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The Mozi 墨子 "Master Mo" is a book compiled by the early Warring States period 戰國 (5th cent.-221 BCE) philosopher Mo Di 墨翟. Mo Di might have been of humble origin and never obtained a higher office at one of the courts of the many contending states. He lived the very common live of a wandering advisor and traveled from state to state. He served the rulers of Song 宋, Wei 衛, Qi 齊, Chu 楚 and Yue 越. There is one story that Mozi traveled day and night to reach the court of King Hui of Chu 楚惠王 (r. 488-432) to prevent him from beginning a conquest war against Song. This story includes one of Mozi's main philosophical concepts, not to wage offensive war. He later submitted a book to the king of Chu. It is also known that he had a friendship with Lord Wen of Luyang 魯陽文君, a nobleman of Chu.
The book Mozi is said to have been 71 chapters long, of which later 18 went lost. The received Mozi has only 53 chapters. It covers twelve different philosophical themes, each treated in three different versions. Not all versions are preserved for each chapter. Except the twelve philosophical treatises, there are a lot of diverse chapters dealing with advises for government and defense war. Very interesting are the chapters of the so-called Mohist Canon (Mojing 墨經), namely Jing 經, Jingshuo 經說, Daqu 大取 and Xiaoqu 小取. These chapters present a lot of definitions and thus can be seen as a first type of philosophical dictionary. They also include a lot of scientific terms, which shows that the Mohists (mojia 墨家) were a very practical school. Some chapters are of doubtful origin (Qinshi 親士, Xiushen 修身, and Suoran 所染) and might not be written by Mozi's disciples.
While the twelve core chapters are traditionally attributed to Mo Di himself, the Mohist Canon is surely of later date and includes cosmological concepts not yet ripe in Mo Di's time, like the Five Phases and the logical dictinction of "correct" and "not correct" (shi fei 是非). The Mohists discern logically between concept (ming 名), argumentation (shuo 說), and conclusion (ci 辭). Each chapter has a distinct focus. Jing shang and Jingshuo shang describe conceptual terms. Jing xia and Jingshuo xia deal with terms of definition and conclusion. The chapters Daqu and Xiaoqu speak of reasoning, argumentation and of terms in respect of comparison. Inspite of this theoretical background the chapters of the Mohist canon deal with very concrete and practical matters, like the physical and philosophical explanation of comprehension and the connection between perception and reasoning. In the field of physics the Mohists were interested in mechanics, optics and geometry. Through the ages the six chapters of the Mohist canon have suffered and are full of writing errors.
Although in the field of morality and ethics, Confucianism and Mohism have common features, there are also many differences making them adherents ardent adversaries. Mengzi 孟子, for example, castigates Mozi's "universal love" (jian'ai 兼愛), which is unacceptable for a Confucian worshipping social hierarchies. Mozi also rejects Confucianism in his last triple-treatise (Fei Ru 非儒).
The main philosophical concepts of Mozi are universal love and a prohibition of offensive war. These two behaviours will bring harmony in society and prevent the strong exploiting the weak and the rich suppressing the poor. The will of Heaven, which loves mankind, has to be followed by the ruler, who likewise has to love his people. In this respect Mozi is very similar to Mengzi. Ghosts and spirits will likewise, as Mozi thinks, retribute good and evil doing. The ruler has to understand the will of his subjects, and the subjects have to comply with the ruler. The ruler of a state has therefore to make use of the most worthy persons from among the people to support him in government. The last point is also similar to Confucian thinking. A very important point in Mozi's thinking is economical behaviour. Burials have to be austere and simple, quite contrary to Confucians who invest a lot to express their filial piety to the deceased. At the court, luxury and prodigity should be avoided. Mozi thus is against music. This is also the opposite of Confucian thought according to which music is in integral part of rituals.
During the Warring Stats period Mohist thought was very widespread, and Mozi's disciples represented an earnest competitor for Confucians like Mengzi. The most important Mohist philosophers are Qin Huali 禽滑釐, Xianzi Shuo 縣子碩, Gongshang Guo 公尚過, Chanzi 纏子, Tianqiuzi 田俅子, Suichaozi 隨巢子, and Hufeizi 胡非子. After the death of Mozi his disciples divided into three different traditions: Master Xiangli 相里氏, Master Xiangfu 相夫氏, and Master Deng Ling 鄧陵氏. Some of them taught in the eastern states of Qi and Song, some in the southern states of Chu and Yue, but there were also some Mohist philosophers adivising the rulers of the newcomer Qin 秦 in the west. The Mohist philosophers were known for their austerity and seriousness, and leaders among them, like the famous Master Juzi 鉅子 were followed through ice and fire.
