1. Where does the unity of knowledge and action come from?

It comes from the lectures given by Wang Shouren, the master of mind learning, in the Wenming Academy in the third year of Zhengde of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty (1508).

Wang Shouren said: "Knowledge is the idea of ??action, action is the effort of knowing; knowledge is the beginning of action, and action is the completion of knowledge." It means that morality is the guiding ideology of human behavior, and acting in accordance with the requirements of morality is the process of achieving "conscience".

The ideological activities generated under moral guidance are the beginning of behavior, and the behavior that meets the requirements of moral norms is the completion of "conscience". Wang Shouren (October 31, 1472 - January 9, 1529), Han nationality, whose childhood name was Yun, courtesy name Bo'an, and alias Yangming, was born in Yuyao County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province (now part of Yuyao, Ningbo).

Because he once built a house in Yangming Cave in Kuaiji Mountain, he named himself Yangmingzi. Scholars called him Mr. Yangming, also known as Wang Yangming. A famous thinker, writer, philosopher and military strategist in the Ming Dynasty, he was the master of Lu Wang's philosophy and was proficient in Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.

Wang Shouren’s doctrine and thought, Wang Xue (Yangming Xue), was the most influential philosophical thought in the Ming Dynasty. His academic thoughts spread to China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula and Southeast Asia. He established his moral character and reputation, and his achievements were unparalleled in the Ming Dynasty.

He has so many disciples that he is known as Yaojiang School in the world. His articles are broad and profound, and his writing has a refreshing air.

There is "Wang Wencheng Gongquan Shu". Extended information Wang Shouren's theory of the unity of knowledge and action deepens the relationship between the consciousness and practicality of moral consciousness, and overcomes the shortcomings of Zhu Xi's theory of knowledge first and action later, but at the same time it also erases the epistemological component of Zhu Xi's theory of knowledge and action.

Although Wang Shouren’s views are conducive to moral cultivation, they ignore the learning of objective knowledge, which caused the shortcomings of later Wang Xue disciples who abandoned their studies willfully. Thinkers in the early Qing Dynasty even attributed the death of the Ming Dynasty to Disadvantages of Wang Xue. Wang Yangming used thoughts to replace the rational aspect of "action" in this way, asking people to establish a belief and act according to the principle of "goodness" when they first start their thoughts activities, so as to eliminate unwholesome and evil at the beginning. This is also called " The unity of knowledge and action."

Therefore, the "unity of knowledge and action" should be fully understood in order to make a correct evaluation. Baidu Encyclopedia-Unity of knowledge and action. 2. Urgently request the translation of Wang Yangming's "Zhuan Xi Lu" "Integration of Knowledge and Action"

It seems that someone has asked about it before.

Xu Ai (Mr. Wang Yangming’s first student) said: "Nowadays, everyone in the world knows that they should be filial to their parents and respect their elders, but they often cannot be filial or respectful. It can be seen that knowledge and action are two different things. . ”

The teacher said: “This is deceived by selfish desires, and it is no longer the original intention of knowing and doing. Knowing but not doing means not truly understanding the teachings of sages. Action is to restore the original knowledge and action. It is not just to tell people how to know and do things casually. Therefore, "The Great Learning" uses "like good color" and "like bad smell" to enlighten people about what true knowledge is. To see a good color is to know, to like a good color is to like it immediately, not to like it after seeing a good color, to smell a bad smell is to know, and to hate a bad smell is to act. You begin to dislike the stench when you smell it. If a person has a stuffy nose, he or she will not notice the stench at all because he or she has not noticed it. For another example, when we say that someone knows filial piety and knows his brother-in-law, he must have already fulfilled his filial piety and brother-in-law before he can be called filial piety and brother-in-law. Knowing pain is definitely due to feeling cold. Knowing hunger is definitely due to hunger. This is the original meaning of knowing and doing. The sages and sages teach people, so they can be called knowledge. Otherwise, they just don’t know.

This is such a practical work! Today, people in the world insist on saying that knowing and doing are two different things. What does this mean? I want to say that knowing and doing are the same thing, but what do I mean? If you don't understand the purpose of my statement and just say one thing and two different things, what's the use? "

Xu Ai said: "The ancients separated knowledge and action, which also made people differentiate. On the one hand, the effort of knowledge is done, and on the other hand, the effort of doing action is achieved. Only in this way can the effort be achieved. ”

