Personal details of Mohist Mozi

1. Introduction to Mozi Mozi lived about 468 BC to 376 BC (some say 479 BC to 381 BC). His name was Zhai (dí), also known as Mo Zhai, and he was a native of Lu. (Tengzhou). Mozi was a famous thinker, educator, strategist and founder of the Mohist school during the Warring States Period in my country. He founded the Mohist theory and had a book "Mozi" handed down to the world. The main contents include universal love, non-aggression, advocating the virtuous, advocating the same, frugal use, frugal burial, non-happiness, heavenly will, Minggui, non-fate, etc., with universal love as the core, and frugal use and advocating the virtuous as the fulcrum. Mohism had a great influence at that time and was called "Xianxue" together with Confucianism. After Mozi's death, the Mohists were divided into three schools: Xiangli's Mohism, Xiangfu's Mohism, and Dengling's Mohism.

Mozi was proficient in handicrafts and could be compared with Lu Ban, a skilled craftsman at that time. He calls himself "my humble" and is called "a man of common people". Mozi once served as a high official in the Song Dynasty. He boasted that "there is nothing for the emperor to do above, and there is no difficulty for farmers below." He was a scholar who sympathized with "farmers and workers." Mozi once studied with Confucian scholars, learned the techniques of Confucius, praised Yao, Shun and Dayu, and studied Confucian classics such as "Poetry", "Book" and "Spring and Autumn". But later he gradually became bored with the complicated rituals and music of Confucianism, and finally gave up Confucianism and formed his own Mohist school. Before the rise of Legalism, which represented the interests of the new landlord class, Mohism was the largest school of thought that opposed Confucianism in the pre-Qin Dynasty and was ranked among the "prominent schools".

Mozi’s activities throughout his life were mainly in two aspects. One was to recruit a wide range of disciples and actively promote his own doctrines, and the other was to spare no effort to oppose annexation wars.

The Mohist family is a group with strict organization and strict discipline. The supreme leader is called the "big man", and the members of the Mohist family are called "Mozhe". They must obey the guidance of the big man and obey the command, and they can " "Through fire and water, you will not turn back on your heels", which means that you will not turn back on your heels until you die.

In order to promote his ideas, Mozi recruited many disciples. There were usually hundreds of close disciples, forming a powerful Mohist school. Mozi traveled widely, reaching Qi and Lu in the east, Zheng and Wei in the north, and Chu and Yue in the south. [Edit this paragraph] 2. Mozi’s name The historical community has not yet been able to determine Mozi’s real name. There are various theories as follows:

1. Mozi’s surname was Mozi and his given name was Zhai

The most traditional and widely accepted view is that Mozi's surname was Mo and his first name was Zhai. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals", "Huainanzi", and "Historical Records. Biography of Mencius and Xunqing" are all called so. "The Compilation of Yuanhe Surnames" clearly states that Mozi was the descendant of Guzhujun, and the original Motai people changed their name to the Mo family. The "New Book of Tang·Yiwenzhi" also follows this statement. In addition, it is also mentioned in "Mencius" that Mozi's name was Mo Zhai (along with Yang Zhu) and he was called Mozi respectfully.

2. Mozi’s surname is Zhai Mingwu

The "Beishan Yiwen" written by Kong Zhigui of the Southern Qi Dynasty calls Mo Zhai "Zhaizi", and the "Langzi" written by Yi Shizhen of the Yuan Dynasty "Huan Ji" [2] also agrees with this theory and believes that Mozi's surname was Zhai and his name was Wu. The "Gushuwu Shuying" written by Zhou Lianggong of the Qing Dynasty put forward more specifically: "Ink is the way, and now the surname is the name." It is believed that his surname was Zhai, and the surname was changed into a given name; and "Mo" is a kind of school. "Reading Zi Yan" written by Jiang Qiong, a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty, follows Zhou Lianggong's statement and further explains that it is believed that the surname "Zhai" did exist in ancient times, but there was no surname "Mo", and among the scholars of the Warring States Period, Confucianism, Taoism, and Ming, Fa, Yin and Yang, Zongheng, Za, Nong, Novel, etc. do not use surnames as school names, so Mo should be the name of the school.

