Mozi

Author: Shi Ming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Mozi (468-378 BC), surnamed Mo, named Zhi, was a native of Lu (or said to be from Saye). He served as a minister in the state of Song and traveled to various feudal states, spreading his doctrines. The Yueluo chapter of the Huainanzi states: "Mozi studied the teachings of Confucianism and learned from Confucius." This shows that Mozi had Confucian origins but later, in terms of theoretical thought, he challenged Confucianism and established the Mohist school. The Mohist school is reflected in the Mozi, a book compiled by Mozi's disciples based on his teachings. The Book of Han·Bibliography records that the Mozi originally had seventy-one chapters, but only fifty-three survive today. Divided by content, they can be roughly categorized into five types. The first group, including the first seven chapters such as Qinshi (Loving the People), Xiushen (Self-Cultivation), and Suoyan (Influences), consists of unrelated content and inconsistent styles. The second group, comprising ten treatises such as Shangxian (Veneration of the Worthy), Shangtong (Promoting Unity), Jian'ai (Universal Love), Feigong (Non-Aggression), Jieyong (Frugality in Use), Jiezang (Frugality in Funerals), Tianzhi (Heavenly Will), Minggui (Belief in Ghosts), and Feiming (Rejection of Fate), forms a complete system and represents the essence of Mozi's thought. The third group, consisting of ten chapters such as Jingshang (Upper Canon), Jingxia (Lower Canon), Jingshuo Shang (Upper Commentary), Jingshuo Xia (Lower Commentary), Daju (Major Taking), and Xiaaju (Minor Taking), covers a wide range of topics, including logic, ethics, politics, economics, philosophy, mathematics, mechanics, and optics, making it highly academically valuable. The fourth group, including five chapters such as Gengzhu (The Farmer Zhu), Guiyi (Valuing Righteousness), Gongmeng (The Master of the Public), Luwen (Questions from Lu), and Gongshu (Master Gong's Craft), mostly records Mozi's travels and sayings. The fifth group, consisting of eleven chapters such as Beichengmen (Preparing for City Gates), focuses on military strategies for defense. During Mozi's time, many states rose to power, and the Hundred Schools of Thought flourished, while the common people suffered greatly from war and chaos, desperately longing for peace and stability. Mozi, standing on the side of the common people, advocated "universal love" and "non-aggression" to protect the survival of the people and weaker states. He believed that mutual love among the people was in line with the will of Heaven, while mutual destruction was contrary to it. He also argued that the wars between feudal lords were the root cause of chaos in the world. Against the traditional hereditary system of official ranks and salaries, Mozi, ahead of his time, proposed the political ideas of "veneration of the worthy" (Shangxian) and "promoting unity" (Shangtong) to achieve a unified and orderly world. "Veneration of the worthy" meant that anyone who understood governance and possessed talent, regardless of status, could participate in politics. "Promoting unity" aimed to achieve ideological consensus in society based on "veneration of the worthy," transforming chaos into order. To attract attention to his ideas and realize his social ideals, Mozi, on one hand, used the authority of Heaven and ghosts to propose the theories of "Heavenly Will" (Tianzhi) and "Belief in Ghosts" (Minggui), and on the other hand, emphasized the spirit of self-improvement and relentless effort, proposing the theory of "Rejection of Fate" (Feiming). In an era of underdeveloped productivity and limited material wealth, Mozi believed that "frugality leads to prosperity, while extravagance leads to ruin," and thus advocated "frugality in use" (Jieyong) and "frugality in funerals" (Jiezang), discouraging luxury and encouraging thrift. The core of the Mohist school is "universal love" and "non-aggression," aiming to stabilize people's livelihoods, develop the economy, reform politics, and achieve a utopian society. In fact, the Mozi covers a vast range of topics, including politics, military strategy, economics, science and technology, philosophy, ethics, and logic, making it a prominent school of thought that challenged Confucianism. The Xianxue chapter of the Han Feizi states: "The prominent schools of thought in the world are Confucianism and Mohism." In the early Warring States period, Mohism even surpassed Confucianism in popularity, to the extent that Mencius exclaimed, "Mozi's teachings filled the world," and Xunzi lamented, "Rites and music faded away, sages withdrew, and Mohism flourished." The rise of Mohism lay in its proposing social theories and political solutions that Confucianism did not, such as "governing the world," "rectifying feudal lords," "veneration of the worthy," and "equality of status," as well as the "legalist" and "technique" ideas based on utilitarianism and realism, which attracted strong interest from all social strata, from monarchs to commoners. Especially in opposing greedy and ruthless wars and extravagant lifestyles, Mohism reflected the voice of the lower classes. For a long time, under the influence of Confucian dominance, autocratic centralism, and the ultra-leftist ideology after the founding of the People's Republic, Mozi's thought has been neglected, which is highly inconsistent with the historical prominence of Mohism and the value of its ideas. In 1997, China Bookstore published the "Mozi and the World Today Series" (ten volumes), edited by Fei Xiaotong, Ren Jiyou, Zhang Dainian, Cai Shangsi, and others, systematically explaining the modern applicability of Mohism in ten aspects: thinking methods, new cultural construction, new ethics, contemporary politics, education, modern science and technology, world peace, contemporary values, economics, and military strategy. Mr. Cai Shangsi even believed: "Mozi's value in the history of Chinese thought and culture surpasses any other school or sect." This is no exaggeration. Today, aspects of Mozi's thought—such as his rejection of patriarchal and kinship-based systems, equality before the law, emphasis on human effort over fate, advocacy of economic development and thrift, and the spirit of practical action—as well as his contributions to science—deserve to be rediscovered and valued once again.