The gentleman said: “To do this would be to abandon the will of the ancients. I said before that knowledge is the idea of ??action, action is the effort of knowing, knowledge is the beginning of action, and action is the result of knowledge. If you are well versed in the principle of knowing and doing, if you say you know, doing will already be within it; if you talk about doing, knowing will also be within it. The reason why the ancients mentioned knowing and doing together is because there is a kind of person in the world who just does things casually in a daze, without thinking at all, and acts completely recklessly. Therefore, he must know something before he can act correctly. There is also a kind of person who thinks endlessly and does not want to put into practice at all, but just fantasizes for no reason, so he can only know the truth by talking about an action. This is exactly the countermeasure used by the ancients as a last resort to remedy shortcomings. If you understand this, one sentence is enough. People today insist on dividing knowledge and action into two things, thinking that they are prophets and then act. Therefore, I will first go to lectures and discussions to do the work of knowing, and then when I know clearly, I will do the work of doing. Therefore, those who are unable to practice it will definitely not know it for the rest of their lives. This is not a simple matter. This misunderstanding has been going on for a long time. The unity of knowledge and action I am talking about now is precisely to prescribe the right medicine, and I am not making it up out of thin air. The original nature of knowledge and action is like this. 3. Ancient texts or famous sayings that advocate the application of knowledge

Hello, when the rivers will reach the sea from the east, when will they return to the west? If a young man does not work hard, the old man will be miserable.

(Han Yuefu "Long Song Xing") To learn a hundred things, one must first be determined. (Zhu Xi) The edge of a sword comes from sharpening, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold.

The pen falls in the storm, and the poem becomes the weeping ghosts and gods. (Du Fu) If you don't know how to be a prostitute, I will be your teacher.

(Du Fu) Be broad-minded and appreciative, accumulate thickly but thinly. (Su Shi) Learn it eruditely, interrogate it, think it over carefully, discern it clearly, and practice it sincerely.

("Ji Hu Guang Jiao Jiao Gui Xie Han Mao Li Ji") If you don't climb the mountains, you don't know how high the sky is; if you don't face the deep streams, you don't know how thick the earth is. ("Xunzi") If you don't fly, you will reach the sky; if you don't sing, you will become a blockbuster.

(Sima Qian) If you don’t worry about others, you don’t know yourself; if you worry about others, you don’t know others. (Confucius) If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how can you catch the tiger’s cubs? (Book of the Later Han Dynasty) If there is no blockage and no flow, it will not work.

(Han Yu) I don’t know the true face of Mount Lu, just because I am in this mountain. (Su Shi) Don't be afraid of the floating clouds covering your eyes, because you are at the highest level.

(Wang Anshi) Without rules, it is impossible to build a square garden. (Mencius) Be erudite without being exhausted, practice without being tired.

—— "Book of Rites" △ Not hearing is worse than hearing it, hearing it is worse than seeing it, seeing it is worse than knowing it, knowing it is worse than doing it, and learning stops when you practice it. ——[Warring States] Xunzi △Having no money is called poverty, learning but not being able to do it is called illness.

——[Han] Liu Xiang △Learning is the best thing to do; speaking is the second thing; teaching people is the second thing; Xian Wuyan is for everyone. ——[Han] Yang Xiong △A gentleman has learned something, but he is troubled by not being able to do it; having learned it well, he is troubled by not being accustomed to it; having learned it, he is troubled by being ignorant; having known it, he is troubled by not being able to do it; having been able to do it, he is troubled by it. , you can let me do it.

——[Han] Dade △Knowing but not doing anything is better than not knowing. ——"Confucius' Family Sayings" △It is impossible to describe the physics in detail; it is difficult to describe how to apply it to things, but it is easy to know by trying it.

——[Jin] Fu Xuan △If you hear something in the morning, go to it in the evening. ——"Book of the Later Han Dynasty" △Those who know are not as good as those who practice.

——[Sui] Wang Tong △Wise is not to do too much, but to do what you know. ——[Tang Dynasty] Wei Zheng △There are not many troubles in reading, but there are not many troubles in thinking about meaning.

If you are suffering enough, you will not learn, and if you are learning, you will not be able to do it. ——[Tang Dynasty] Han Yu △Think carefully and act diligently.

——[Tang Dynasty] Bai Juyi △A scholar is more valuable than doing it, but not responsible for knowing it. ——[Song Dynasty] Sima Guang △Knowing but not being able to do it means only knowing a little.

——[Song Dynasty] Cheng Yi △Those who hear about the major events in the world are not as good as those who see them, and those who see them are not as good as those who live in them. ——[Song Dynasty] Lu You △After reading it on paper, I finally realize it, but I know that I have to do it in detail.

——[Song Dynasty] Lu You △Zhi means the eyes; Xing means the toes. ——[Song Dynasty] Yang Wanli △In general, there are only two ways to learn, which is to practice knowledge and practice.

