I. Wang Shouren (1472–1529)

Wang Shouren (1472–1529), courtesy name Yangming, was a native of Yuyao, Zhejiang. He was a leading Confucian scholar, philosopher, military strategist, and Ming dynasty official, serving as Governor of Liang-Guang and Minister of War in Nanjing. He led armies on three occasions to suppress rebellions. Wang Shouren was well-versed in Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, synthesizing the Neo-Confucian thought of the Song and Ming periods and founding the doctrine of “unity of knowledge and action,” known as the Yangming School. Born 270 years after Zhu Xi, he inherited and developed Confucianism and achieved major military accomplishments alongside intellectual contributions. Wang Yangming’s teachings had a profound influence on Japan.

Wang Shouren was born into a prominent scholarly family. His father, Wang Hua, was a zhuangyuan and later Minister of Personnel in Nanjing. His birth was legendary: his mother carried him for fourteen months before delivery, and his grandmother dreamt of divine robes and a celestial child descending from the sky. His grandfather therefore named him “Yun” and his residence “Ruiyun Tower.” By the age of five, Wang Shouren had memorized books read aloud by his grandfather. Later, inspired by a passage from the Analects—“If one knows it but cannot keep it, even if attained, it will inevitably be lost”—his grandfather renamed him Shouren, meaning “to preserve benevolence.”

At the age of thirteen, his mother passed away. He aspired to moral cultivation above all else, considering the imperial examinations secondary to becoming a sage. During the capture of Emperor Yingzong by the Mongols, Wang Shouren resolved to study military strategy in order to serve the nation. At fifteen, he submitted multiple memorials to the emperor proposing strategies to quell uprisings. At seventeen, on the day of his marriage, he was missing because he had encountered a Daoist master meditating and became absorbed in the master’s teachings on longevity, forgetting to return.

At eighteen, a teacher introduced him to Zhu Xi’s concept of “investigating things to extend knowledge.” Wang Shouren studied the “principle of bamboo” for seven days and nights but fell ill without discovering anything, which led him to doubt the traditional approach of gewu. This became known as the story of “Shouren Investigates Bamboo.”

At twenty, he participated in the provincial examination, but by twenty-five he had not yet passed the metropolitan examination. At twenty-seven, he studied Zhu Xi’s advice: “Dwelling with reverence and holding steadfast forms the foundation of study; following steps sequentially achieves refinement.” Realizing that his previous study had been rushed, he adopted a systematic approach, eventually understanding “the principle of things and my mind are twofold,” though his old ailments returned.

At twenty-eight, he passed the imperial examination at the Ministry of Rites. He submitted memorials on eight major issues concerning the northwestern frontier. He was appointed an official in the Ministry of Justice, responsible for judicial decisions. In 1506, when eunuch Liu Jin seized power and arrested more than twenty people, Wang Shouren petitioned for their release, angering Liu Jin. He was exiled to Longchang in Guizhou, traveling cautiously to avoid assassins and even pretending to commit suicide in a river. In Longchang, he taught the local people and gained widespread respect.

During three years in Guizhou, Wang Shouren attained profound insight into the Great Learning, realizing that “the mind is the root of all things” and that “everything arises from the mind; outside the mind, there is no principle, outside the mind, there is no thing.” He wrote instructions for his students, understanding that “the Way of the sages is inherent in one’s nature; seeking principle in external things is mistaken.” This period is known as the “Longchang Enlightenment.” After Liu Jin’s execution, Wang Shouren returned to office and was later promoted multiple times.

In 1516, widespread banditry erupted in southern Jiangxi and in Mount Damao, Fujian. Wang Shouren led troops to suppress these rebellions. Employing cunning and decisive strategies, he personally led elite soldiers, feigning retreat before striking unexpectedly. He captured over forty strongholds and 7,000 people, later destroyed over eighty more strongholds capturing 6,000, and subsequently pacified remaining bandits in Ganzhou, capturing another 2,000. These campaigns ended decades of local banditry, earning him the reputation of a “divine man” among the people.

