Enlightenment at Longchang
Longchang is located in Xiuwen County of Guizhou Province. Wang Yangming (1472-1529), a thinker of the Ming Dynasty, was relegated to this place, which turned to be a blessing in disguise since he had an epiphany and opened up a new way of thinking. This is the famous event "Enlightenment at Long-chang" in the Chinese history of thought.
In 1506 (the first year of the Zhengde Era during the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty), Wang Yangming, demoted for opposing the powerful eunuch Liu Jin, was transferred to serve at a courier station in Longchang. Longchang was located between the domains of two powerful chieftains, so the political situation there was complicated. Danger abounded and life in general was extremely difficult. At one time, he had no alternative but to live in a cave where he spent a lot of time in meditation.
Wang reflected day and night and it dawned upon him that the mind is the key to understanding everything, so he proposed the idea that "the mind is principle". During his stay in Xiuwen County, Wang produced one of his early representative works about the mind, Doctrines to Scholars at Longchang, as well as proses such as Condolence on People Buried in a Foreign Land and On the Shrine of Xiang.
The Yangming Cave, located in the Qixia Mountain to the east of Xiuwen County, was put on the sixth list of national cultural heritage sites by the State Council in 2006. There are several buildings of the Qing Dynasty and many stone inscriptions beside the cave. This is also where Zhang Xueliang was once placed under house arrest by Chiang Kai-shek during the Republic of China period.
龙场悟道
龙场位于贵州省修文县。明朝思想家王阳明(1472-1529)曾被贬至此,却因祸得福、突然顿悟,开辟了一条新的思想道路。这就是中国思想史上著名的“龙场悟道”。
明武宗正德元年(1506),王阳明因反对宦官刘瑾被贬为龙场驿丞。龙场当时处于两大土司之间,政治复杂、险象环生,生活条件极为艰苦。有一段时间,他甚至只能寄居山洞,面壁思考。
王阳明在艰难困顿中日夜反省而顿悟,认为心是感应万事万物的根本,提出“心即理”的命题。在修文期间,王阳明写下了早期心学代表作《教条示龙场诸生》以及《瘗旅文》《象祠记》等诗文。
阳明洞位于修文县城东栖霞山,2006年被国务院公布为第六批全国重点文物保护单位之一。洞旁现存清代建筑数座,石刻题咏甚多,民国时期张学良曾被蒋介石软禁于此。
