Yangming Cave

　　   Yangming Cave, originally called "Dong Cave," is situated on Longgang Mountain northeast of Xiuwen County in Guiyang City. It was listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit in 2006. This was the place where Wang Yangming, a Ming Dynasty philosopher, thinker, and educator, studied, contemplated, and lectured. It is the birthplace and center of Yangming Culture, an internationally renowned hub of Wang’s philosophy, and hailed as China’s foremost philosophical cave. It serves as an ideal destination for scholars and enthusiasts of Wang’s philosophy, as well as a prime location for academic research on Yangming thought, international cultural exchange, historical and cultural education, and patriotic education. It is also the top choice for educational trips.

　　   Wang Yangming (1472–1528), whose given name was Shouren and courtesy name was Bohai, was a native of Yuyao, Zhejiang, and a descendant of the great Eastern Jin calligrapher Wang Xizhi. He once built a study and gave lectures in Dong Cave in Kuaiji, Zhejiang, referring to himself as Yangmingzi or Yangmingshanren, and was respectfully called Master Yangming. In the first year of the Zhengde era (1506 AD), Wang Yangming, then an official in the Ministry of War, incurred the wrath of a eunuch and was wrongfully sentenced to a caning in court. He was exiled from the capital to Longchang (now Xiuwen County) in Guizhou to serve as a postmaster. During his three-year exile in Longchang, he built a hut here to study, had a sudden enlightenment regarding the concept of “investigating things to extend knowledge,” developed the doctrine of the “unity of knowledge and action,” and laid the ideological foundation for the notion of “extending innate knowledge,” which became the core of Yangming’s School of Mind. He also founded the Longgang Academy and renamed Dong Cave to “Yangming Xiaodongtian,” commonly known as “Yangming Cave.” He was later invited to lecture in Guiyang, pioneering a new academic culture in Guizhou and making outstanding contributions to Chinese Confucianism. The famous patriotic general Zhang Xueliang was also imprisoned here for three years.

　　   With a long history, ancient trees towering overhead, pavilions and towers complementing one another, and numerous stone inscriptions, Yangming Cave boasts not only rich cultural significance but also serene and beautiful scenery. It is the most completely preserved site related to the activities and legacy of Wang Yangming, as well as the place where Zhang Xueliang was held captive. It is also the only ancient tree cluster remaining in Xiuwen. There are over 50 species of famous ancient trees, including the “Yangming Cypress.” Inside the East Cave, there are 43 cliff inscriptions from the Ming, Qing, and Republican periods—the largest number found in any cave in China or abroad—featuring diverse calligraphy styles including running, regular, clerical, and seal scripts. The largest inscription above the cave entrance, reading “The Revered Site of Master Yangming,” was written in 1589 during the Ming Dynasty by An Guoxiang, the Xuanwei Envoy of Guizhou. In addition to Yangming Cave, Longgang Mountain and its surrounding areas also feature structures built or associated with Wang Yangming, such as the Longgang Academy, Heliuxuan, Junzizuo, Binyang Hall, and later-established commemorative sites like the Wang Wencheng Temple, Yangming Stele Garden, Yangming Park, Yangming Cultural Exchange Center, and Yangming Villa. A Yangming-themed park is also under planning.

　　   Address: Qixia Mountain, east of Xiuwen County, Guiyang City

　　   Type: Cave & Historical Site

　　   Recommended visiting time: About 1 hour

　　   Opening Hours:

　　   8:00–18:00

　　   Ticket Information:

　　   Gate Price: 6.0 RMB (includes the Academy)

　　   Transportation

　　   Take a bus from Yan’an West Road Bus Station to Xiuwen, about a 50-minute ride. The fare is 5 RMB per person for minibuses and 8 RMB for IVECO buses. From Xiuwen, transfer to a local tricycle taxi to reach the site, at 1 RMB per person.

　　

　　   Wang Shouren (1472   ~1529)　　   Wang Shouren (1472–1529), a Chinese philosopher of the Ming Dynasty, was the synthesizer of Mind School idealism. His courtesy name was Bohai and his pseudonym Yangming. A native of Yuyao, Zhejiang, he was a renowned Ming Dynasty thinker, writer, philosopher, and military strategist. As the consummate proponent of the Lu-Wang School of Mind, he had profound knowledge of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Wang Shouren is ranked alongside Confucius, Mencius, and Zhu Xi as one of the “Four Sages”: Confucius, Mencius, Zhu Xi, and Wang. His philosophy, known as Wangxue (or Yangmingxue), was the most influential school of thought during the Ming Dynasty. His teachings spread across China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and Southeast Asia. He achieved distinction both in virtue and scholarship, surpassing all others in the Ming era. He had numerous disciples and founded the Yaojiang School. His writings are broad and...    Details+