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Ningbo steps up efforts to promote Wang Yangming philosophy

Updated:2019-11-04 (chinadaily.com.cn)

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The ground-breaking ceremony for an ancient town named after Wang Yangming, a Chinese Neo-Confucian philosopher, is held in Yuyao, Ningbo on Nov 3. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

An ancient town named after Wang Yangming began construction in Ningbo on Nov 3.

Wang Yangming (1472–1529) was a Chinese statesman, general, and Neo–Confucian philosopher born in Yuyao, Ningbo. He was a leading critic of the orthodox Neo–Confucianism espoused by Zhu Xi (1130–1200).

The ground-breaking ceremony is part of a cultural week launched by the city to mark Wang's 547th birthday, which falls on Oct 31 every year.

The event will be held from Oct 30 to Nov 5 and will include activities such as poetry recitals, calligraphy exhibitions, and cultural and creative contests.

The town is situated in the downtown area of Yuyao, a county-level city in Ningbo, and has a planned area of 529 mu (35.26 hectares).

With an investment of 13.9 billion yuan ($2.07 billion), the town is designed to boost the research, promotion, and dissemination of Wang Yangming's ideas.

Zheng Shanjie, Party chief of Ningbo, noted at the ceremony that Yangming culture is an important part of Chinese traditional culture, and Wang's doctrine of the "unity of knowing and acting” serves as the core of his philosophy.

He added that Ningbo, inspired by the doctrine, has achieved remarkable accomplishments in recent years, and is encouraging the promotion of his ideas.

Gao Xiang, deputy head of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed that that Wang has a very important position in the history of Chinese philosophy and stressed the need to study the traditional Chinese culture.

He pledged that CASS will further cooperate with Ningbo in that regard.

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