In 1519, Prince Ning, Zhu Chenhao, rebelled in Jiangxi. Wang Shouren orchestrated deception in Nanchang, posting fake proclamations while assembling 80,000 troops, claiming 160,000. Prince Ning, seeing no attack, led 60,000 soldiers to occupy Jiujiang and advance toward Anqing, threatening Nanjing. Wang Shouren led his 80,000 loyalist troops to directly attack Nanchang, forcing Ning to retreat. The decisive battle occurred at Poyang Lake over three days, ending with the capture of Prince Ning. The rebellion was quelled in thirty-five days. Wang Shouren then withdrew strategically, avoiding the subsequent political turbulence.

After brief recognition by the court, Wang Shouren was largely ignored. Upon his father’s death, he returned home and lectured at Jishan Academy at fifty, later founding Yangming Academy in Shaoxing. His disciples began teaching the “Wang School.” Over five years, he lectured and left four teaching maxims: the mind’s essence is neither good nor evil; intentions manifest good or evil. Knowing good and evil is innate knowledge; to do good and eliminate evil is to investigate things.

In 1527, uprisings occurred in Guangxi. Wang Shouren was appointed Governor and Inspector of Liang-Guang, personally leading troops to suppress rebels in Nanning, defeating and executing over 3,000, restoring stability.

After pacifying Liang-Guang, he fell seriously ill the following year and requested leave. He passed away on a boat in Qinglong Harbor, Daxiang County, Jiangxi. When disciples asked for final words, he said: “This mind is bright; what else need be said?” His death was widely mourned.

Wang Shouren inherited and developed Lu Jiuyuan’s doctrine of “the mind is principle,” rejecting Zhu Xi’s approach as overly cumbersome. He advocated seeking principle within one’s mind, believing that the mind generates the universe: “Benevolence extends to all beings—birds, beasts, plants—and originates from Heaven’s mandate. The study of sages is the study of great men, who see all under Heaven as one family; children have compassion, which unites them with creatures and plants.”

Wang Yangming emphasized unity of knowledge and action: true knowledge requires action, or it is not real knowledge. He praised those who follow their innate knowledge sincerely, without deception or concealment.

His thought deeply influenced Japan. Modern Japanese military strategist Togo Heihachiro carried a waist plaque engraved: “A lifetime bowing to Yangming.” Literary and historical figures such as Hu Zhefu, Zeng Guofan, Liang Qichao, Zhang Taiyan, and others have lauded his achievements.

Major works include Chuanxi Lu, Da Xue Wen, and Yangming Quan Shu (38 volumes). Wang Yangming was also a celebrated poet and calligrapher. His legacy includes numerous schools, streets, and academies named after him in Zhejiang, Guizhou, Jiangxi, and Taiwan.

Selected quotes of Wang Yangming:

Knowing good and evil is innate knowledge; to do good and remove evil is to investigate things.

Confucius? Seek in the mind; learning values attaining it within the mind.

The sage unites with Heaven, Earth, and all beings; Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism are all useful to me—this is the Great Way.

For a student, establishing ambition is essential; without ambition, one is like a rudderless boat or unbridled horse.

In stillness, remove human desires and preserve Heaven’s principle; in action, do the same.

For a sage, purity resides in Heaven’s principle, not talent. Even a commoner, if devoted to learning and pure in mind, can become a sage.

When the mind is correct, the Way is correct.

Life’s greatest illness is pride.

Knowledge and action must be unified.

II. Huang Zongxi (1610–1695)

Huang Zongxi (1610–1695) was a native of Yuyao, Zhejiang. Courtesy name Taichong, pseudonym Lizhou, he was a leading Confucian scholar of the late Ming and early Qing, considered a pioneer of modern democratic thought, and a descendant of the Song dynasty literary master Huang Tingjian. On the eve of his birth, his mother dreamt of a qilin entering her womb, and he was given the infant name “Lin’er.” His father, Huang Zunsu, was a jinshi and Censor, one of the Seven Gentlemen of the Donglin Party. He died in prison after impeaching the treacherous minister Wei Zhongxian.

In 1628, after Wei Zhongxian’s fall, Huang Zongxi submitted a memorial requesting the punishment of the remaining partisans. At eighteen, he appeared in court as a witness. He secretly stabbed the eunuch faction with a needle to vent his anger and avenge his father, then pulled their beards and returned to pay respects to his father’s spirit. The Chongzhen Emperor praised him as the loyal son of a faithful minister, and he became known as the “Filial Son of Yaojiang.”

