The Derivative Process of Wang Yangming's Philosophy of Mind in His Travel Works

Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, Yangming Philosophy of Mind has emerged as a Confucian trend, representing the confluence of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism in Chinese intellectual history. It has directly influenced the literati society of the late Ming. To this day, it remains one of the major subjects in traditional philosophical thought research. However, Yangming Philosophy of Mind did not suddenly emerge overnight with the “Awakening at Longchang”; rather, it gradually developed through Wang Yangming's life experiences and became an inner journey experience. Based on Mencius' perspective of “understanding a person by understanding their times,” this paper employs modern Western “literary sociology” to analyze the author, their works, and the social context. The focus is on Wang Yangming's surviving prose travelogues and landscape poetry to explore the origins of his philosophy of mind and the trajectory of his inner thoughts.