Gu Yanwu
Gu Yanwu (Chinese: 顧炎武 / 顾炎武) (born July 15, 1613 in Kunshan ; † February 15, 1682 in Quwo ) was originally called Gu Jiang (Chinese: 顧 絳) and also went under the name Gu Tinglin (Chinese: 顧亭林) on. He was a Chinese polymath who studied philology , philosophy , geography , agriculture, politics, and economics. He is assigned to the group of Ming loyalists. Based on his criticism of Neo-Confucianism , he suggested a fundamental reinterpretation of the classical Chinese educational canon with the aid of the method of text analysis he had developed .
Life
Born Gu Jiang, he joined the Fushe Movement at a young age, which called for a renewal of literature at the end of the Ming Dynasty. When he was in his early 30s, the Manchurian Qing Dynasty began to take power in China. As a Ming loyalist, he initially joined the armed resistance against the Manchu in the Nanking area , from which he however withdrew again a short time later. When the Ming Dynasty fell, he changed his first name to Gu Yanwu. Following his stepmother's advice, he never worked as an official for the Qing and at the end of his life declined to participate in the creation of the Ming Dynasty Story, a major Qing Dynasty project. For many years he traveled around China as a teacher and counselor and was the victim of government and private persecution. In his role as a consultant, he participated in projects such as the opening of mines and the development of private banks.
Teaching and works
Gu carefully analyzed the reasons for the fall of the Ming Dynasty. He saw a reason for the downfall in the discourse of neo-Confucian scholars, whom he accused of empty talk. For him, the Confucian classical scripts had been falsified by subsequent comments, especially since the Song era . Using the method of textual criticism and other philological methods, he tried to get a completely different approach to the sources of Confucianism in order to recognize their original meaning. In addition to the classics, only the comments from the Han era were of value to him. Gu demanded substantial and critical scholarship. For him, the acquisition of knowledge should bring practical benefits to society.
In addition to analyzing Confucianism, Gu wrote numerous other works on topics such as water control, currency, taxation and agriculture. He used the knowledge from his numerous travels to create a graphic sketch of China and a treatise on regional peculiarities. His main works include:
- The strategic and economic advantages of regions and states of the empire (Tianxia junguo libingshu)
- Notes on Knowledge Collected Daily (Rizhilu)
- Five books on the study of phonology
Aftermath and souvenirs
With his basic philosophical attitude and methodology, Gu founded the "Han School". Their well-known representatives such as Yan Ruoju (1636–1704) and Hu Wei (1633–1714) proved that parts of the writings and cosmological diagrams that were regarded as classic were forgeries or products of the Song era. Until the 20th century, representatives of the Han school led to controversy with the ruling Song school. The Han school stood out from previous doubters of the canonical scriptures because of its systematics and thoroughness. Gu Yanwu is considered to be the pioneer of a changed methodology of learning in China. This turned to inductive approaches to knowledge acquisition and demanded that knowledge be supported by evidence.
His hometown Kunshan has dedicated a museum in Tinglin Park to him.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Wolfgang Bauer : History of Chinese Philosophy (= Becksche series ). 2nd Edition. Verlag CH Beck, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-59301-7 , p. 300-303 .
- ^ Kai Vogelsang : History of China . 3. Edition. Reclam-Verlag , Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-15-010933-5 , p. 424-425 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gu, Yanwu |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gu Jiang; Gu Tinglin |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Chinese polymath |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 15, 1613 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kunshan |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 15, 1682 |
| Place of death | Quwo |