ying. Politics and Morality during the Ming-Qing Dynastic Transition. 1570-1670. Accessed November 18, 2014. http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/77736/yingaa_1.pdf.