📚 Wang Yangming (1472–1529) was a rare figure in Chinese history: a philosopher, a general, and an educator.

After openly condemning corruption, he was exiled to a remote frontier—where, at his lowest point, he had a breakthrough: truth isn’t found only in books, but in the human mind; and if you understand something but don’t act on it, you don’t truly understand it.

He went on to articulate three core ideas—“the mind is principle,” “the unity of knowledge and action,” and “extending innate moral knowing”

—which can be summed up as: look inward for what’s true, turn insight into action, and protect your conscience in everyday choices. His philosophy relies less on memorizing doctrine and more on practice and self-reflection. It shaped thought and education across China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula, and still reads today like a set of practical, actionable principles.

He is widely regarded as one of the most important Confucian thinkers, alongside Confucius, Mencius, and Zhu Xi.

Author and Contribution By Zhao Yueling: The book is authored by Zhao Yueling.

Translated by Xiao Xu and Xiao Chen: The book is translated by Xiao Xu and Xiao Chen.