第一章
Chapter One
泛观博览 止心圣学
A broad academic overview, ending with the study of the mind as sacred
(成化八年至弘治十八年，1472—1505)
(8th year of the Chenghua period to the 18th year of the Hongzhi period, 1472–1505)
王阳明，名守仁，字伯安， 自号阳明山人。明宪宗成化八年九月三十日 (1472 年 10 月 31 日) 出 生于浙江余姚。据说他的母亲郑氏妊娠十四月方始分娩，而在阳明诞生的当天，他的祖母岑氏曾梦见“神 人衣绯玉云中鼓吹，送儿授岑，岑警寤，已闻儿啼”，所以他的祖父便为他取名为“云”，他出生的那座 楼房则被称为“瑞云楼”。
Wang Yangming, given name Shouren, courtesy name Bo‘an, art name Yangming Shanren (t. that is, Yangming, mountain man). He was born on the thirtieth day of the ninth month of the eighth year of the Chenghua period of emperor Ming Xianzong (31 October 1472), in the city of Yuyao in Zhejiang. It is said that his mother, née Zheng, did not deliver until after 14 months of pregnancy, and that on the day of his birth, his grandmother, née Cen, dreamt, “A higher being clad in scarlet on a beautiful cloud proclaimed that a child has been given to Cen, Cen was startled awake, and heard a child crying,” so his grandfather chose the name “Yun” (t. “cloud”) for him, and the building in which he was born was then called “Ruiyun Lou” (t. “Auspicious Cloud Building”).
按照钱德洪 (字洪甫，号绪山，1496— 1574) 等编撰的《阳明年谱》 的记载，阳明的先祖为晋光 禄大夫王览 (字玄通，205—278)，本为瑯琊 (今属山东) 人，至王览的曾孙王羲之 (字逸少，321—379) 始徙居山阴 (今浙江绍兴)；至二十三世迪功郎王寿，则自达溪迁于余姚，遂为余姚人。② 姚江王氏是 显赫的文化世家，其祖上代有才人，门庭荣耀。阳明的曾祖父王杰 (字世杰，号槐里子)，“自为童子即 有志圣贤之学，年十四，尽通四书、五经及宋诸大儒之说”，其为人则“仪观玉立，秀目修髯，望之以为神人。无贤愚戚疏，皆知敬而爱之，言行一以古圣贤为法。” 曾著有《易说》《春秋说》及《周礼 考证》，又有《槐里杂稿》数卷，然皆不传。其祖父王伦 (字天叙，号竹轩，？— 1490)，天性爱竹，于 所居之轩，皆环植以竹，日啸咏其间，“视纷华势利，泊如也”，学者因称其为“竹轩先生”。“于书无所 不读，而尤好观《仪礼》《左氏传》、司马迁《史》。雅善鼓琴，每风月清朗，则焚香操弄数曲，弄罢， 复歌以诗词，而使子弟和之。识者谓其胸次洒落，方之陶靖节、林和靖，无不及焉。” 其父王华 (字 德辉，号实庵，晚号海日翁，因尝读书龙泉山中，学者又称龙山先生，1446— 1522)，在阳明十岁的那 一年，即成化十七年 (1481)，王华登进士第一甲第一名，官至南京吏部尚书。王华为人耿介磊落，学 问深醇，因得罪于刘瑾而被强令致仕。他退居于乡，虽无富贵荣华，却仍甘之如饴。深知其道德文章者 当时传曰：
According to the records of Qian Dehong (courtesy name Hongfu, art name Chushan, 1496-1574) and other compilers in Yangming Nianpu (t. A Biography of Yangming), Yangming’s ancestry went from Guanglu Dafu Wang Lan (courtesy name Xuan Tong, 205-278, t. Guanglu Dafu, a senior minister in a position of honor) of the Jin Dynasty and of Langya (an area in present-day Shandong province), to Wang Lan’s grandson Wang Xizhi (courtesy name Yishao, 321-379), who migrated to Shanyin (present-day Shaoxing city in Zhejiang province), then to 23rd-generation descendant Digong Lang Wang Shou (t. Digong Lang, official who has performed enlightened works), who moved from Daxi to Yuyao, and became a native of the city. Along the Yao River (t. the river that runs through Yuyao), the Wang surname was one of eminently cultured aristocracy, its ancestry containing a scholar in its previous generation; the family’s gate and courtyard showed their illustriousness. Yangming’s paternal grandfather Wangjie (courtesy name Shi Jie, art name Huai Lizi), “Would that his son have his own ambition to become a man of virtue, finishing the Four Books, Five Jing, and Songzhu Daru by age fourteen,” and as for his person, “He maintains a beautiful appearance, with elegant eyes and a well-kept beard. He looks like a higher being from afar. To him there are no intellectuals and fools, nor those close and those distant, he respects and loves all, and his speech and writings both are modeled after the sages of old.” His works include Yi Shuo, Chunqiu Shuo, and Zhouli Kaozheng, as well as several volumes of Huaili Zagao, though these were not preserved. The grandfather, Wang Lun (courtesy name Tian Xu, art name Zhu Xuan, ???? – 1490, t. Zhu Xuan is approximately “bamboo sunlit room”), had an innate love for bamboo, and all the sunlit rooms of