In modern history, China was not very powerful, and was beaten a bit badly by its neighbor Japan. In terms of land area, product reserves and human resources alone, China has no reason to be beaten.But history is here. China was not only beaten, but also beaten terribly.The disastrous defeat in the Sino-Japanese War, the humiliation of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, the hardships of the eight-year war of resistance, and the cruelty of the Nanjing Massacre are still the pain of our nation. Why did the huge China become a giant with mud feet and was wantonly ravaged by its neighbor Japan? In order to clarify this issue, the young Chiang Kai-shek traveled east to learn scriptures and went to Japan to find a way to strengthen the country.On June 6, 1932, Chiang published "The Spirit of China's Founding", saying: "We must know that the reason why Japan is strong is not due to the science of Europe and the United States, but to the philosophy of China. Since the founding of Japan, they have , the whole country, what do we generally learn from our China? It is Chinese Confucianism and Taoism, and the most powerful of Confucianism and Taoism is the Chinese Wang Yangming's philosophy of "unity of knowledge and action". Transformed the weak and sluggish Japan, unified the fragmented feudal country, and succeeded in a nation that dominates today..."

This is true, Japan imported a lot of knowledge and equipment from Europe, but the Europeans don't think they influenced Japan, and neither do the Japanese.Because the Japanese can't put down the books, it is Wang Yangming's works.For example, Admiral Togo Heihachiro, known as the "Military God" in Japan, specially engraved a seal and wrote: bowing his head and worshiping Yangming all his life.Togo Heihachiro relied on his understanding of Yangming's philosophy of mind to wipe out the Russian Pacific Fleet in a naval battle and push Japan to the peak of a world power.

So, why China has Wang Yangming, but it is ravaged by Japan; and Japan, as a student, can rule the world instead? Takejiro Takase, the author of "Yangming Studies in Japan", explained: Generally, Yangming studies contain two elements, one is career, and the other is dry Zen.Those who get the element of Kuzen can subjugate the country, and those who get the element of career can rejuvenate the country.China and Japan each get one. But in fact, although Yangming’s philosophy of mind is broad and profound, it is also consistent. Simply cutting Mr. Yangming’s thoughts into two pieces, saying that China and Japan each have a piece, is obviously problematic.

Yangming's philosophy of mind does have elements of dry Zen and career, but dry Zen is the first stage, and career is the second level. To put it plainly, post-scholars must first understand Mr. Yangming's thoughts and knowledge, and think hard like an old monk sitting in meditation. This is the first stage.Then it is to implement one's own experience and comprehension into practice. This is what the Japanese call a career element.If the work of the first stage is not completed, even if Mr. Yangming's thought and wisdom are not clear, how can we talk about the unity of knowledge and action?

This is the tragedy of modern China. The Japanese have truly mastered the thoughts and wisdom of Mr. Yangming, but we have lost even the fur.We have not even mastered our own wisdom and ideas, and have not completed the first stage. How can we compare with our neighbor Japan, which has advanced to a higher stage? However, why do we lose the wisdom and thought of Mr. Yangming? Another expression of this question is: How did Mr. Yangming realize the profound thought of the unity of knowledge and action, and how did he embody and apply it in practice? Also, what kind of person is Mr. Yangming?Why was he able to create a foundation in the field of wisdom and become an immortal thought master?What exactly is the thought and wisdom of the Yangming Mind School he founded?Why can a small island country that has acquired this kind of thought and wisdom rise to the top of the world power?Why would modern China, which has lost this wisdom, fall into a situation where it is passively beaten and bullied?

In reality, many people can comment on Mr. Yangming's thoughts and wisdom condescendingly.However, as the Japanese ridiculed, these so-called comments are nothing more than ignorant nonsense, superficial theory, far from breaking through the dry Zen stage, and cannot be applied to practice at all.If it is possible, then the all-powerful country in modern history should not be Japan, but us. So we pay attention to Mr. Yangming, trace his footprints in history, and devote ourselves to seeking the method for him to master wisdom and thought.But as mentioned above, Mr. Yangming's thoughts and wisdom deviate from the thinking mode of our nation and from the tools of human cognition. Solving these two problems is far from a book.However, using this as our starting point allows us to step into the hallowed halls of thought and wisdom.

It is for sequence. Fog blocks the river April 20, 2012