Part 1 – Wang Yangming
Wang Yangming writing question. Wang Yangming was the last of the great Confucian scholarly “Masters.” While Yangming had a great deal of thoughts on many things, he is perhaps best remembered for his notion of the unity of knowledge and action. Put simply, he believed that you could not separate thought from action. People did not truly know something unless and until they put it into action. Furthermore, not acting or failure to act in moral circumstances, where it might be necessary to do what is right, meant that you did not truly know what is right in the first place. Make references where necessary. Make references where necessary.
Question 1: Evaluate this theory in your own words. Do you agree with it? Disagree? Agree with some and disagree with some?
Part 2 – Kangxi’s valedictory decree
Nearing the end of his life, the Kangxi emperor issued his famous valedictory decree. It contains the sort of parting thoughts of an emperor approaching the end of his life.
Question 2: What is your impression of Kangxi? What does this letter reveal about his personality?
Question 3: Which bit of advice on rulership, given by Kangxi, do you wish our own modern leaders would adopt?
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