——[Song Dynasty] Zhu Xi △In terms of order, knowledge comes first; in terms of severity, behavior is the most important. ——[Song Dynasty] Zhu Xi △Extensive learning is not as good as knowing the essentials; knowing the essentials is not as practical as practicing.

——[Song Dynasty] Zhu Xi △If you act, your knowledge will advance; if your knowledge is deep, your actions will be more effective. ——[Song Dynasty] Zhu Xi △Don’t follow the examples to learn the Six Taoist teachings on paper, and don’t follow the corrupt Confucianism and annotate the Five Classics.

——[Song Dynasty] Liu Guo △Reading will make you understand and apply it. ——[Song Dynasty] Yang Shi △Learning is more important than completing it. Once it is completed, it will be put into practice; if you can’t complete your career through learning, and you can’t complete your learning by using it, then it is not learning.

——[Song Dynasty] Yang Shi △If you know the shallow and the deep, your actions will be far and near. This is the effect of learning. ——[Song Dynasty] Yang Shi △Those who know a lot are like storing medicines widely. Knowing what to use is the most valuable thing.

——[Song Dynasty] Yang Shi △Observe history as if you are personally involved in it. When you see the pros and cons of things and the disasters of the times, you will hide them and think for yourself. If I encounter such things, where should I deal with them? By viewing history in this way, learning can be advanced and knowledge can be advanced, which is beneficial. ——[Song Dynasty] Lu Zuqian △A person who learns Taoism is just like learning archery.

——[Song Dynasty] Hu Hong △There is only one thing to say, for those who are willing to offer it to the king, it is said to do it. ——[Song Dynasty] Wen Tianxiang △When discussing academics, one should look at the person; when discussing politics, one should examine the time.

——[Ming] Fang Xiaoru △Unity of knowledge and action. ——[Ming Dynasty] Wang Shouren △The person who knows is the beginning of action, and the person who knows is the beginning of action.

——[Ming] Wang Shouren △True knowledge means doing it. Failure to do it is not called knowledge. ——[Ming] Wang Shouren △Knowing but not acting is just unknown.

——[Ming Dynasty] Wang Shouren △After all the learning in the world, there is no one who is not good at it, but he can be called a scholar. ——[Ming Dynasty] Wang Shouren △The hearing and seeing of the ears and eyes, and good use of them can broaden their minds.

——[Ming Dynasty] Wang Tingxiang △The scholar-slave laughs year after year, and is the same as a virgin for no reason in his life. There is no one in the world who doesn't read, but book slaves die by reading.

——[Ming Dynasty] Li Zhi △The word "experience" is the most familiar to scholars. ——[Ming Dynasty] Hu Juren △Learning must be done on your own.

——[Ming Dynasty] Hu Juren △Scholars should first understand the body and mind, which is the foundation of all things. ——[Ming Dynasty] Hu Juren △When you encounter difficult things, you can gain knowledge; when you deal with difficult people, you can practice your nature and learn from it.

——[Ming Dynasty] Xu Zhenji △A scholar can combine the strengths of many people and combine them into one. If Yi Ya is blended with five flavors, it will be a complete flavor. ——[Ming Dynasty] Xie Zhen △A good scholar’s ??ambition is to be a saint, but his actions are always based on humiliation.

——[Qing Dynasty] Huang Zongxi △Action can be known at the same time, but knowing cannot be done at the same time. ——[Qing Dynasty] Wang Fuzhi △ Only then can you know the truth.

——[Qing Dynasty] Wang Fuzhi △Know what you are doing without hesitation, and you can do it without hesitation. ——[Qing Dynasty] Wang Fuzhi △Knowing and doing two, although you know it, you are still ignorant, and although you are doing it, you are not doing it.

——[Qing Dynasty] Tang Zhen △The understanding of world affairs is knowledge, and the understanding of human feelings is writing. ——[Qing] Cao Xueqin Please accept it, thank you. 4. Translation of ancient texts

Wang Shouren's work "Zhuanxilu" "Pursuing principles from the outside is the reason why knowledge and action are twofold.

Pursuing principles in my heart is the combination of knowledge and action of this holy sect. "Yi Zhi Jiao" and "Zhuan Xi Lu" are quotations and theoretical letters written by Wang Shouren (alias Yangming), a Chinese philosopher from the Ming Dynasty and a representative figure of the central Taoist school in the Song and Ming Dynasties. The word "chuanxi" comes from the phrase "chuanxi" in "The Analects".

