According to this standard, there are currently two and a half ancient saints recognized in China: Confucius and Wang Yangming; The last "semi-saint" was Zeng Guofan, a famous minister in the late Qing Dynasty.
Confucius, Great Sage-Confucius mentioned Confucius, which is well known in China and even the whole Chinese world. Confucius, as the founder of the traditional Confucian school in China, has been called a "saint" by scholars from the Spring and Autumn Period to the end of modern feudal society.
Confucius pioneered the practice of private teaching. He received more than 3,000 disciples in his life, 72 of whom were "sages". He led some disciples around the world for thirteen years. Confucius advocated benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith. In his later years, he revised the Six Classics: Poetry, Calligraphy, Ceremony, Yue, Yi, Spring and Autumn Period. After his death, his disciples and re-disciples recorded his words, deeds and thoughts and compiled The Analects.
Unity of knowledge and action-Wang Yangming's real name is Wang Shouren and posthumous title Yangming. The reason why he can be recognized as a saint like Confucius is mainly because he founded a new school-Yangming's Mind, and his Biography is also an important work of Mind.
As a scholar who grew up reading Confucian classics, Wang Yangming upgraded and extended Confucianism. Yangming's theory of mind, which he founded, opposed the unchangeable precept of Confucius and Mencius, blindly followed feudal ethics and emphasized individual initiative. He put forward the philosophical proposition of "to conscience" and the methodology of "unity of knowledge and action".
Yangming's theory of mind, after it was founded, was highly sought after and became one of the mainstream theories in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. Moreover, Yangming's theory of mind was later spread to Japan, which had a great influence on Japan and East Asia.
"Semi-Saint"-Zeng Guofan is a great figure in the history of China. Although his qualifications are average, he has made up for his congenital deficiency through his continuous efforts. During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, Zeng Guofan formed the Xiang Army. After years of fighting, he turned the tide and wiped out the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Throughout his life, he pursued patience as the first priority, and advocated that everything should be frugal and not proud of being an official. He cultivated self-discipline, sought officials by virtue, put courtesy first, and sought politics by loyalty, and achieved great success in officialdom.
Zeng Guofan met the criteria for selecting saints in both merits and demerits. The reason why he is called a semi-saint is that he lacks the ability to make statements. Although he also wrote classic works such as "Learning Tao Jing", "The Technique of Teaching Family" and "An Ice Guide", he did not have his own theory and academic system, because he was on the road of becoming a saint.