Abstract
Although Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind declined and fell into disrepute in the early Qing dynasty, it continued to exert a significant influence on the development of ancient prose. Wei Xi (16241681) was among the early Qing scholars deeply shaped by Wang Yangming's thought. Wang's life, his doctrine of “the unity of knowledge and action”, and his practical moral concerns profoundly informed Wei Xi's intellectual orientation. In his theory of ancient prose, Wei Xi emphasized the cultivation of the writer's moral character prior to composition and placed comparatively less emphasis on technical aspects of writing. His notions of “partial perfection” and the “accumulative relationship between knowledge and practice” clearly reflect the influence of Wang Yangming's philosophy of the mind. Wei Xi's essay style - marked by the “counselor (ceshi)” mode - was also closely related to Wang Yangming's way of thinking and writing. However, many early evaluations of Wei Xi's ancient prose have failed to align with his ideological background. Immersed in Wang Yangming's study of the mind, Wei Xi valued authenticity of character and rejected artificial imitation, thereby developing a distinctive style of his own. Uncovering the long-overlooked intellectual ties between early Qing prose and Wang Yangming's thought allows for a fuller appreciation of the diverse and dynamic literary landscape of the early Qing Dynasty.
Keywords
Wang Yangming's study of the mind, ancient prose of the early Qing dynasty, Wei Xi, theory on ancient prose, diversified style
First Page
141
Last Page
153
Recommended Citation
Zhu, Zebao. 2025. "The Relationship between Wang Yangming's Philosophy of Mind and the Ancient Prose of the Early Qing Dynasty: Focusing on Weixi's Ancient Prose." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 45, (5): pp.141-153. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol45/iss5/17