"Zhuanxi Lu" contains Wang Yangming's main philosophical thoughts and is an important material for studying the development of Wang Yangming's thoughts and psychology. The first volume was reviewed by Wang Yangming himself, and the letters in the middle volume were written by Wang Yangming himself and were his writings in his later years. Although the second volume has not been reviewed by himself, it explains his thoughts in his later years in more detail and records the "four ideas" proposed by Wang Yangming. Judgment".

Wang Yangming inherited the tradition of Xinxue from Cheng Hao and Lu Jiuyuan, and further criticized Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism based on Lu Jiuyuan's work. The thoughts in "Zhuan Xi Lu" clearly express these positions and views.

"The heart is reason" was originally Lu Jiuyuan's proposition, and "Zhuan Xi Lu" developed this idea. Wang Yangming criticized Zhu Xi's method of self-cultivation, which was to seek truth outside the mind and to seek the harmony of natural principles and perfection in external things.

Wang Yangming believes that "the highest good is the essence of the heart" and "the heart is the principle. This heart is not obscured by selfish desires, it is the principle of heaven, and there is no need to add anything from the outside." What he said is to emphasize that in society The basis of ethical norms lies in the goodness of human heart.

Based on this principle, his interpretation of "The Great Learning" is very different from Zhu Xi's. Zhu Zi believes that "the study of things to achieve knowledge" in "The Great Learning" requires students to ultimately understand the "all-purpose use" of the human heart through understanding external objects.

Wang Yangming believes that the "Ge" of "Gewu" is "to remove the injustice of its mind in order to keep its true nature". "The essence of meaning is knowledge, and the location of meaning is matter."

"Knowledge" is inherent in the human heart and does not come from knowing external objects. This knowledge is "conscience".

He said: "The so-called "knowledge of things" refers to the good knowledge in my heart about everything. The good knowledge in my heart is the so-called heavenly principle.

The good knowledge in my heart about heavenly principles. Everything, then everything has its reason. The one who has a good understanding of my heart is the one who knows; >

"In his view, Zhu Xi's theory of "Ge Wu Qi Li" is precisely the analysis of mind and reason. It can be seen from this that Wang Yangming's proposition that "mind is reason" mainly serves his theory of self-cultivation.

The theory of conscience is the development of Lu Jiuyuan’s thought that mind is reason. Wang Yangming’s idea that mind is reason also has ontological meaning in our general sense.

However, if we focus on studying it from ontology, we will ignore its basic significance in Wang Yangming’s Theory of Cultivation. The issue of knowledge and action is an important issue discussed in "Zhuanxilu", and it also reflects Wang Yangming's further research on the discussion of this issue in Song and Ming Taoism since Zhu Xi.

Zhu Zi advocated that knowledge comes first and action comes later, and action is more important than knowledge. Although the "unity of knowledge and action" proposed by Wang Yangming continued Zhu Xi's tradition of focusing on practice, it criticized Zhu Zi's separation of knowledge and action.

Wang Yangming advocated that the unity of knowledge and action is based on the heart as reason. His criticism of Zhu Zi also pointed out that he fundamentally analyzed the heart and reason as two. He said: "Seeking truth from the outside is the reason why knowledge and action are two things.

Seeking truth from my heart is the teaching of the unity of knowledge and action." The meaning of "unity of knowledge and action" means knowing and doing. They are two sides of the same thing.

Knowledge is the conscience of the heart; conscience is filled with, prevails, and emerges into objective and concrete actions or things, which is action. Starting from this understanding, if you know but do not do it, it is just ignorance.

Knowing is the idea of ??doing, and doing is the effort of knowing. Knowledge and action are closely related, so there is a theory of the unity of knowledge and action.

In the society at that time and in the development of Neo-Confucianism, there was indeed a situation where people knew something but did not do it. Wang Yangming's integration of knowledge and action has the significance of correcting current shortcomings.

However, he emphasized that the theory of the unity of knowledge and action was not just put forward to deal with current problems. It first wanted to explain the "noumenon of knowledge and action." The theory of the unity of knowledge and action emphasizes that moral consciousness inherently exists in people's hearts, which is moral consciousness.

It also emphasizes the practicality of morality and believes that moral knowledge is not knowledge about objects, but the realization of morality. The unity of knowledge and action also has general epistemological significance, but it first talks about moral cultivation, and the latter has not been studied in depth in academic circles for a long time.

Wang Yangming's "heart is reason", "leading to conscience" and "unity of knowledge and action" all emphasize the consciousness and dominance of morality. He said: "Knowledge is the spiritual part of reason. In terms of its dominance, it is called the heart, and in terms of its endowment, it is called the nature.

"The human heart can know the good and evil of actions, and can also be conscious of it. Doing good deeds is the "clear awareness" of the original mind, which is the development of Cheng Hao's thought. There is a lot of discussion about the "virtual spirit and enlightenment" of the human heart in "Zhuan Xi Lu".

