Li Zhi (1527— 1602),No. Zhuowu, was born in Jinjiang, Quanzhou, Fujian Province, and had been doing business for generations. Its ancestors moved to Fujian after the Yuan Dynasty. At the age of 26, he was promoted, and after more than 20 years, he was transferred to various places to be middle and lower officials.
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.
Li Zhi's deviant and anti-traditional thoughts are mainly reflected in the following aspects.
(1) attacked Zhu Cheng Neo-Confucianism, which was highly praised by feudal rulers.
Li Zhi attacked Confucian classics and the study of Confucius and Mencius, which were regarded as golden rules by feudal rulers, and expressed great contempt for Confucian classics such as Six Classics, Analects of Confucius and Mencius. He believes that these are not the words of saints, but the praise and flattery of future generations, and cannot be regarded as eternal truths? .
These works are essays by ignorant disciples and pedantic disciples at that time, and most of them are not the words of saints. Even the words of saints are only temporary medicine stones, and cannot be "all-encompassing words".
In such articles as Burning Books, Continuing Burning Books, Introduction to the Holy Religion, and Inscription of Confucius in Zhifu Courtyard, he belittled Confucius in a playful and ironic style, which was a bold move in the era of respecting Confucius as the most holy teacher.
He said: "No one in the world is ignorant, nothing is ignorant, and no moment is ignorant." Everyone can be sacred. Li Zhi opposed the deification of Confucius by the theory of "knowledge", and denied the traditional thought based on Confucius from the perspective of cognitive ability and cognitive source, which played a progressive role in emancipating the mind.
He said that a person is born for his own use, so don't wait to give it to Confucius. If you must be satisfied with Confucius, you will never be a human being without Confucius before the ages. Resolutely oppose Confucius' view of right and wrong as the criterion for judging right and wrong.
Li Zhi denied the orthodox position of Confucianism, denied that the Tao of Confucius and Mencius was the "eternal theory" of "ancient and modern Taoism", and thought that it could not be applied casually as a dogma. Six Classics, Analects of Confucius and Mencius are the ammunition of Taoism and the cradle of dummies. Li Zhi's criticism of Confucius and the Tao of Confucius and Mencius has indeed reached the point of "being sacred".
(2) Oppose neo-Confucianism's empty talk about righteousness.
Li Zhi hates the hypocrisy of maintaining feudal ethics, and hates those Taoists and hypocrites who are full of benevolence, righteousness and morality. Expose the ugly faces of Taoists and point out that they are all hypocrites. "Their name is Ren Shan, but they talk about morality with businessmen, but they insist on wearing it." Benevolence and morality are just masks to cover up their meanness. "They think they are rich, but they don't want to be corrected externally, but they really want to be proud of it and cover themselves up with things of morality and justice."
He also accused those so-called Taoists of being too famous and protecting too much. "There are many evils in reality, but there is no evil in ambition; This is selfish, but it is committed to fraternity and fraternity; " It's ok to stick to your point of view, but you can't just talk without practice. "Such a hypocrite whose words and deeds are inconsistent is not as real as an' ordinary person' and a' Tian Li writer', so why say anything?
He further accused Taoists of being a group of hypocritical hypocrites, saying that "Yang is the Tao, Yin is the wealth, well dressed, and behaves like a dog". Taoism is full of benevolence and morality. In fact, they use Taoism as a stepping stone to "cheat the world and gain benefits" and seek high officials and generous salaries for themselves. They "talk about morality, but in their hearts they think about high officials and generous salaries."
Li Zhi admitted personal desires, "A selfish person has a person's heart, and his heart can only be seen if he has a private life". "Making friends is the most important thing in the world", which holds that the exchange relationship and business transactions between people conform to heaven.
He disagreed with the statement that "doing the right thing is not good for himself, and knowing the right thing is not merit", and thought that any human behavior has its purpose of making profits and counting merits. Dong Zhongshu's propaganda of "just its meaning" and "clear its way" is also utilitarian.
From the utilitarian point of view, Li Zhi advocated enriching Qiang Bing. He criticized the neo-Confucianists' behavior as "talking about life and metaphysics, turning a deaf ear to the suffering of the people all over the world, but describing financial management as turbid". He pointed out: "People who don't talk about financial management can never rule the world."
In view of the proposition of orthodox Neo-Confucianism, he put forward the proposition that "dressing and eating is the principle of human relations" and thought that "reason" challenged orthodox thoughts in people's daily life.
(3) Advocating individual liberation, equality and freedom.
Li Zhi has been fighting for personality liberation and freedom of thought all his life.
He despises traditional authority and dares to criticize it. Since childhood, I have been "stubborn and hard to change, not believing in learning, not believing in Taoism, and not believing in immortal interpretation."
He believes that a person should have his own political opinions and ideas, and should not blindly follow others. "Shi Gui as you like, as you like. If you don't adapt yourself to other people's ways, although Boyi and Shu Qi are both dissolute. " I don't know if I am for myself, but for the people, although Yao and Shun are dirt and chaff.
In his view, in order to realize personality liberation and freedom of thought, it is necessary to break the monopoly position of Confucius and Mencius and its variant Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties, and break through all kinds of ideological forbidden zones set by feudal classics. He advocates that everyone should be self-righteous.
In order to break the standard of right and wrong put forward by Confucius and Mencius, Li Zhi compiled the book collection sequel, and re-evaluated historical figures with his own standard of right and wrong.
Li Zhi believes that according to the principle of the integration of all things, there is no distinction between high and low in society. Ordinary people are not humble, but they have their own merits; Marquis nobles are not noble, but also have their humble places.
Li Zhi opposed discrimination against women and expressed deep sympathy for women under the oppression of feudal ethics. He speaks for women. Li Zhi criticized the saying that women's opinions are as short as men's opinions are long.
When someone said that "women are short-sighted and can't learn", he retorted that people's knowledge is determined by their environment, not innate.
Li Zhi advocated freedom of marriage and warmly praised the love story of Zhuo Wenjun and Sima Xiangru.
Li Zhi is the banner of the enlightenment thought in the late Ming Dynasty, and he is a madman and a strange man who is famous all over the world for his "strange talk and strange theory". He advocates truth and strangeness and crazy Zen, exposing the false reality of "nothing is false" and "all houses are false" in feudal society.
Li Zhi's heresy and challenge to authority involved the root of feudal morality, which made him in the focus of contradictions of the times, caused fierce debates between the ruling and opposition parties and was brutally retaliated by the rulers. All his works were destroyed. At the age of 70, I was arrested, convicted and finally died in prison.
In the last chapter of Fifteen Years of Wanli, Huang Renyu dedicated it to Li Zhi and said, "Li Zhi's tragedy belongs not only to an individual, but also to the era in which he lived. Traditional politics has solidified, and a new life like the Reformation or Renaissance cannot be nurtured in such an environment.
The social environment compresses the individual's intellectual freedom to a very small extent, and people's honesty and integrity can only grow into a bush, not a jungle. "
Li Zhi's life is full of reflection on tradition and history, and his deviant behavior is the concentrated embodiment of the social ideological reform in the late Ming Dynasty.