Wan Biao is a military commander, philosopher, and poet during the Zhengde and Jiajing periods of the Ming Dynasty. He is also a hero against Japanese pirates and a patriot. Such multiple identities are rare in history. Wan Biao belongs to the Yangming School of philosophy, and Huang Zongxi wrote a biography for him in his Mingru Xue'an. There have not been many researches on Wan Biao's Xinxue(the Philosophy of Mind). His book Wanluting Gao which includes 332 poems has not yet attracted academic attention. Wan Biao's poetics has a profound relationship with his Xinxue, both trying to combine Confucianism and Buddhism. His Xinxue is also related to the doctrine of Zen Buddhism. Wan Biao regards Xin (mind) and Buddha as aliases for Benti (noumenon). Benti is implemented at the human level as Xin and Buddha at the level of transcendence. He thinks that human emotions are the natural flow and functioning of Xinti (mind noumenon), while Benti itself is constantly empty and lonely. One can return to Benti through the functioning of Xinti and the flow of emotions, so as to obtain transcendence. Wan Biao's poems attach great importance to feeling, which is related to his philosophical thought of committing himself to the natural burst of emotion. At the same time, he advocates an idea of reaching Benti through the poems of feeling, which is in line with his Xinxue thought of returning to Benti by the natural flow of Xinti. Wan Biao argued that people should not curb natural emotions originating from the Benti, so his poetry can create a touching world of love. Based on the consciousness of Benti, Wan Biao can obtain some kind of a liberation from the negative burdens of the emotional world. Wan Biao's poetry opened up a deep, broad and subtle spiritual world to people. He is a hard seeker, a scholarly general who takes morality and responsibility as his duty, and a wise man who regards hardship as a place of enlightenment. His poems express the emotions of the natural flow of the Xinti, prying into the noumenal existence from the outpouring of the emotion, regarding the impeding as being detached and turning pains into serenity. It is extremely philosophical. Wan Biao's poems are straightforward and rarely use allusions, but they faithfully record his own life and spiritual understanding. From the perspective of the history of poetry, Wan Biao belongs to the precursors of the late Ming Xingling School. If it is only in terms of poetry, Wan Biao is hardly an influential poet compared with his contemporary Seven Poets. But from his poems we can see the glory of the human nature and the power of its transcendence. The dilemma of human life is the same throughout times. In this sense, although Wan Biao's poetics of the soul was not important in his time, it has the value of resurrection for today. The philosophical wisdom of Wan Biao's poetics can not only be explained by poetry, but also have profound inspirations for people who face the impetuous and utilitarian spiritual dilemma today. This is the true value of Wan Biao's poetics.
武道房. 明代儒将万表的心学与诗学[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2020, 6(6): 80-.
Wu Daofang. Xinxue and Poetics of the Scholarly General Wan Biao of the Ming Dynasty. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2020, 6(6): 80-.