3. Mo Zhai is the pronunciation of "粊Di" or "Man Di", not a name.

Modern scholar Hu Huaichen studied Mozi, and in his book "Mo Zhai is The article "Identification of Indians" points out that Mo is neither a surname nor Zhai, nor a given name, but the pronunciation of "粊Di" or "ManDi", which is used to address a foreigner whose name is unknown.

4. Mo is one of the names of ancient punishments

Modern scholar Qian Mu’s "Biography of Mozi" conducts research from the perspective that Mo is one of the names of ancient punishments. He believes that the ancients committed light punishments. They were punished with hard labor as slaves, so they called Mo a prisoner, but they were actually slaves. The life of the Mo family was meager, and self-suffering was the ultimate way. Mozi and his disciples all had "calluses on their hands and feet, and dark faces. They were serving as slaves and did not dare to ask for their desires." Everyone was capable of "walking through fire and blade, and dying without hesitation." In this way, it is called ink. In history, Wang Yingbu of Huainan in the Western Han Dynasty was called Tingbu after being tattooed, which is also a proof. And Zhai is indeed his name. Because "Mozi" and "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" record Mo Zhai, he is often called "Zhai".

Although Mozi’s name is unknown, it is true that he looked dark. The compilation of the works of Mozi and the Mohist school was compiled into seventy-one chapters by Liu Xiang during the Western Han Dynasty. However, it was gradually lost after the Six Dynasties. The fifty-three chapters of the "Tao Zang" that are now handed down were originally written by Mo Zhai. But it also contains writing materials from Mohist disciples and later Mohists. This is the main historical book for studying the Mohist school now. According to the content, the book "Mozi" can be divided into five groups: the seven chapters from "Qin Shi" to "Three Bian" are Mozi's early works. Among them, the first three chapters are mixed with Confucian theory, which should be Mozi's "Xiu Xi" in his early years. The career of Confucian scholars is traced by the "art of Confucius"; the last four chapters are mainly about the theories of advocating virtue, advocating unity, heaven's will, frugality, and non-joy.

Twenty-four chapters from "Shangxian" to "Fei Ruxia" are a group, systematically reflecting Mozi's "universal love", "non-attack", "shangxian", "shangtong" and "frugal use" The ten major propositions, "Jie Burial", "Fei Yue", "Heaven's Will", "Ming Gui" and "Fei Ming" are the main part of the book "Mozi", "Classic" Part 1 and Part 2, "Jing Shuo" The first and second chapters, as well as the six chapters of "Daqi" and "Xiaoqi", are devoted to debates, physics, optics, etc. The predecessors attributed it to Mo Zhai because it was called "Jing". In fact, it is a work of the later Mohists. It is a precious material for studying Mohist logical thought and scientific and technological achievements. The five chapters from "Gongzhu" to "Gongshu" are records of Mozi's words and deeds. The style is similar to that of "The Analects of Confucius". They were compiled by Mozi's disciples and are also first-hand materials for studying Mozi's deeds. The following twenty chapters to the end of "Bei City Gate" (including nine chapters that have been lost) are devoted to city defense techniques and city defense systems. The system is similar to that of the Qin Dynasty. It was written by the Mohists of the Qin Dynasty during the Warring States Period. This is an important material for the study of Mohist military scholarship. .

"Mozi" has extensive content, including politics, military, philosophy, ethics, logic, science and technology, etc. It is an important historical material for the study of Mozi and his subsequent studies. Lu Sheng and Le Yi in the Western Jin Dynasty both wrote annotations for Mozi, but unfortunately they have been lost. The current popular versions include Sun Yirang's "Mozi Xianjue" and the version included in "The Collection of Zhuzi". [Edit this paragraph] 3. There is no clear record of where Mozi was born in the hometown of Mozi, and there are different opinions in history. In addition, Professor Zhang Zhihan, a professor at Shandong University and an expert on Mohism research, has verified that Mozi was born in Shandong Tengzhou people.

