Yang Jian
Yang Jian (楊簡, 1141–1226) was a Confucian scholar of the Southern Song dynasty in China. His courtesy name was Jingzhong (敬仲), and he was a native of Cixi (慈溪, present-day Ningbo) in Mingzhou (明州). People called him Master Cihu (慈湖先生). He made a great contribution to the development of Xin Learning
Born~Died 1141 ~ 1226Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 2:51 PM
Details
- Born ~ Died
- 1141 ~ 1226
- Born
- 1141, Cixi, Mingzhou (present-day Ningbo)
- Died
- 1226
- Gender
- Male
- Nationality
- Southern Song
- Occupation
- Confucian scholar
Yang Jian (楊簡, 1141–1226) was a Confucian scholar of the Chinese Southern Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Jingzhong (敬仲), and he was a native of Cixi (慈溪, present-day Ningbo) in Mingzhou (明州). People called him Master Cihu (慈湖先生). He made a great contribution to the development of Xin Learning (心學) in China. Yang Jian was the most outstanding disciple of Lu Jiuyuan, and faithfully inherited and developed the core of the Shangshan school (象山學).1
Life
He passed the imperial examination (進士) in the fifth year of the Qiandao (乾道) era (1169), and was appointed as Secretary of Fuyang (富陽主簿). He took Lu Jiuyuan as his teacher. Lu Jiuyuan emphasized a concrete and practical attitude, and taught that one should take as the method of learning the idea that "the commentary on the Six Classics lies within oneself" (六經註我). He also asserted "do not intend" (毋意), "do not think" (無念), and "to be without thought and without deliberation is the Dao-mind" (無思無慮是謂道心). After the debate between Zhu Xi and Lu Xiangshan, Zhu Xi evaluated Yang Jian harshly and regarded him as a "heretic."2 The treacherous minister Shi Miyuan was a disciple of Yang Jian at that time, yet he devoted all his efforts to promoting Zhu Xi's Collected Commentaries on the Four Books.
At the beginning of the Ningzong reign, he entered public service as magistrate (知縣) of Wenzhou (溫州, present-day Wenzhou), and was an incorruptible official. "He strove to transform the people through virtue."3 He was loved by the local people, and his office rose to Academician of the Baomo Pavilion (寶謨閣學士); after his death he received the posthumous name Wenyuan (文元).
Thought
In the fifth year of Qiandao (1169), at Fuyang (富陽), he first attended Lu Jiuyuan's lecture gathering and engaged in questions and answers concerning the two characters "original mind" (本心). It is said that at that time he awakened to the clarity of the mind and realized that the mind was unobstructed (無所不通, nothing that is not penetrated). Thereafter he studied and cultivated Lu Jiuyuan's learning for the rest of his life.
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Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 2:51 PM · r82385 · Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.