Portrait of Wang Yangming in Shen Jun in Ming Dynasty
Mr. Yangming is one of the "Three Immortals" recognized in the history of China, and he is a saint in the mind of later Confucian scholars in psychology. It's a pity that every day is a holiday, and I died suddenly at the age of 57. It's really a pity. If God can let him live for another ten or twenty years, his mind will be purer and many unnecessary disputes will be avoided for future generations.
I'm not a doctor. I'm also a doctor. I'm afraid it is difficult to infer the reason for Mr. Yangming's short life from several records. But I have studied Yangming's mind for many years and am familiar with Mr. Yang's deeds. I want to talk about this problem from the historical records of Mr. Yang Ming.
First, from the perspective of family inheritance, Mr. Yang Ming seems to have a large proportion of maternal inheritance. According to the Chronicle of Wang Yangming, the life span of Mrs. Centai, Mr. Yangming's grandmother, is 10 1 year, even today. Grandfather Zhu (Wang Lun) enjoys a life of about 70 years old, which is not short-lived. Wang Hua, the father of Mr. Yangming, died at the age of 77. Wang Hua could have lived longer because his mother was so sad when she died. At her mother's funeral, she walked barefoot for several miles, fell ill with a cold and died soon. However, Mr. Yang Ming's mother Zheng did not live long, only 4 1 year. Therefore, Yangming may accept his mother's inheritance more. By the way, Zhan Ruoshui, Yangming's best friend in his life, lived to be 95 years old. There are so many people around who live long, but it's a pity that Mr. Yangming only lived to be 57 years old.
Wang Yangming's father, Wang Hua (right), was the number one scholar in Chenghua for seventeen years.
Second, Mr. Yang Ming has been keen on thinking since he was a child, that is, what we said is a little "unwilling to die", which often makes him think too much and lose his spirit. He was born in a Confucian family and received Confucian education since childhood. But because of his great talent, traditional Confucian education can't explain the problems in his mind. So he began to contact Buddhism and Taoism at the age of 8. In the Complete Works of Wang Yangming, he answered people's questions about immortals, in which he said, "It has been more than 30 years since I was born at the age of 8." The so-called "immortal", that is, the Taoist doctrine we are talking about today, was called "immortal home" at that time.
When Yangming was about 20 years old, he was very interested in the Confucian theory of "Wu Ge" and read all Zhu's works. One day, he remembered Zhu's saying that "everything must be fine outside and thick inside, and every grass and tree contains true feelings", so he sat quietly in front of bamboo for seven days in his father's office, and finally nothing came out, and he was seriously ill. Therefore, his early habit of overthinking damaged his health.
Third, the ups and downs of his career made him suffer a lot and damaged his health. In the twelfth year of Hongzhi (1499), Yangming took the exam, "awarded the second person in Nangong, the seventh person in the second Jinshi, and observed the political work department", and embarked on his official career. He was determined to do something beneficial to the country and the people, but Zhu Jiadi refused to give him the chance.
In the year of Zheng Deyuan (1506), Yangming was sentenced to 40 years' imprisonment and exiled to Guizhou Longchang Post Office as a post servant for wronging Dai, Bo and others persecuted by eunuch Liu Jin. The court staff of the Ming Dynasty killed people. It is lucky that Yangming was not killed by a club in the 40 th court, but his body suffered great damage and may have left the root of the disease.
He lived in Longchang, Guizhou for more than a year. At that time, Longchang was a place where "there was a poisonous furuncle among the thorns in Shan Ye". At one time, Yang Ming and his servants had to live in caves. This makes him not a strong body, and suffering from cold and humidity will undoubtedly damage his health. At that time, he was in the prime of life, which means that this kind of injury will appear when he is older.
Statue of Wang Yangming and his disciples in front of Yangming Cave in Guizhou
In the sixth year of Jiajing (1527), the court brought back Yangming, who had taught in his hometown for six years, and put down the rebellion in Cenmeng, Tianzhou, Guangxi. At that time, Yangming's lung disease was already very serious. He refused several times, but was not approved, so he had to go sick. After putting down the rebellion, Yangming moved to the court, but the court's will was delayed. Due to the deterioration of his health, he had to start classes without approval. On the way home, the illness got worse. Before returning to his hometown, he died in Nan 'an, Jiangxi.
Mr. Yangming was in poor health all his life. He suffered from lung disease in his early years and eventually died of it. But at the age of 1 1, he was determined to become a sage, and he was enlightened in Longchang at the age of 37. In the next 20 years, he is determined to give lectures, communication psychology. However, the court made him an official, suppressed bandits and counterinsurgency. After his meritorious service, he often gets no reward and is falsely accused by a villain. He is a master of psychology. He is in poor health, but he has a very strong heart. His life is not long, but he has done things that countless longevity people can't do, and he has become a "three immortal" figure in the history of China.