Debates as a touchstone of true wisdom: Yangming’s School of Mind addresses young people’s confusion amid intellectual contention
Earlier this summer, the Guiyang Confucius Academy transformed its debate venue into a window for dialogue between civilizations. On May 26, the “China’s School of Mind and the World” 2026 World Elite Universities Confucian Debate (Confucius Academy) Invitational brought together student debaters from six top universities: the National University of Singapore, Tsinghua University, the University of Hong Kong, the National University of Defense Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University and Guizhou University. All debate topics are sourced directly from Wang Yangming’s classic writings, focusing on core concepts such as “establishing aspirations,” “cultivating the mind,” and “benevolence and rituals.”
Live from the debate floor: The “China’s School of Mind and the World” 2026 World Elite Universities Confucian Debate (Confucius Academy) Invitational Tournament
Several overseas participants noted that standing on this land where Wang Yangming attained enlightenment lent tangible substance to those abstract doctrines they once only read about in books. After the competition, Cheng Zhenyu, from the National University of Singapore, said that Yangming’s School of Mind, dating back 500 years, still offers ideological guidance for young people struggling with confusion and fierce competition. To prepare for the debate, Tsinghua University debater Liu Mengtan studied Instructions for Practical Living, which deepened his understanding of the Unity of Knowledge and Action. Judge Xi Rui commented that by debating AI anxiety and the rhythm of modern times in the birthplace of China’s School of Mind, the young participants were turning to Yangming’s School of Mind to solve their own troubles. The event’s significance rests not on winning or losing, but on the mutual enlightenment generated as youths from a variety of cultural backgrounds delve into the same philosophical system together.
This debate serves as the centerpiece of the Academy’s annual flagship event, “Appointment with Peace of Mind.” From May through August, eight major programs will be launched in succession, including China’s School of Mind workshops, high-end academic forums, and traditional festival experiences. The series encompasses both in-depth academic dialogues and down-to-earth cultural activities accessible to local residents.
Cultural lineages woven into urban streets: extending Wang Yangming’s footprints to every corner of the city
On June 18, the cultural and creative venue “Guizhou’s Twelve Scenes of Enlightenment” officially opened to the public, accompanied by Dragon Boat Festival cultural experiences. Built around Wang Yangming’s footprints in Guizhou Province, this cultural IP moves beyond the conventional exhibition format of display cabinets and descriptive plaques. Instead, the event features immersive live performances, scripted role-play tours, study tour routes and thematic short dramas, immersing visitors in the narrative as they stroll through the space.
Postcard of Guizhou’s Twelve Scenes of Enlightenment
The opening ceremony staged the immersive dance drama Guizhou’s Twelve Scenes of Enlightenment: Awakening Things & Transmitting the Mind, which vividly presented iconic scenes including Wang Yangming’s enlightenment in Longchang, academic lectures in Guiyang, and letter-writing in Zhenyuan. Primary and secondary school students from Huaxi and Fuquan constituted the first batch of study tour groups, who conducted field visits along Wang Yangming’s historic trails. During the Dragon Boat Festival holidays, the garden fair integrated diverse experiences such as meditation, herbal recognition, and traditional folk activities. Equipped with a cultural passport for check-in, visitors explored the venue while engaging in hands-on activities, thereby gaining a genuine understanding of the concept of “Unity of Knowledge and Action.”
Over 20 Yangming-themed cultural and creative products were launched on-site, infusing everyday items – including tea gift boxes, Zhenyuan paper-carving lanterns, brass paperweights and postcards – with elegant classical charm. More importantly, these experiential venues have expanded to five cultural landmarks, namely Cuiwei Garden at Jiaxiu Tower, the Former Site of Dade School, and Fuquan Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Center. No longer enclosed within the confines of the Confucius Academy, Yangming culture now permeates the streets and alleys of Guiyang.
Academic depth and global reach: solidifying roots, embracing the world
For cultural exchange to thrive globally, credible academic backing is fundamental. This April, the International Confucian Association co-organized the 3rd “Dialogues with Eminent Confucian Scholars” with Guiyang Confucius Academy. Participants held in-depth discussions on developing Confucian journals in the AI age and international communication cooperation. At the event, Huaxi Journal of Philosophy and Culture made its official debut. Centered on Chinese philosophy, history and literature, it has become a new academic hub for Yangming studies.
Through the years, the Academy has never slackened its academic efforts. It has built a full-functioning academic dissemination system consisting of Yangming’s School of Mind workshops, the Four Seasons Debate Conference, the collected works Studies on Wang Yangming, and lectures by renowned scholars. Figures from 2025 bear witness to its fruitful outcomes: The Academy welcomed 450,000 visitors throughout the year, with 45,000 taking part in study tours, and its online content accumulated more than 300 million views across all digital channels.
For global reach, the Academy has steadily operated multilingual social media platforms in Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean. It currently runs eight communication platforms with 17 official accounts, delivering premium cultural content to over 12 million overseas audiences. Meanwhile, the filming of the urban short drama Love at the Twenty-Fifth Hour wrapped in Guiyang during this year’s Dragon Boat Festival. The series blends the city’s distinctive riverside urban scenery with Wang Yangming’s philosophy of self-cultivation into its storyline, conveying local culture through cinematic language familiar to young audiences worldwide.
Rooted in central Guizhou and reaching out to the world, Guiyang Confucius Academy takes Guizhou’s Twelve Scenes of Enlightenment as its core storyline. It has woven academic research, youth engagement, cultural tourism, digital development and cultural creativity into a complete industrial chain, bringing Wang Yangming’s philosophy of the Unity of Knowledge and Action out of books and beyond Guizhou’s territory. Against the backdrop of mutual learning among civilizations worldwide, the Academy maintains an open and inclusive stance to carry forward the spiritual essence of traditional Chinese philosophy to the world.