his home were adorned with bamboo plants, and these rooms were filled with song during the day, “Seeing these multifarious elegant designs stops me like I’m a boat come to berth,” and his students therefore called him “Mr. Bamboo Window.” “There is not a book he hasn’t read, and he particularly favors Yi Li, Zuoshi Chuan, and Si Maqian’s Shi. He is a proper expert at the Guqin (t. a stringed instrument), and on every clear night with bright moonlight, he burns incense and plucks several songs; when finished plucking, he begins again by singing verse, which is calming to his son and younger brother. The knowledgeable refer to him as openhearted and carefree, and upstanding as Tao Jingjie and Lin Hejing, with no one above him.” The father, Wang Hua (courtesy name Dehui, art name Shi An, post-retirement art name Hai Riweng; additionally, because he had once practiced reading on Longquan Shan, his students called him “Mr. Dragon Mountain,” 1446-1522, t. Longquan Shan may be translated as Dragon/Emperor Wellspring Mountain), during Yangming’s tenth year, which was also the 17th year of the Chenghua period (1481), became a scholar (t. via the Imperial Civil Service Examination) with the highest score in the highest stratum, and became an official at the ministry in Nanjing. Wang Hua was forthright and honest with people, had deep and profound scholarship, and was later forcibly ordered to resign his post after offending Liu Jin (t. A eunuch of the emperor). He retired to his hometown, and, despite having neither riches nor fame, continued living happily. A writer who deeply understood his (t. Wang Hua’s) virtue at the time, purportedly said:
先生 (王华) 气质醇厚，平生无矫言饰行，仁恕坦直，不立边幅。与人无众寡大小，待之如 一。谈笑言议，由衷而发，广庭之论，入对妻孥， 曾无两语。人有片善，称之不容 口。有急难来控 者，恻然若身陷于沟井，忘己拯救之，虽以此招谤取嫌，亦不恤。然于人有过恶，亦直言规切，不 肯少回曲，以是往往反遭嫉忌，然人亦知其实心无他，则亦无有深之者。先生才识宏达，无所不可，而操持坚的，屹不可动。百务纷沓，应之沛然，未尝见其有难处之事。至临危疑振荡，众多披靡惶 恐，而先生毅然卓立，然未尝以此自表见，故人之知者罕矣。为诗文皆信笔立就，不事雕刻，但取 词达而止。所著有《龙山稿》《垣南草堂稿》《礼经大义》诸书，《杂录》《进讲余抄》等稿，共四十 六卷。
This man (Wang Hua) has a pure and honest disposition, never mincing words or hiding the truth, benevolent and straightforward, not creating a persona. He treated people and groups of any size or status the same. His speech, both casual and formal, came from the heart. In his public speaking, he did not overlook wives and children. He had a certain aptitude, though it is not easy to describe. He mitigated crises; he empathized like his own body had fallen down a well; he was a selfless savior; though he thereby courted slander and suspicion, he disregarded them. However, to those who were truly evil, he admonished them directly, not allowing any crookedness. This paradoxically brought jealousy upon him; they (t. the jealous) knew his sincere heart felt not for himself, and there were none profound among them. He was erudite and prudent, for him nothing was impossible, and he stayed the course in his actions, an unshakable mountain. Many issues came to him, and he responded to them in kind, without first seeing what difficulties they may harbor. When many were wavering with doubt before a crisis, their fears were placated, and the man (t. Wang Hua) stood resolutely; although I do not have a firsthand account of this, there are a few of my friends who do. As for his poetry and writings, they are all true, and he writes with speed and accuracy, not needing correction, though his words chosen are expressive and concise. His writings total 46 volumes, including various books Longshan Gao, Yuannan Caotang Gao, and Lijing Dayi, as well as Za Lu, Jinjiang Yuchao, and other manuscripts.
NJS Translation 