PHILOSOPHER

Wang Yangming

1472 - 1529

Photo of Wang Yangming

Icon of person Wang Yangming

Wang Shouren (Chinese: 王守仁, 26 October 1472 – 9 January 1529), courtesy name Bo'an (Chinese: 伯安), art name Yangmingzi (traditional Chinese: 陽明子; simplified Chinese: 阳明子), usually referred to as Wang Yangming (traditional Chinese: 王陽明; simplified Chinese: 王阳明), was a Chinese philosopher, general, politician, writer, and calligrapher during the Ming dynasty. After Zhu Xi, he is commonly regarded as the most important Neo-Confucian thinker, for his interpretations of Confucianism that denied the rationalist dualism of the orthodox philosophy of Zhu Xi. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Wang Yangming has received more than 389,881 page views. His biography is available in 40 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 38 in 2019). Wang Yangming is the 331st most popular philosopher (up from 344th in 2019), the 208th most popular biography from China (up from 223rd in 2019) and the 12th most popular Chinese Philosopher.

Wang Yangming is most famous for his philosophy of the unity of knowledge and action. He believed that knowledge and action are one and the same, and that the mind is the source of all knowledge.

Memorability Metrics

  • 390k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 63.73

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 40

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.67

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.02

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Wang Yangming ranks 331 out of 1,267. Before him are Moses Hess, Martianus Capella, Aristoxenus, Johann Georg Hamann, Hermann Cohen, and Edgar Morin. After him are Justus Lipsius, Asanga, Thrasymachus, Elena Cornaro Piscopia, A. S. Neill, and Lev Shestov.

Most Popular Philosophers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1472, Wang Yangming ranks 5. Before him are Lucas Cranach the Elder, Bianca Maria Sforza, Fra Bartolomeo, and Piero the Unfortunate. After him are Marie of Luxembourg, Countess of Vendôme, Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Simon of Trent, Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen, Érard de la Marck, Blanche of Montferrat, and Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk. Among people deceased in 1529, Wang Yangming ranks 3. Before him are Baldassare Castiglione, and La Malinche. After him are Andrea Sansovino, Jan Provoost, Juan del Encina, Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón, and John Skelton.

Others Born in 1472

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Others Deceased in 1529

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In China

Among people born in China, Wang Yangming ranks 208 out of 1,610. Before him are Meng Tian (-250), Zhang Zuolin (1875), Cao Xueqin (1724), Liu Xiaobo (1955), Wang Anshi (1021), and Zhang Liang (-290). After him are Xu Fu (-255), Donnie Yen (1963), Emperor Yingzong of Song (1032), Empress Xiaoyichun (1727), Chien-Shiung Wu (1912), and Liu Bian (176).

Others born in China

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In China

Among philosophers born in China, Wang Yangming ranks 12. Before him are Zhu Xi (1130), Mozi (-470), Han Fei (-280), Xun Kuang (-313), Milarepa (1052), and Shen Kuo (1031). After him are Guan Zhong (-720), Han Yu (768), Ban Zhao (45), Dong Zhongshu (-179), Ge Hong (284), and Huiyuan (334).

Chinese born Philosophers

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