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Peng, Shih-weng, who was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi, declined to serve the Qing government after the Ming Dynasty came to the end. Instead, Pang withdrew from the society living in privacy as one of the nine scholars of Yi-Tong. Afterwards, Peng, Shih-weng dedicated himself in lecturing and writing, advocating the philosophy of governing in accordance with people’s real needs. The thesis aims to explore the true meaning lying within Peng, Shih-weng’s contentions from the perspectives of Peng, Shih-weng’s life experiences, what he encountered and the times he lived in order to understand Peng, Shih-weng’s inner world as one of the remained people of the Ming dynasty and to evaluate the value Peng, Shih-weng represents. The thesis is divided into six chapters.
The first chapter delivers the motives, purposes, dimensions and methods of the research.
The second chapter introduces Peng, Shih-weng’s life and acquaintances. That who Peng, Shih-weng really was and what he asserted closely interrelate with his acquaintances and life experiences. As a result, this chapter focuses on Peng, Shih-weng’s life and acquaintances, which can serve as the references for further discussion of Peng, Shin-weng’s contentions.
The third chapter introduces the background of the philosophy of governing in accordance with people’s real needs during the late Ming and early Ching. With the understanding of the background of the philosophy, it provides a basis to know how the environment and times influence the developments of Peng, Shih-weng’s characters and ideas, and it also helps in discovering the basis of Peng, Shih-weng’s ideas.
The fourth chapter focuses on the main ideas of Peng, Shih-weng’s arguments, which is a philosophy of governing in accordance with people’s real needs focusing on “the reality and the practicability.”
The fifth chapter generalizes what meanings Peng, Shih-weng’s ideas represent toward his times, and how later generations judge his contentions.
The sixth chapter synthesizes what discussed in previous chapters. This chapter provides a comprehensive evaluation about Pang’s life experiences and ideas, giving a complete idea of Peng, Shin-weng’s life and his contentions.
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