Returning home, Huang Zongxi devoted himself to study under the noted philosopher Liu Zongzhou. He participated in the Fusu Society opposing the eunuch faction, founding the “Lizhou Fusu Society” in his hometown. Branded as a remnant of the Donglin Party, he was imprisoned. When Qing forces captured Nanjing, he escaped amid the chaos and returned home, organizing resistance against the Qing. He sold his property, gathered over six hundred young men, and formed the “Shizhong Battalion,” leading fire attacks. Outmatched by superior forces, he retreated to the Siming Mountains, establishing a fortified camp. When the camp was destroyed by local villagers, he took refuge in Huanshan.

In 1649, Huang Zongxi met with the Southern Ming Prince of Lu, and traveled to Japan to request military aid, but failed and returned home to live in seclusion. Over the next five years, he was sought three times by Qing authorities, and his younger brother was arrested twice, yet he persisted in resisting the Qing. His residence was burned twice. Huang Zongxi began writing and teaching in Cixi, Shaoxing, Ningbo, and Haining, establishing study halls and instructing students.

In the seventeenth year of Kangxi’s reign (1678), he was summoned as a “broadly learned scholar,” but Huang Zongxi respectfully declined. Two years later, he was invited to Beijing to assist in compiling the History of Ming. Again citing age and illness, he refused. His son Huang Baijia and disciples Wan Si also participated in the project without accepting official titles or salaries, contributing as commoners. Huang Zongxi gradually ceased teaching and devoted himself entirely to writing.

In the twenty-ninth year of Kangxi’s reign (1690), the emperor again summoned him as an advisor, but Huang Zongxi politely declined, citing his old age and illness.

Ma Xulun said: “Huang Zongxi is a man of fully realized character, unparalleled over a thousand years since the Qin dynasty, one of the rare early visionaries.” Zhang Dai said: “Huang Lizhou is a great representative of Chinese democratic thought.” Qin Hui noted: “Huang Zongxi’s theory of people’s rights even surpasses Rousseau in certain respects.” Wen Jiabao remarked: “I enjoy reading Huang Zongxi’s works; he combines genuine scientific and democratic spirit, thinking for the people, considering the welfare of all. He embodies the principle of ‘worry for the world before others, rejoice for the world after others.’ I must remember and practice this in action.”

Huang Zongxi inherited Confucius and Mencius’ “people over ruler” philosophy, asserting: “The world is the master, the ruler is the guest; the disorder of the realm depends not on the rise or fall of a single family, but on the welfare of all the people.” He advocated that “laws for the world should replace the laws of one family,” and that officials should serve “the world, not the ruler; the people, not one surname.” “What the emperor deems right may not be; what he deems wrong may not be.” “Only with proper governance laws can one govern people.” He criticized emperors who “take private interest as public good” and treat the world as their personal property, passing it endlessly to descendants.

Western scholars call Huang Zongxi “a pioneer of Chinese liberalism.” He further proposed: “Officials governing the realm must all be trained in schools.”

Huang Zongxi reinterpreted the Confucian principle of “the ruler is paramount, ministers are subordinate” toward a people-centered view: “The world cannot be governed by one alone. Therefore, officials are appointed to govern. Officials are the ruler’s representatives. Ministers are the ruler’s guides and companions, not servants. They serve the world, the people, not the ruler or one family. The stability of the realm depends not on one family, but on the welfare of all.” He argued that ancient rulers treated the world as the master and themselves as guests, while later monarchs claimed all benefits for themselves, harming the people. He opposed autocracy, advocating “co-governance of ruler and ministers.”

Huang Zongxi criticized the Ming dynasty for abolishing the chancellor, which led to unchecked imperial authority. Although the emperor inherited the throne, the lack of capable advisors allowed eunuchs to seize power. He proposed reinstating the chancellor to deliberate daily with ministers in the palace, issuing orders to the six ministries together, thereby curbing arbitrary rule.

