Ye Shi (simplified Chinese: 叶适; traditional Chinese: 葉適; pinyin: Yè Shì; Wade–Giles: Yeh Shih, 1150–1223), courtesy name Zhengze (正则), pseudonym Mr. Shuixin (水心先生), was a Chinese neo-Confucian of the Song dynasty.[1]: 748
A native of Wenzhou, Zhejiang, he was the most famous figure of the Yongjia School, a neo-Confucianism School composed mostly of philosophers from Wenzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang province.[1]: 748 In contrast to other scholars in the same period like Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan, he stressed practical learning and applying Confucian doctrine to real world problems. This school had important influence on later thinkers from Zhejiang province, including Wang Shouren and Huang Zongxi, who were the most important philosophers in the Ming and Qing periods.
Economic views
Ye Shi wrote numerous articles and extensive discussions on topics such as finances, government organization, and the military. His approach towards tackling issues of the state caused puzzlement among Southern Song government officials.[1]: 749
Ye Shi criticized the expansion of fiscal apparatus by the Song dynasty and advocated for fiscal conservatism deeming the expansion as morally bankrupt "exploitation" and "money grubbing". However, many Confucian moralists were sanguine regarding to this topic.[2]
He also defended Wang Anshi's stance that the New Policies falls on "li cai" (the proper managing of government finances) even though he argued that the actual policies crossed the line into "yan li" (accumulating material gain).[2]
He served as Director of Studies in the Directorate of Education during the reign of the Song dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Ningzong, he was labeled as a "factionalist" and part of the "heretic scholar faction". Due to this, he lost his office in government.[3]
Works
Some of his important surviving works of Ye Shi include:[3]
Collections
- Shuixin wenji (水心文集)
- Shuixin bieji (水心別集)
Books
- Xuexi jiyan xumu (習學紀言序目)
References
- ^ a b c Yao, Xinzhong (2015-05-11). The Encyclopedia of Confucianism: 2-volume set. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-79349-6.
- ^ a b Zhang, Taisu (2020-04-30), "Fiscal Policy and Institutions in Imperial China", Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.134, ISBN 978-0-19-027772-7, retrieved 2025-02-01,
Ye Shi, for example, seemed to support Wang Anshi's distinguishing of li cai from yan li, even as he argued that Wang's actual policies had crossed the line into yan li—but the mere existence of serious debate over this issue already suggests a general softening of attitudes. The severe political and military challenges faced by the Song from the 12th century onwards seemed to nudge its elites towards greater tolerance for fiscal expansion.
- ^ a b Theobald, Ulrich. "Ye Shi 葉適 (www.chinaknowledge.de)". www.chinaknowledge.de. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
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