 The liberal views of Wang Yangming were opposed by the Censorate and by the Donglin Academy , re @-@ established in 1604 . These conservatives wanted a revival of orthodox Confucian ethics . Conservatives such as Gu Xiancheng ( 1550 – 1612 ) argued against Wang 's idea of innate moral knowledge , stating that this was simply a legitimization for unscrupulous behavior such as greedy pursuits and personal gain . These two strands of Confucian thought , hardened by Chinese scholars ' notions of obligation towards their mentors , developed into pervasive factionalism among the ministers of state , who used any opportunity to impeach members of the other faction from court . 
