| dc.description.abstract | A Study on Fang Zhenru and the Political Conditions of the Late Ming Dynasty
Abstract
The imperial court was flooded with kinds of officials in Late-Ming Dynasty. Some like Fang Zhenru were loyal to the imperial government; others were ganged up for private gain. There were the conflicts in Ming government and factional conflicts between different parties and groups. There were different views and value judgments for different parties and groups in various periods, however, Fang Zhenru acted in accordance with his beliefs and he managed to save the critical situation of politics on the verge of collapse.
Although Fang Zhenru was from a well-off family in his early years, he was fortunately to be an apprentice of Lo Takuan and came into contact with religion. Therefore, he could accommodate himself to circumstances. Fang Zhenru had stood to sense and had perfect virtue, but his official career was rough in his early age.
While Fang Zhenru as an inspection senior official in Liaodong, he managed to save Liaodong from being occupied. While he led the army and people against the enemy in Shouzhou, he kept Shouzhou from falling into enemy′s hands. The leader of enemy Tsu Tashou was summoned to surrender because of the political pathos of Fang. Fang Zhenru was an excellent talent, but he was too kind to be a machiavellian. He won′t exploit his position and power to seek personal gain and was subjected to political persecution in the end. Fang had established a model of politician with moral integrity for later generations.
Faced with the coming of the crisis, Fang Zhenru had the integrity of an intellectual ; upright in character , he had his lines firmly drawn. Fang was modest, open-minded and tolerant, but he had not the aggression nor manipulation that makes a politician. His personal integrity and legacy was unhelpful to the troubled Late-Ming Dynasty.
Key words: Political Conditions of the Late Ming Dynasty, Battle of Liaodong, Fang Zhenru, Donglin Intellectuals, Three Cases of the Late Ming Dynasty | en_US |