What is Wang Yangming?
{{Infobox person | name = Wang Yangming | image = Wang-yang-ming.jpg | birth_name = Wang Shouren | birth_date = 31 October 1472 | birth_place = [[Zhejiang Province]] | death_date = 9 January 1529 | nationality = [[Chinese people|Chinese]] | era = Daiei }} '''Wang Yangming''' (31 October 1472 &ndash; 9 January 1529), or '''Bo'an''', was a Chinese philosopher, official, educationist, calligraphist, and general during the [[Ming dynasty]]. == History == He was born with the name '''Wang Shouren''' (王守仁) in the [[Zhejiang Province]]. He was known for his idealistic interpretation of neo-Confucianism, which was said to have a deeper effect on the philosophical thinking in East Asia for centuries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Ming/ming-literature.html|title=Ming period literature, thought and philosophy (www.chinaknowledge.de)|last=Ulrich Theobald|website=www.chinaknowledge.de|language=en|access-date=2017-10-17}}</ref> ===Military career=== Wang became a successful general and was known for the strict discipline he used on his troops. In 1517 and 1518, in response to petitions to suppress peasant revolts in [[Jiangxi]], [[Fujian]], and [[Guangdong]] provinces, Yangming asked the court to allow amnesty. This allowed Yangming to successfully defeat the rebel forces. ==Influence== Yangming influenced many'','' some including Lin Zexu, and Mao Zedong. He also was an influence to Tōgō Heihachirō, who won a decisive victory in the [[Russo-Japanese War]], as Heihachirō created a stamp commemorating Yangming shortly after the war. There is also a mountain in [[Japan]] named after him, called Yangmingshan. === Theory === {{Main|Unity of knowledge and action}} He thought that '''Knowledge is action, action is knowledge(知行合一)'''.His main idea is '''the extension of innate knowledge(致良知).'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://philpapers.org/browse/wang-yangming|title=Wang Yangming - Bibliography - PhilPapers|website=philpapers.or