The political culture in the early Ming Dynasty which disrespected Confucian scholars, underlay the emergence of mind philosophy. Under the background of the special political environment in early Ming, the mental characters of the Confucian scholars experienced three transitions: first, from an independent moral character into a dependent character submitted to imperial will; second, from the dependent loyalist character to selfindulgence; third, from the lack of independent selfcharacter in political career to independent moral character outside political life. Wu Yubi’s moral practice represented a type of life attitude which rejected imperial feeding and pursued personal independence. The emergence of mind philosophy suggested the decline of the rule of virtue among the Ming Confucian scholars owing to loss of their political dignity under the harsh imperial rule.

Ming Confucian scholars; character; Wu Yubi; mind philosophy