People of the Song Dynasty said

"Historical Records: Biography of Mencius and Xunqing": "Gai Mo Zhai, a great official of the Song Dynasty, was good at guarding the imperial court and used it for economy. It may be said that when it was combined with Confucius, it may be said that it was combined with Confucius. After that", some scholars call them Song people. This theory remained popular until the Qing Dynasty.

Chu people said

When Bi Yuan annotated "Mozi" in the Qing Dynasty, he based it on Gao Yu's annotation in "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" and referred to many of Mozi's and Lu Yang Wenjun's annotations. From the dialogue, it is presumed that he is from Luyang, that is, from Chu.

Chu people said

Historically, it was earlier suggested that Mozi was from Luyang. It should be Bi Yuan of the Qing Dynasty. When he wrote the annotations of "Mozi", Quoting Gao Youzhi's notes in "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" and referring to many of Mozi's conversations with Lu Yang Wenjun, it is inferred that he was from Lu Yang, that is, from Chu. However, this statement has been criticized by many scholars. Later, Liang Qichao also refuted the so-called Chu people theory. "At that time, I remembered that Liang Qichao quoted the statement in "Mozi Guiyi" to refute the 'Chu people theory'. There was a record in "Mozi Guiyi" that: 'Mozi traveled south to Chu.' We can assume that if Mozi was born in Luyang of Chu, then he would not have traveled to his hometown, but should have returned to Chu in the south. " Zhou Lisheng told reporters that according to Mozi's rigorous academic attitude. , will not confuse the meaning of travel and return. In addition, Liang Qichao also refuted the theory that Mozi was a Song Dynasty person in the "Mozi Study Case". He cited the statement in "Mozi Gongshu" about Mozi "returning to the Song Dynasty" to strongly prove that Mozi was not a Song Dynasty person.

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In "Mozi is a native of Lushan, Henan - A reply to Mr. Zhang Zhenheng and Xu Zhibang" published in the 01 issue of "Historical Monthly" in 1993, we see this explanation: Mozi was originally from Luyang He was not from Lu. Before Bi Yuan and Wu Yi in the Qing Dynasty, no one had really verified Mozi’s birthplace. No one pointed out where Mozi was from. Mozi was from Luyang, and was a descendant of Bi Yuan and Wu Yi. Conclusions after fieldwork.

The theory of Lu people

Zhang Zhihan, a famous contemporary scholar of Mohism, further verified that Mozi was originally from Tengzhou in papers such as "A New Exploration of Mozi's Li Ji" The place of birth should be Tengzhou. Its main basis:

There are many theories about the hometown of Mozi in academic circles, such as the Song people's theory, the Lu people's theory or the Qi people's theory, etc. Although the opinions are different, they all have the same theory. The theory is that Mozi was born in the country of Xiaozhu. In view of the discovery of this phenomenon, the research focused on Xiaozhu State. "Xiao Zhu State, also known as Li State in ancient times. According to historical records, the country's national power was weak, so it was once reduced to a vassal state of the major vassal states during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In the early and middle Spring and Autumn Period, Xiao Zhu State was a vassal state of the Song State. , Therefore, some people think that Mozi should be from the Song Dynasty, and at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the Xiaozhu Kingdom was taken over by the Lu Kingdom, so later some scholars said that Mozi should be from the Lu Kingdom; during the Warring States Period, the Qi Kingdom became more powerful. The king of Xiaozhu was forced to bow his head to Qi, and the so-called "Qi people theory" became popular in academic circles. "Although it has been ruled by many princes and great powers, the position of Xiaozhu has always remained unchanged. Near Tengzhou. The historical materials of all dynasties in my country also agree that the Xiaozhu Kingdom was near Tengzhou. After years of research by Zhang Zhihan, it was finally proved that Mozi was a native of Tengzhou and was born in a place called "Chaan" in Xiaozhu State. This statement was later submitted by him to the International Symposium on Mohism, and most scholars also recognized this statement.