Huang Zongxi advocated “reform based on antiquity,” affirming that laws of the Three Dynasties represented universal laws, while later laws were family-specific. He called for replacing family laws with universal laws and emphasized that “only with proper governance laws can one govern people.” He proposed reforming the civil service examination, selecting talent “broadly in admission, strictly in utilization,” and introduced eight methods of talent selection. Schools should guide politics, shape public opinion, discuss current affairs, evaluate right and wrong, and supervise government, fostering moral influence to deter corruption and criminality. He suggested the Grand Master of the Imperial Academy should be a leading contemporary scholar, equal in status to the chancellor. On New Year’s Day, the emperor, chancellor, and ministers would attend lectures, the emperor seated among students, allowing the Grand Master to speak freely. Huang Zongxi’s ideas represent the germ of constitutional monarchy.

He opposed single-channel examinations, supporting multiple recruitment methods to widen access to talent. He agreed with Wang Yangming’s “unity of knowledge and action,” emphasizing practical application of learning.

Huang Zongxi held that for the people to prosper, the fundamentals must be honored, and the trivial discouraged. The fundamentals included commerce and industry, overturning the traditional “agriculture over commerce” bias. Trivial pursuits, including superstition, fortune-telling, ritual specialists, or arts not useful to the people, were to be abolished. He criticized Confucians for ignoring commerce and treating it as secondary, insisting “commerce and industry are fundamental.”

He noted a historical flaw in tax reforms: whenever tax burdens were temporarily reduced for farmers, they inevitably rose to an even higher level later—a principle now known as the “Huang Zongxi Law.” Modern scholar Qin Hui summarized this law, and Premier Wen Jiabao referenced it during his governance, halting agricultural taxes to alleviate peasant burdens.

Huang Zongxi opposed Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucian “principle precedes qi,” asserting that “qi is the flowing, universal substance,” and that principle (li) is the law governing qi’s movement, not an independent entity. Yet he agreed with Wang Yangming that “the mind pervades all things.” In Yangming’s doctrine of “manifesting innate knowledge,” manifestation equals action, consistent with practice. He also proposed “one root, myriad variations” and “unity through diversity,” meaning the mind fills all under Heaven.

Huang Zongxi was a meticulous historian, advocating practical application of history. He maintained that historians should praise virtue and punish evil, distinguishing right from wrong, loyalty from treachery, and not confuse black and white. He rigorously verified historical sources and expressed balanced, emotionally informed judgments. His major works include Ming Confucian Scholars Case Studies and Song-Yuan Confucian Scholars Case Studies, categorizing over 200 scholars and creating the “scholar-case” genre, the first systematic philosophical history in China.

Huang Zongxi was an avid collector, borrower, and copyist of books, seeking rare works throughout China. He often traveled with a young assistant carrying books. Rare works were copied by hand. He and friends founded a book-copying society and built the “Xuchao Hall.” His library served practical purposes, not mere collection, cautioning scholars: “Use books to illuminate the mind, not to indulge in possessions.” Over decades, he amassed 70,000 volumes, though floods and fires destroyed much; disciples eventually preserved around 30,000. He lamented: “Reading is difficult, collecting books even more so; to preserve them long without loss is the hardest task.”

He was also skilled in astronomy, calendrics, and mathematics, authoring the Chunqiu Solar Eclipse Calendar, collating geography in Shuijingzhu, and annotating musical theory in Leyv Xue, opposing plagiarism.

Throughout his life, Huang Zongxi wrote extensively on Confucianism, history, geography, calendrics, mathematics, poetry, and literature, producing over fifty works in more than 300 volumes. Key works include Ming Confucian Scholars Case Studies, Song-Yuan Confucian Scholars Case Studies, Waiting for Inquiry on Ming’s Collapse, and On the Teachers of Mencius. In 2005, Zhejiang Publishing House released a 12-volume deluxe edition, Complete Works of Huang Zongxi, the most comprehensive collection of his writings.

Huang Zongxi died in 1695 after a long illness, continuing to write until the end. His will instructed “funeral should be simple”: one blanket and mat, stone bed, no coffin, no Buddhist rites, no mourning ceremonies, no paper money or music. He expressed the wish for his body to decay naturally. Four days before death, he left the note Four Conditions for Death, Truly Without Pain: “At this age, one may die; though no great deeds, nor evil, one may die; unfinished matters with ancestors, slightly no regrets, one may die; writings not fully transmitted, though below ancient masters, one may die; with these four conditions, death is truly painless.”

Huang Zongxi’s tomb is in his hometown of Yuyao, Zhejiang. It was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and partially restored in 1981. Ningbo has a Huang Zongxi Memorial Hall at his former teaching site, rebuilt in 2003.

