Abstract: The Record of Instructions is not only a collection of Wang Yangming's thoughts, but also the principle provisions of the Yangming school. The compilation of the Record of Instructions is actually the process of generating and maintaining the academic discourse of Yangming philosophy. This process reflects not only the academic level of the compilers, but also the ideological situation of different researchers and editors and the status of Yangming philosophy of mind in the hearts of different people. With the enhancement of the appeal of Yangming philosophy, disagreements among scholars of Yangming school and Cheng-Zhu school shocked the ideological circles of the Ming Dynasty. The disagreements were not only related to the position of traditional Confucianism, but also to the factors of political struggle. The Record of Instructions went through the late Ming Dynasty when the book carving industry was in prosperity and the Qing Dynasty when the "real learning" was in prosperity, which coincided with the development of Yangming philosophy.

Key words: Wang Yangming, the Record of Instructions, the philosophy of the mind, Confucian of ideolism, book carving industry, the Imperial Examination