In "Mozi Guiyi" it is recorded that: 'Mozi traveled south to Chu. ’ We can assume that if Mozi was born in Luyang, Chu State, then he would not have traveled to his hometown, but should have ‘returned south to Chu’. "Zhou Lisheng told reporters that according to Mozi's rigorous academic attitude, the meaning of travel and return would not be confused. In addition, Liang Qichao also refuted the Song Dynasty people in "Mozi's Academic Cases". He quoted The statement in "Mozi Gongshu" about Mozi "returning to the Song Dynasty" strongly proves that Mozi was not from the Song Dynasty.

"In fact, there are many opinions now, but most scholars still prefer Tengzhou's theory." [Edit this paragraph] 4. Mozi's Thoughts According to "Mozi", there are ten and five points in Mozi's thoughts. This kind of program is what "Mozi Lu Wen" says: "Whenever you enter a country, you must choose a task and do it. If the country is confused, you should pay attention to the virtuous and the same; if the country is poor, you should use it sparingly and bury it sparingly. If the sound of Xi is brilliant, then the speech is neither joyful nor life-giving; if the country is obscene and rude, then the speech is respectful of heaven and serves ghosts; if the country is engaged in aggression, the speech is of universal love and non-aggression. "Among them, universal love and non-aggression are. The core of Mozi's thought.

Mozi’s theoretical thoughts mainly include the following points:

① Love all but not attack. The so-called universal love includes the meaning of equality and fraternity. Mozi required that monarchs and ministers, fathers and sons, and brothers should love each other on the basis of equality, and "love others as you love yourself." He also believed that the phenomenon of the strong and the weak, the rich bullying the poor, and the arrogant and the humble in society is because people in the world do not Caused by love.

②Heaven knows the ghost. Promoting heaven's will, ghosts and gods is a major feature of Mozi's thought. Mozi believed that the will of heaven is to love all the people in the world. Because "people, regardless of whether they are young or old, high or low, are all ministers of God" and "Heaven loves its people deeply", if the monarch disobeys the will of God, he will be punished by God, and on the contrary, he will be rewarded by God. Mozi not only believed in the existence of ghosts and gods, but also believed that they would reward good deeds and punish violent ones for human monarchs or nobles. The idea of ??natural human rights and restraint on the monarch in Mozi's religious philosophy is a highlight of Mozi's philosophy.

③Shang Tongshangxian. Shangtong requires that the people and the emperor all agree with the will of heaven, work together as one, and implement righteous government. Honoring the virtuous includes electing virtuous people as officials and electing virtuous people as emperors and kings. Mozi believed that the king must elect wise men in the country, and the people should obey the king in public and administrative matters. Mozi asked the superiors to understand the lower affairs, because only in this way can good deeds be rewarded and violence punished. Mozi required that the emperor should be able to promote the virtuous and the capable, that is, appoint the virtuous and suppress the unworthy. Mozi valued virtuous people and regarded them as the foundation of political affairs. He was particularly opposed to the use of flesh-and-blood relations between monarchs, and for sages regardless of their origins, he proposed that "officials are not always high, and people are not always low."

④ Use the best for funerals. Frugality is a point of view that the Mohists attach great importance to. They criticize the extravagance and waste of monarchs and nobles, and especially oppose the custom of long mourning and generous burials that Confucianism values. It is believed that monarchs and nobles should live an honest and frugal life like Yu the Great in ancient times. Mozi required Mozi to practice this aspect personally.

