Abstract The great polemies on memorial ceremony is an epock making event that took place in the Ming Dynasty.To
make a more penetrating study of the history of the middle and late periods of the Ming Dynasty,it is in the first place necessary to have a fresh understanding of this great debate,and the key to this reexamination lies in getting rid of the bias that Zhang Cong was trying to “cater to”Emperor Shizong's personal demands.The fact is that Zhang Cong expressed his ideas in terms of the legal effectiveness of Emperor Wuzong's testmentary edict,the way of the world then and the
human relationships of the time,and on the basis of these statements he argued persistently against Yang Tinghe's attempt to force Emperor Shizong to replace his parents.It is clear that Zhang Cong performed an act that is legitimate,reasonable and conforming to human
feelings,and it is by no means “a vile character's” act by which he tried to “cater to ”or “figure out” what Emperor Shizong was thinking about.In debating,Yang Tinghe and his followers did everything they could to cater to and strain their arguments,which were indeed against the law,convention and human feelings:it was they who formed a catering clique,one of the fundamental reasons for their failure.