Selected quotes of Huang Zongxi:

Since ancient times, sages and great men have achieved virtue and accomplishments only through study.

If a scholar lacks ambition, adversity only deepens discouragement.

To love one’s child without teaching is not truly love; to teach without virtue is as if not teaching.

Schools exist to cultivate scholars. The ancient sages intended not only this, but also that all officials governing the realm be trained in schools; only then does the purpose of schools fully manifest.

The stability of the realm depends not on the rise or fall of one family, but on the welfare of the people.

Even death cannot force me to abandon my principles; poverty cannot sway me.

Loyalty is the essence of life. A man of integrity considers the welfare of all generations, not just his own life.

To seize public interest for personal gain is to betray the nation.

Those who disregard the world serve as servants to the ruler; those who care for the world serve as his guides and companions.

The world is the master, the ruler the guest. Therefore, those who harm the world are only the ruler. Serve the world, not the ruler; serve the people, not one family.

A man of integrity judges right and wrong without regard to personal gain, success or failure, or his own lifetime; he considers all generations.

III. Wang Fuzhi (1619–1692)

Wang Fuzhi (1619–1692), also known as Wang Chuanshan, was a native of Hengyang, Hunan. A leading Confucian scholar of the late Ming and early Qing, he was an outstanding thinker and philosopher. In his later years, he retired to the foot of Shichuan Mountain, earning the name Master Chuanshan. His works include Zhouyi Waizhuan and Du Tongjian Lun, totaling around eight million characters. Together with Gu Yanwu and Huang Zongxi, he is regarded as one of the three great thinkers of the late Ming.

He studied at Yuelu Academy during the late Ming and, in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, ranked fifth in the provincial examinations, with his Spring and Autumn essay placed first.

When Qing forces advanced south, he advocated resistance. His father, uncle, and two elder brothers all died in the wars. When Zhang Xianzhong captured Hengzhou and recruited scholars, Wang Fuzhi hid in Mount Heng and refused the offer, participating in anti-Qing activities there. After defeat, he fled to Zhaoqing and joined the Southern Ming Yongli regime. In the third year of Yongli, he left Zhaoqing for Guilin, was defeated, and moved through Guangdong and Guangxi. In the eleventh year of Shunzhi, Qing troops pursued him, forcing him to flee to Lingling, where he taught and wrote, interpreting the Zhouyi and Spring and Autumn, attracting many students. He authored Zhouyi Waizhuan and Laozi Yan.

In the seventeenth year of Shunzhi, he moved his family to Jinlan Township, Hengyang, building a thatched house, known as the “Xiangxi Cottage.” He lived frugally, devoted to study and writing, inscribing: “The Six Classics compel me to innovate; seven feet of flesh I ask Heaven to bury,” and never shaved his head. He revised the Complete Exposition of the Four Books. In later years, poverty and illness made him dependent on friends for paper and brushes. When Wu Sangui proclaimed himself emperor and requested Wang to write a memorial urging him, Wang firmly refused, showing contempt for Wu. In the twenty-eighth year of Kangxi, the Hengzhou prefect brought food and money to meet Wang at Yuelu; Wang only accepted the food, returning the money. He died in the thirty-first year of Kangxi, never having shaved his head.

All of Wang Fuzhi’s writings were manuscripts. Over a century later, 56 works in 288 volumes were first published. In 1971, the Taipei Chuanshan Society reprinted the Complete Works of Chuanshan in 22 volumes, totaling eight million characters. Wang inscribed a couplet: “The gentle breeze cannot hold me back by will; the bright moon shines on people without intent.”

His studies spanned astronomy, calendrics, mathematics, and geography, with expertise in classics, history, and literature. Though devoted to Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, he opposed “preserve principle, extinguish desire.” He advocated maintaining a centralized imperial system, “honoring the honorable, ranking the lowly, placing each in its position,” while supporting a balanced governance rejecting despotism and asceticism. Wang Fuzhi upheld a monistic theory of qi and a history of principle and circumstance in unity.

Zeng Guofan admired Wang Fuzhi’s “integrity of character” and “unyielding principles that cannot be overturned even if the Five Mountains collapse.” Despite being busy with governmental and military duties, Zeng read Chuanshan’s works until two years before his death.

