This book offers a dynamic portrayal of the preeminent Neo-Confucian Wang Yangming's philosophy of the heartmind. Through the life and times of this prodigious Ming Dynasty figure, from his early literary achievements and pursuit of Buddhist and Daoist ideals to his later success in warfare, virtuous leadership, and tragic struggle against dynastic corruption, the author traces the many stages of the development and application of Wang’s Confucian thinking. Its systematic study of the context through which Wang’s thought matured and was received includes detailed accounts of his inheritance of earlier heartmind philosophy and his pedagogical as well as personal relations with many distinguished disciples. A concise edition of the author’s three-volume Biography of Yangming: The Redemption of Mind, this book draws on a wealth of new information to overturn the traditional understanding of Wang Yangming that dominated the past 500 years.

Shu Jingnan, a professor and doctoral advisor of the Ancient Books Institute of Zhejiang University and a senior expert of Zhejiang Province. Professor Shu specializes in Confucianism.