Philosophical and Political Thought

The main contribution of Mozi’s philosophical thought is in epistemology. He takes the direct sensory experience of "the reality of the ears and eyes" as the only source of knowledge. He believes that judging the existence or absence of things cannot be based on personal imagination, but must be based on what everyone sees and hears. Starting from this simple materialist empiricism, Mozi put forward the standard for testing the authenticity of knowledge, namely three tables: "The things of the ancient saint kings are based on the above", "The reality of the people's ears and eyes is observed below", "Abolition of "(Fa) considers criminal administration to be based on the interests of the people of the country and the people." Mozi integrated "things", "realities" and "benefits", took indirect experience, direct experience and social effects as the criterion, and tried hard to eliminate personal subjective prejudices. Regarding the relationship between name and reality, he put forward the proposition that "it is not based on its name, but its name", advocating that the name should be rectified by reality and be worthy of its name. Mozi's epistemology that emphasized the authenticity of sensory experience also had great limitations. He once concluded that "there are ghosts and gods" on the grounds that some people "tasted the things of ghosts and gods and heard the voices of ghosts and gods." But Mozi did not ignore the role of rational understanding. The Mohist school created China's first logical ideological system.

One view is that there are profound internal contradictions in Mozi’s worldview. On the one hand, he emphasized "not fate" and "power", believing that it is not "fate" but "power" that determines people's different experiences. On the other hand, Mozi affirmed the role of "Heaven's Will" and "Ghost". He described "Heaven" as a personal God with will, and preached that "those who obey God's will" will "certainly be rewarded"; "those who oppose God's will" will "certainly be punished". He believes that "loving each other and being beneficial to each other" means "submitting to the will of heaven", and "not being evil to each other and being hostile to each other" means "going against the will of heaven". But another view is that "non-fate" and "heaven's will" embody the strong ideological tension of Mozi's "Debate between Heaven and Man". In Mozi's religious philosophy, heaven's will loves all but does not control the destiny, and the way of heaven rewards hard work. , God likes people who constantly strive for self-improvement.

Mozi put forward political propositions such as "universal love", "non-aggression", "honoring the virtuous", "promoting unity", "frugal use", "frequent burial" and "non-joy". . "Easy to separate" is the core of his social and political thought, and "non-offensive" is his specific action program. He believes that as long as everyone "loves and benefits each other," there will be no such phenomena as strong bullying of the weak, arrogance and inferiority, wisdom and deceit, and mutual attacks between countries in society. He sharply exposed and criticized the harm caused by the wars launched by the rulers and the extravagant pleasures in ordinary etiquette and customs. In terms of the principle of employment, Mozi advocated appointing people on their merits and opposed nepotism. He advocated that "officials are not always high, but people are never low." He also advocated that everyone from the emperor, the princes of the princes to the chiefs at all levels should "select the most worthy people in the world" to serve; and the people and the emperor and the king must obey the will of heaven, carry forward universal love, and implement righteous government. Otherwise, It is illegal. This is Mencius' well-known advocate of "non-attack, universal love".

Logical Thought

Mozi is also one of the important pioneers of ancient Chinese logical thought. He consciously and extensively used logical inference methods to establish or demonstrate his own political and ethical thoughts.

He also proposed the logical concepts of argument, category, and reason for the first time in the history of Chinese logic. And requires learning debate as a specialized knowledge. Although Mozi's "bian" generally refers to debate techniques, it is based on knowing categories (kinds of things) and knowing reasons (basis, reasons), and therefore belongs to the category of logical analogy or argumentation. The "three expressions" mentioned by Mozi are not only the ideological standards for speech, but also contain elements of reasoning and argumentation. Mozi was also good at using analogies to expose the contradictions of his opponents. Due to Mozi's advocacy and enlightenment, the Mohists developed a tradition of emphasizing logic, and the later Mohists established the first ancient Chinese logic system. [Edit this paragraph] 5. The works of Mozi The works about Mozi include the book "Mozi". This book is a record of Mozi's words and deeds by his disciples and his subsequent disciples.

"Mozi" is divided into two parts: one part records Mozi's words and deeds and expounds Mozi's thoughts, which mainly reflects the thoughts of the early Mohists; the other part "Jingshang", "Jingxia", "Jings" Six chapters, including "Shuo Shang", "Jing Shuo Xia", "Daqi" and "Xiaoqi", are generally called Mo Bian or Mo Jing. They focus on the epistemology and logical thoughts of Mohism, and also contain many natural science contents, reflecting The later Mohist thought. In the history of logic, it is called late Mohist logic or Mohist logic (one of the three major logic systems in the ancient world, the other two being the logic system of ancient Greece and the science of enlightenment in Buddhism); it also contains many natural science contents, especially are astronomy, geometric optics and statics.