In order to fully and correctly grasp Wang Yangming's "external irrationality" and other theories, it is necessary to study his discussions in depth. Precisely because the essence of the human heart is principle, and people can be aware of this moral consciousness, people do not need to use external objects to understand the principle of the original heart. The principles of external objects are only the expression of the human heart.

The work of Gezhi is not to understand external objects, but to remove the selfish desires of the original mind. The enlightenment of the human heart is discussed in Cheng Hao and Zhu Xi.

Readers should understand the connections and differences between Wang Yangming and them when reading "Zhuan Xi Lu". It should be admitted that Wang Yangming’s above thoughts do provide an ontological explanation for the goodness of human nature and have historical significance.

But we must also see that his theory does not do enough research on the reasons for the evil nature of human nature. Although his theory was also influential among the lower class people in the Ming Dynasty, it cannot be said to be universal.

Wang Yangming also noticed that people with "sharp roots" and "blunt roots" should be treated differently, but his thoughts are only suitable for people with sharp roots. Later generations criticized him for this "near Zen".

This is also where he is inferior to Zhu Xue. This deviation of Wang Yangming has begun to attract the attention of modern scholars. However, among the contemporary Neo-Confucian scholars, except Liang Shuming, others have not paid enough attention to it. In "Zhuan Xi Lu", Wang Yangming also discussed the realm of "the benevolent and all things in heaven and earth are one" proposed by Cheng Hao.

He pointed out that saints have this state, so they see people in the world without distinction between internal and external, far and near, and they all treat them with kindness. He further proposed that the hearts of people in the world are the same as the hearts of saints. Only because of selfish desires, they turn love into hatred.

In Wang Yangming’s view, benevolence is not only the state to be achieved in cultivation, but also the essence of human heart. Wang Yangming’s explanation of benevolence focuses on moral cultivation.

The benevolence discussed by Cheng Hao is the same as Zhang Zai's "Tao of Integrating Internal and External Affairs", and it has the significance of epistemology. "Zhuan Xilu" records the "Four Sentences" that were debated over the successor of Wang Xue.

These four sentences. 5. Another example of the unity of knowledge and action

Mr. Tao Xingzhi’s original name was Wen Jun. During his college years, he admired the theory of “unity of knowledge and action” by the Ming Dynasty philosopher Wang Yangming, so he named it “Zhixing”.

At the age of 43, he published an article "Knowing Action through Action" in "Life Education", believing that "Action is the beginning of knowledge, and knowledge is the completion of action", and he changed his name to Tao Xingzhi. Through Mr. Tao’s name change, we can see the change in his educational theory and epistemology.

From blindness---to "unity of knowledge and action"---to "the theory of knowledge and action". Tao Xingzhi believed that "Action is the beginning of knowledge, and knowledge is the completion of action." He used some simple examples to illustrate this issue.

For example: a child must have scalded his hand before he knew that fire is hot, he must have froze his hand before he knew that snow is cold, he must have eaten candy before he knew that sugar is sweet, and he must have touched a stone before he knew that stone was cold. Hard wait. The example is simple and convincing.

Action is action, practice and personal experience. Zhi, as the name suggests, means knowledge. Here it should be a verb, learning theoretical knowledge.

Mr. Tao emphasized "knowing by personal knowledge", which is obtained from "practicing" and personally; not just "knowing from hearing", which is obtained from teachers or books. His epistemology of "knowing by doing" has very good guiding significance for our reality.

And we are pleased to find some changes. First, changes in students’ learning methods.

Some students have stepped out of textbooks and into life, participating in learning in a more direct way. They build their own knowledge system by personally exploring, discovering and solving problems.

In physics classes, chemistry classes, and biology classes, students no longer listen to boring lectures from teachers, but conduct experiments themselves to draw conclusions. We encourage students to actively participate, be willing to explore, and be diligent in hands-on learning.

Second, the change in teachers’ teaching methods. Teachers no longer teach in a cram-like manner, and they no longer follow the "teaching-accepting" model.

Students are the main body and masters of the classroom. They have transformed from passive listeners to active participants.

Because "action is not the completion of knowledge", but "the beginning of knowledge".

Our teachers must fully reflect the dominant position of students in class and create situations to give students more room for display. If we want students to "engage", "hands-on" and "research".

As teachers, we must first change ourselves from "teachers" to "research teachers." Although I cannot become a "great people's educator" like Tao Xingzhi, I can engage in my teaching career with his innocent heart of "coming with a heart in hand and leaving without a blade of grass".