Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings
Translated by Wing-tsit Chan
Columbia University Press, New York, 1963
First written early 16th century
About this text
Chan’s translation of the Chuanxilu, the record of Wang Yangming’s conversations and letters, with his Inquiry on the Great Learning: the mind as principle, the extension of innate knowing, and the unity of knowledge and action.
How to cite
Wang Yangming. Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings: by Wang Yang-ming. Translated by Wing-tsit Chan. Columbia University Press, New York, 1963.
Cite this entry
“Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings.” Source. The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society. Last modified November 7, 2026. https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/sources/instructions-practical-living-chan.
“Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings,” source, The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, last modified November 7, 2026, https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/sources/instructions-practical-living-chan.
“Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings.” The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, 7 Nov. 2026, www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/sources/instructions-practical-living-chan.
@misc{sources-instructions-practical-living-chan, title = {{Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings}}, howpublished = {The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society}, note = {Source. Last modified November 7, 2026}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/sources/instructions-practical-living-chan} }
Traditions
Concepts
- LiangzhiInnate knowing of the good, which Wang Yangming made the heart of his teaching.
- XinThe heart-mind: in Chinese thought, the seat of both feeling and understanding.
- Li (principle)In Neo-Confucianism, the principle or pattern that makes each thing what it is.
- RenHumaneness: the Confucian virtue of being fully human toward others.