The compilation of the works of Mozi and the Mohist school was compiled into seventy-one chapters by Liu Xiang in the Western Han Dynasty. However, it was gradually lost after the Six Dynasties. The current version of "Tao Zang" has fifty-three chapters. Originally they were all written by Mo Zhai, but there are also writings by Mo Zi's disciples and later Mohists. This is now the main historical book for studying the Mohist school. According to the content, the book "Mozi" can be divided into five groups: the seven chapters from "Qin Shi" to "Three Bian" are Mozi's early works. Among them, the first three chapters are mixed with Confucian theory, which should be Mozi's "Xiu Xi" in his early years. The career of Confucian scholars is traced by the "art of Confucius"; the last four chapters are mainly about the theories of advocating virtue, advocating unity, heaven's will, frugality, and non-joy. Twenty-four chapters from "Shangxian" to "Fei Ruxia" are a group, which systematically reflects Mozi's "universal love", "non-attack", "shangxian", "shangtong" and "frugality". The ten major propositions of , "Burial Festival", "Fei Yue", "Heaven's Will", "Ming Gui" and "Fei Ming" are the main part of the book "Mozi", "Jing" Part 1 and Part 2, "Jing Shuo" The first and second chapters, as well as the six chapters of "Daqi" and "Xiaoqi", are devoted to debates, physics, optics, etc. The predecessors attributed it to Mo Zhai because it was called "Jing". In fact, it is a work of the later Mohists. It is a precious material for studying Mohist logical thought and scientific and technological achievements. The five chapters from "Gongzhu" to "Gongshu" are records of Mozi's words and deeds. The style is similar to that of "The Analects of Confucius". They were compiled by Mozi's disciples and are also first-hand materials for studying Mozi's deeds. The following twenty chapters to the end of "Bei City Gate" (including nine chapters that have been lost) are devoted to city defense techniques and city defense systems. The system is similar to that of the Qin Dynasty. It was written by the Mohists of the Qin Dynasty during the Warring States Period. This is an important material for the study of Mohist military scholarship. .

"Mozi" has extensive content, including politics, military, philosophy, ethics, logic, science and technology, etc. It is an important historical material for the study of Mozi and his subsequent studies. Lu Sheng and Le Yi in the Western Jin Dynasty both wrote annotations for Mozi, but unfortunately they have been lost. The current popular versions include Sun Yirang's "Mozi Xianjue" and the version included in "The Collection of Zhuzi".

Since the Qin Dynasty, the remarks of Mozi and his disciples have been scattered in various classics, such as "Xinxu", "Xizi", "Yanzi Chunqiu", "Han Feizi", "Lü" "Spring and Autumn Annals", "Huainanzi", "Liezi", "Warring States Policy", "Old Stories of the Palaces", "Biography of Immortals" and so on. Liu Xiang's "Hanshu·Yiwenzhi" of the Western Han Dynasty recorded the scattered chapters into seventy-one chapters of "Mozi". It has been lost through generations, and by the Song Dynasty, only sixty chapters remained. At present, only fifty-three chapters remain, and eighteen chapters have been lost. Among them, the following eight chapters have been lost: the second chapter of "Jie Yong", the first and middle chapters of "Jie Yong", the middle chapter of "Ming Gui", the middle and second chapters of "Fei Le", and the first chapter of "Fei Ru". In addition, the titles of the other ten chapters have all been lost. Among these ten chapters, only "Shi Zhengyi" has mentioned the title of "Bei Wei", and the rest cannot be tested.

The book "Mozi" was neither written by one person nor completed in one time. It is generally believed that "Mozi" is a family statement written by Mozi himself and his disciples who recorded Mozi's remarks.