Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional stories - Brief introduction of Li Zhi in Ming Dynasty

Brief introduction of Li Zhi in Ming Dynasty

(1527 ~ 1602) a thinker in the Ming dynasty. Wenling layman, No.2 Hongfu, Zhuowu 1 Jinjiang City, Quanzhou, Fujian Province. In his later years, he lived in Zhifu Hospital on Longtan Lake in Macheng, Hubei Province, also known as Longhu Lake. He used to be Yuan Wailang, the criminal department of Nanjing, and the magistrate of Yao 'an, Yunnan. Finally, he angrily abandoned his official position, specializing in giving lectures and writing books. The main works include collecting books, continuing to collect books, burning books, continuing to burn books and so on. He opposed feudal cults and Confucian orthodoxy all his life and pursued social equality, gender equality and individual liberation. Therefore, it was rejected by feudal guardians and regarded as a "heresy." His works were banned and burned to pieces. Even at the age of 76, he was accused of "daring to advocate chaos and mislead people", arrested and imprisoned, and died. Li Zhi's thought reflects the spirit of resistance and struggle of feudal literati in the embryonic period of Chinese capitalism, and is a challenge to feudal autocratic rule and Confucianism. Based on this spirit, from the legal point of view, he advocated conforming to the free development of human personality and breaking the interference and bondage of morality, etiquette and punishment. He believes that people in the world used to have their own position, but now they don't, which is the result of "greedy people and benevolent people disturbing them"; Rulers who flaunt "benevolence and morality" are afraid of deviant people, so they use "virtue" and "courtesy" to regulate people's thoughts and "politics" and "punishment" to restrain people's actions. In his view, the role of punishment or law is nothing more than to achieve social unity through restraint and coercion. However, because "the world is the largest", "the people are the largest" and "things are not unified" are universal, even with "numerous regulations" and "the application of criminal law", the expected purpose can not be achieved. Therefore, "those who are good at the world will not cure the world", but should only "govern the people by the people", that is, "each should follow his own interests", "each should be good at his own merits" and "everyone should be autonomous" If "everyone's autonomy" is realized, "stop before the ban" and "there is no need to ban the contract"; Of course, punishment will lose its effect. Although this idea is unrealistic, it has the significance of opposing feudal autocratic rule and Confucian orthodoxy. Li Zhi was born in a Muslim citizen's family. Originally from Henan, his original surname was Lin, and his name was zai. After the Yuan Dynasty, he moved to Fujian. Sanzu was accused of "rebellion" because he opposed feudal ethics and violated Lin's suggestion, and changed his surname to Li to avoid disaster. Li Zhi lost his mother when he was young, and studied with his father, making rapid progress in his studies. Since childhood, he is stubborn, good at independent thinking, does not believe in Islam, is not bound by Confucian traditional concepts, and has a strong anti-traditional concept. In terms of social value orientation, he criticized attaching importance to agriculture and restraining business, praised the achievements of businessmen and advocated utilitarian value, which met the development requirements of capitalism in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

Li Zhi/Kloc-started writing at the age of 0/2, opposing Confucius' view that farmers were "villains". At the age of 26, I got a promotion. From the age of 30 to 45, he served as an official, successively serving as Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Huixian County, Henan Province, Dr. imperial academy in Nanjing, Dr. imperial academy in Beijing, Secretary of the Ministry of Rites in Beijing, Yuan Wailang and Langzhong in Nanjing Punishment Department, and finally as a magistrate in Yao 'an, Yunnan Province.

In the ninth year of Wanli (158 1), Li Zhi left Yunnan and returned to Hubei, where he lived with the neo-Confucian, and wrote some articles on reading history and passed them on to Geng's younger brother. In the twelfth year of Wanli, Geng Dingyun moved to Macheng. The following year, I sent someone to send my family back to Quanzhou. I live alone in Longzhi Temple in Macheng and concentrate on reading, giving lectures and writing. After more than ten years, I finished the works such as Chutan Collection and Book Burning. He is the author of 6 volumes of books, essays, historical essays and poems, such as Answering Geng Zhongcheng and Answering Geng Si Kou. Expose the hypocrisy of Taoism, oppose taking Confucius' view of right and wrong as the standard of right and wrong, and criticize Dali scholars Zhou Dunyi, Cheng Hao, Zhang Zai, Zhu and others in the Song Dynasty.

Li Zhi advocated the absolute false and pure "childlike innocence". Li Zhi also gave lectures in Macheng for many times, criticizing current politics and current abuses, and allowed men and women from all walks of life to attend classes, which was warmly welcomed. In the 16th year of Wanli (1588), he shaved his head in summer to show his pride. This had a strong impact on traditional ideas, and was regarded as "heresy" and "heresy" by local conservative forces. They besieged him and wanted to expel him from the country. Li Zhi clearly declared that his works were "deviant works", saying, "I can't kill them, but my head can't be humiliated" and didn't flinch.

In the twenty-fifth year of Wanli (1597), Li Zhi went to Datong, Shanxi Province at the invitation of Governor Mei Guozhen, wrote "Sun Tzu's Company" and revised the book collection. In autumn, I went to Beijing, lived in the blissful residence of Xishan, and wrote pure land tactics. The following spring, I went to Nanjing, where I collected my sporadic works into Travel Notes for the Elderly, studied Yi, wrote Yi Yin, and finally compiled his masterpiece Collection of Books. Collection of Books ***68 Volumes is a theory of biographical history, which discusses about 800 historical figures from the Warring States to the Yuan Dynasty, and makes an evaluation of historical figures that is inconsistent with the traditional view, aiming at opposing Confucianism. For example, he praised Qin Shihuang as an "emperor through the ages" and Wu Zetian as a "sage queen" who "ruled by herself, observed by herself and judged by herself". In the 28th year of Wanli (1600), Mr. Yangming's copy of Taoism and Mr. Yangming's chronicle were compiled in Jining, Shandong.

In the thirty years of Wanli (1602), the Ministry of Ritual gave zhangwenda a lesson about it, and was ordered by Shen to crusade against Li Zhi. In the end, Li Zhi was arrested in Tongzhou, charged with "dare to instigate chaos, mislead the world and slander the people", and his works were burned. After Li Zhi went to prison, he heard that the court would escort him back to his hometown in Fujian. He said with emotion, "I am seventy-six years old, why should I die?" So he cut himself angrily with a razor. After his death, Ma buried him next to Fu Ying Temple in Masizhuang outside the north gate of Tongzhou, Hebei Province, and the cemetery is still there.

Li Zhi's life is full of reflection on tradition and history, which is also a concentrated expression of the social and ideological changes in the late Ming Dynasty.