The Mohist school was totally overshadowed by Confucians and legalists in the late Warring States period and fell into oblivion from the Former Han period 前漢 (206 BCE-8 CE) on. The first commentary to the Mohist Canon chapters Jing and Jingshuo was written by the Western Jin period 西晉 (265-316) scholar Lu Sheng 魯勝. There must also have been a commentary written by a certain Le She 樂舌. Both commentaries are lost, and of Lu's commentary only the preface has survived (Mobian zhu xu 墨辯注敍). Only during the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) scholars started being interested in Mohist and wrote commentaries to the Mohist writings, like Lu Wenchao 盧文弨, Sun Xingyan 孫星衍 and Bi Yuan 畢沅 (Mozi zhu 墨子注). The most widespread commentary is Sun Yirang's Mozi xiangu 墨子閑詁. Liang Qichao 梁啟超 has written a commentary to the Mohist canon, the Mojing jiaoshi 墨經校釋. A lot of scholars has studied the Mohist canon in the 20th century, like Wu Feibai 伍非百 (Mobian jiegu 墨辯解故), Tan Jiefu 譚戒甫 (Mobian fawei 墨辯發微), Gao Heng 高亨 (Mojing jiaoquan 墨經校詮), and others.
While there are several translations of the twelve core chapters of the Mozi, the whole canon has only recently been translated by Ian Johnston (2010), The Mozi: A Complete Translation, New York: Columbia University Press.
Sources:
Mou Zhongjian 牟鍾鋻 (1992). "Mojing 墨經", in: Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Zhongguo lishi 中國歷史, vol. 2, pp. 702-703. Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe.
Wu Rongceng 吳榮曾 (1992). "Mozi 墨子", in: Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Zhongguo lishi 中國歷史, vol. 2, p. 703. Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe.
| Contents |
Epitomes
1. Qinshi 親士 On being sympathetic towards officers
2. Xiushen 修身 On cultivating the self
3. Suoran 所染 On dyeing
4. Fayi 法儀 On standards and rules
5. Qihuan 七患 On the seven misfortunes
6. Ciguo 辭過 On eschewing faults
7. Sanbian 三辯 Three arguments
Core doctrines
I (Canon 8-10) Shangxian 尚賢 Exalting worthies I-III
II (11-13) Shangtong 尚同 Exalting unity I-III
III (14-16) Jian'ai 兼愛 Universal love I-III
IV (17-19) Feigong 非攻 Condemning offensive warfare I-III
V (20-22) Jieyong 節用 Moderation in use I-II (version 3 lost)
VI (23-25) Jiezang 節葬 Moderation in funerals III (versions 1 and 2 lost)
VII (26-28) Tianzhi 天志 Heaven's intention I-III
VIII (29-31) Minggui 明鬼 Percipient ghosts III (versions 1 and 2 lost)
IX (32-34) Feiyue 非樂 Condemning music I (versions 2 and 3 lost)
X (35-37) Feiming 非命 Against fate I-III
XII (38-39) Fei Ru 非儒 Against the Confucians II (version 1 lost, no version 3)
Language, logic and science
40.-41. Jing 經 1-2 Canons A-B
42.-43. Jingshuo 經說 1-2 Explanations A-B (combined with chapters 40-41)
44. Daqu 大取 Choosing the greater (The great treatise about universal love)
45. Xiaoqu 小取 Choosing the lesser (The small treatise about universal love)
Dialogues
46. Gengzhu 耕柱 Disciple Gengzhu
47. Guiyi 貴義 Valuing righteousness
48. Gongmeng 公孟 The Confucian Gongming Yi 公明義
49. Lu Wen 魯問 The questions of the Duke of Lu
50. Gongshu 公輸 The military expert Gongshu Pan 公輸盤
51. (lost)
Defence of a city
52. Beichengmen 備城門 Preparing the wall and gates
53. Beigaolin 備高臨 MPreparing against the high approach
54. (lost)
55. (lost)
56. Beiti 備梯 Preparing against ladders
57. (lost)
58. Beishui 備水 Preparing against flooding
59. (lost)
60. (lost)
61. Beitu 備突 Preparing against sudden attack
62. Beixue 備穴 Preparing against tunnelling
63. Bei'efu 備蛾傅 Preparing against ant-like mass attacks
64. (lost)
65. (lost)
66. (lost)
67. (lost)
68. Yindici 迎敵祠 Sacrifices for meeting the enemy
69. Qizhi 旗幟 Flags and pennons
70. Haoling 號令 Orders and commands
71. Zashou 雜守 Miscellaneous defences |
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Chinese literature according to the four-category system
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