Liang Qichao said: “In the past five hundred years, the only scholar who truly understood the workings of Heaven and man was Chuanshan—this is no exaggeration; his historical commentary is unsurpassed for all time.” He also noted: “In recent times, even Zeng Wenzhenggong [Zeng Guofan] was influenced by him; everyone in the scholarly world knew Wang Chuanshan. His hidden virtue shines increasingly bright over time.”

Zeng Guofan’s diary records Wang Chuanshan’s sayings: “Sincerity of will exists,” “Seek truth from facts,” “Action is primary,” “Heaven and earth are both established,” “Divide into two,” reflecting his approach to governance and strategy.

In 1985, the American philosophical community listed him among the eight greatest philosophers of all time.

Hunan houses the Chuanshan Society and Chuanshan Memorial Hall. Hengyang has Chuanshan Experimental Middle School, and South China University in Guangzhou has Chuanshan College.

IV. Gu Yanwu (1613–1682)

Gu Yanwu (1613–1682), a native of Suzhou, was a leading scholar and thinker of the late Ming and early Qing. Along with Huang Zongxi and Wang Fuzhi, he is regarded as one of the three great Confucians and thinkers of the late Ming.

Gu Yanwu’s great-grandfather served as Right Vice Minister of War in Nanjing. At 14, he earned the xiucai degree and was noted for his extensive learning and personal integrity. At 20, he passed the imperial examination. After Qing forces entered, he joined the Southern Ming court. When Qing troops captured Nanjing, his biological mother had her right arm cut off, two brothers were killed, and his stepmother died of hunger, leaving instructions that Gu never serve the Qing.

He left home to travel widely, led anti-Qing militias, suffering repeated defeats. When servants colluded with local gentry to accuse him of rebellion, he executed the culprits, resulting in imprisonment. After release, he returned home, sold his property, and left northward, never to return.

Gu Yanwu traveled extensively through Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Hebei, and Shaanxi, connecting with anti-Qing forces. He covered twenty to thirty thousand li, consulting over ten thousand books. At Shanhaiguan, he visited historic battlefields and eventually settled in Huayin, Shaanxi.

He devoted himself to practical scholarship, seeking to apply knowledge for governance. “His energy surpassed ordinary men; he had no other interests, and from youth to old age never neglected a day of study.” Dissatisfied with the Neo-Confucian emphasis on mind, principle, and fate, he turned to textual studies and philology, dividing ancient rhymes into ten categories, and authored Rizhilu and Five Books on Phonology, founding Qing dynasty studies of ancient phonology.

After the suppression of the Three Feudatories, the Kangxi Emperor opened the “Broadly Learned Scholars” examination to recruit Ming loyalists. Gu Yanwu submitted three letters, declaring: “My heart is steadfast and unchanged from beginning to end.” He resolutely refused to be recommended, stating: “A seventy-year-old man seeks nothing more, only a proper death; if pressed, I shall die for it.” In the eighteenth year of Kangxi, the Qing opened the History Bureau, and Gu offered: “I am willing to die for the state; if not, I shall escape to the wilds.”

In the twenty-first year of Kangxi, Gu Yanwu died at the age of 70 at a friend’s home in Quwo, Shanxi, after falling from a horse and vomiting uncontrollably for several days.

Gu Yanwu opposed the empty metaphysics of Song and Ming Neo-Confucianism concerning mind, principle, nature, and fate, advocating practical learning for governance. He distinguished between metaphysical “Dao” (formless) and concrete instruments (form-based), asserting that the Dao resides in practice, not in abstract theory. He promoted “Plain Learning” (puxue), emphasizing broad study, literary knowledge, and personal integrity. A gentleman studies to understand the Dao and save the world. Gu Yanwu is considered the founder of Qing philology and the Qian-Jia school.

He stressed personal character before scholarship: “Rites, justice, integrity, and shame—these are the Four Anchors.” He held that all citizens have responsibility for the state, famously cited by Liang Qichao: “The rise and fall of the world concerns every man.” He also supported collective governance, opposing monarchical autocracy.

Gu Yanwu’s notable sayings:

The rise and fall of the world concerns every man.

A gentleman studies until death.

I wish to pacify the East China Sea; though my body sinks, my will remains unchanged. The sea may never be calm, yet my heart shall never despair.