Lóngchǎng

Longchang was a relay station in the hills northwest of Guizhou city, on a road through the Shuixi country. It became famous as the place of exile of Wang Yangming, the Ming official and philosopher. After protesting against the imprisonment of fellow officials, Wang was beaten and appointed to the humble post of relay superintendent far from the court.

Wang reached Longchang in 1508. His early months were difficult: he lived in a thatched shelter and read in a cave, while his companions fell ill. His later biography describes a sudden insight in which he came to see the source of moral understanding within human nature rather than in a search among external things. Local people helped provide him with a place to live and teach. His experience at Longchang became a formative episode in the development of his philosophy.