Dwelling in the Jianghu, Yet Aspiring to the Court——A New Exploration of YANG Weizhen's Complex Mentality

Although YANG Weizhen(杨维桢) spent most of his life in seclusion and only a brief period in official positions, his lifelong aspiration was to enter the imperial court and achieve enduring fame. During his reclusive years in Hangzhou and Pingjiang, he developed a refined and carefree persona, engaging in poetic and convivial exchanges with literati of Jiangnan and adopting a hedonistic view of life. However, his repeated efforts to seek recommendations for reinstatement to officialdom and his authorship of Debate on the Orthodoxy of the Three Histories (《三史正统辩》)reveal a stable and intense attachment to the imperial court. During his later years in seclusion in Songjiang, despite his close association with reclusive scholars and his self-identification as a "man blessed by the moon and breeze(风月福人)", his active interaction with officials of ZHANG Shicheng(张士诚)'s regime and his encouragement of disciples to join ZHANG Shicheng's administration demonstrate a stronger inclination toward courtly engagement than retreating into the Jianghu(江湖), which he pursued only out of frustration when official aspirations proved unattainable. After the establishment of the Ming dynasty, YANG outwardly maintained his commitment to reclusion, yet works such as Preface to Escorting Supervisor WANG Gaichang on His Return to the Capital (《送检校王君盖昌还京序》)and Preface to the Taoist Master CAO Zhongxiu(《赠术士曹仲修序》)reveal his ardent desire to join the new court, where he could fulfill his ambitions of codifying rituals and compiling histories. Throughout his life, despite his indulgence in the pleasures of travel, poetry, and poetic and wine gatherings of the literati, as well as his eccentric behavior and unconventional writing style, YANG Weizhen never relinquished the Confucian ideal of assuming responsibility for transmitting moral teachings and compiling histories. His unwavering attachment to the court remained the most stable element of his psychological framework.