Tracing back to the source, Ruan Bingqian's thoughts are deeply rooted in Confucianism and influenced by Taoism. In a sense, Ruan Bingqian is a pidgin-style mixed thought of Confucianism and Taoism. However, it has great practical and social significance.
Ruan Bingqian was influenced by his parents' Confucianism since childhood and became the second best scholar of Confucianism when he grew up. This kind of education formed his deep-rooted Confucian orthodoxy. Ruan Bingqian's poems are a combination of philosophical preaching and life experience. His concept of monarch, minister and father is very obvious, and he regards "the righteousness of monarch and minister, the affection between father and son, and the difference between husband and wife" as a necessary norm to improve his own morality and a wonderful recipe to manage the world. He taught his children and people that all words and deeds should conform to the Confucian moral and ethical attitude towards life and not deviate from the "right path". His poem "The Son of Responsibility" fully publicized this idea.
Ruan Bingqian is knowledgeable, but he has no intention of career. After retirement, he once again worked for the imperial court. There is a poem that says, "It is hard to find outside the Tao, but the feelings are deep outside. The principle of your father has existed since ancient times, and filial piety vows to live up to the original heart. " This poem was written to Ruan Lei on the orders of Mo Fuyuan, the owner of the Mo Dynasty, asking Ruan Lei not to send troops to attack the Mo Dynasty. It is not difficult to see Ruan Bingqian's heart of maintaining Confucian ethics. Ruan Bingqian's thought is complicated. Although he did not refuse to associate with various feudal groups, he did not recognize them as orthodox courts. What he yearns for is a Li dynasty with "I have wisdom" and "peace between the monarch and the people". He hopes to give birth to a wise monarch like Yao Shun. "When can I see Tang Yuzhi again, and I will repay your kindness to the people?" Ruan Bingqian also has the Confucian thought of valuing righteousness over profit. He believes that in the social life of Vietnam at that time, people pursued fame and fortune, were more and more influenced by money, and lost their innate kindness. I am disgusted with the phenomenon that "people and money are often valued in this world, and nothing allows people". Persuade people to "see profit and forget righteousness" in order to be kind to others and follow Confucian ethics.
Ruan Bingqian believes that people can't grasp the changing law of everything in the world, so he advocates "Lotte" and "know life", letting nature take its course and advocating "leisure". "Leisure" is the main content of his outlook on life. This thought also adapted to the life requirements of the literati class in Vietnamese society at that time. Ruan Bingqian regards fame and fortune as something outside his body, and thinks that "fame and fortune will be tired" and "fame and fortune will be full of thorns". But on the one hand, he advocates "waiting for the opportunity and adapting to the opportunity", and should adopt the attitude of adapting to the opportunity, adapting to nature, or living or joining the WTO. Ideologically, he thought that Vietnam at that time would eventually come to Thailand and return to prosperity, despite the contending and complicated social factions. To some extent, it denies the positive role of people and has negative and pessimistic thoughts.
The inaction thought of ruling by Tao, represented by Laozi and Zhuangzi, has a certain position in Ruan Bingqian's philosophical thought. Taoism is natural, while quietism keeps ignorance, lust and contention, which is the "smooth" Taoist ethical thought of human nature. As a supplement, it was also integrated into Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties and synthesized into one of the pillars of feudal class ethics. In the16th century, under the complicated and chaotic social situation in the late Li Dynasty in Vietnam, it was difficult for orthodox Confucianism to explain various social phenomena that occurred during social unrest. The original moral code has been destroyed, and no one can protect himself in the chaos. Therefore, a large number of Confucian scholars chose to live in seclusion, refused to join the evil political forces, and took inaction, detachment and abstinence as spiritual comfort. Ruan Bingqian is such a representative. He has the heart of "helping the poor in times of crisis", but he can't display his talents to realize his political ideals. "bucai was praised by the dragon by mistake, and he only played on his own, but his practical learning failed to match him, and he just laughed. People are honored to be friends in the same year, and I love Song Jun's friendship. Who is who must say, Qingyun is as high as white clouds. " It shows his lofty mentality of not admiring fame and not loving officialdom. After living in seclusion, he sent his feelings to mountains and rivers and recited poems. "One shovel, one gang, one fishing rod, nothing to do when he is idle, regardless of the interests of others." I was stupid, I sought silence, and he took him to a noisy place. Eat bean sprouts in winter, bamboo shoots in autumn, bathe in the lotus pond in spring and Tom in summer. When I came under the tree, I drank, and I regarded wealth as my dream. "
It is precisely because Ruan Bingqian has this kind of ideological support that Confucianism and Taoism blend and complement each other that he adopts the strategy that all factions help each other in the same boat. He served two opposing imperial courts at the same time, not only giving advice to Zheng, but also pointing out the way out for Ruan. Objectively, it has caused a social situation in which Vietnam confronts the north and the south and the two heroes compete for hegemony. It also laid a theoretical foundation for the long-term existence of this situation. Such incisive suggestions have given Ruan Bingqian a reputation as a wise man who can predict the future. It has also formed a rare code of words and deeds in the world that does not violate Confucianism and Taoism, does not allow personal moral concepts to be condemned by the heart, but can be recognized by the society and praised by people.