Mozi is proficient in manual skills and can be compared with Luban, a skilled craftsman at that time. He claimed to be "my man" and was called "the man in cloth". Mozi used to be a doctor in the Song Dynasty, boasting that "there is nothing in the upper class and no agricultural difficulties in the lower class". He is a scholar who sympathizes with the "workers and peasants". Mozi once studied the skills of Confucius, praised Yao and Shun Dayu, and studied Confucian classics such as poetry, calligraphy and the Spring and Autumn Period. But later, I gradually got tired of the complicated rites and music of Confucianism, and finally gave up Confucianism and formed my own Mohist school. Before the rise of the Legalist school representing the interests of the new landlord class, Mohism was the most university school opposed to Confucianism in the pre-Qin period and tied for "outstanding learning".
Mozi's life activities are mainly in two aspects: one is to recruit disciples and actively publicize his own theory, and the other is to spare no effort to oppose the merger war.
Mohism is a well-organized and disciplined group. The supreme leader is called "Giant" and all Mohist members are called "Mohist". They must obey the guidance and command of giants, and they can "go through fire and water and never leave", that is to say, they will never retreat until they die.
In order to publicize his own ideas, Mozi accepted disciples widely, and the number of disciples generally reached hundreds, forming a huge Mohist team. Mozi traveled widely, from Qi and Lu in the east, Zheng and Wei in the north and Chu and Yue in the south. [Edit this paragraph] Second, the history of Mozi's name has been unable to determine Mozi's real name. There is the following statement:
1. Mozi's surname is Mo Mingzhai.
The most traditional and popular view is that Mozi's surname is Mo Mingzhai. This is what Lu said in Chunqiu, Huainanzi, Historical Records, Mencius and Biography of Xun Qing. After Yuan He's editing, it was clearly put forward that Mozi was a solitary bamboo king, and this Mohist school was changed to Mohist school. This statement is also used in the "New Tang Shuyi Wen Zhi". In addition, in Mencius, it is also mentioned that Mo Zhai, the name of Mozi (together with Yang Zhu), is regarded as Mozi.
2. Mozi's surname is Zhai Wuming
Kong Guizhi of the Southern Qi Dynasty called Mo Zhai "Zhai Zi", and Yi Shizhen of the Yuan Dynasty echoed this statement and thought that Mozi's surname was Zhai Wuming. In the Qing Dynasty, Zhou Lianggong's book "The Shadow of the Ancient Bookstore" put forward more specifically: "Take the ink as the Tao, and now take the surname as the name." Think that his surname is Zhai and his surname is changed to his first name; And "ink" is a school. Reading Yan Zi by Jiang Qiong, a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty, inherited Zhou Lianggong's statement, further explaining that Zhai surname did exist in ancient times, but there was no Mo surname. Confucianism, Taoism, fame, law, Yin and Yang, vertical and horizontal, miscellaneous, agriculture and novels in the Warring States period did not take the surname as the school name, so Mo should be the school name.
Mo Zhai is a transliteration of "Zhidi" or "Man Di", not a name.
Hu, a modern scholar, has studied Mozi, and pointed out in the article "Defending Indians" that Mozi is neither a surname nor a surname, nor a name, but a tone sandhi of "De" or "Man De", which is used to address unknown foreigners.
4. Ink is one of the ancient criminal names.
Modern scholar Qian Mu's Biography of Mozi studies Mohist punishment from the point of view that if the ancients committed light punishment, they would be punished as slave workers, hence the name Mohist was a prisoner, but Mohist was poor all his life, and his way was self-suffering. Mozi and his disciples are "calluses, dark-faced, and dare not desire", and everyone can make the appearance of "going through fire and water and never looking back". This is called ink. It is also a proof that Ying Bu, the king of Huainan in the Western Han Dynasty, was called Qing Bu after being hanged. Zhai is indeed a name, because both Mozi and Lv Chunqiu recorded Mo Zhai, so it is often called Zhai.
Although Mozi's name can't be tested, it is true that he is black. The compilation of Mozi's Mohist works was compiled by Liu Xiang in the Western Han Dynasty and gradually lost after the Six Dynasties. At present, 53 books of Taoist Collection were originally written by Mo Zhai, but there are also works by Mozi disciples and later Mohists, which are the main historical materials for studying Mohists now. The book Mozi can be divided into five groups according to its content: Mozi's early seven works, from pro-Confucianism to three debates, the first three are mixed with Confucianism, which should be the traces of Mozi's early "learning from Confucianism and being taught by Confucius"; The last four chapters are mainly about Shang Xian, Shang Tong, Tian Zhi, frugality, non-happiness and other theories. Twenty-four articles from Shang Dynasty to Fei Ruxia are a group, which systematically reflect Mozi's ten propositions: universal love, non-aggression, being present, Shang Tong, frugality, frugality, non-happiness, ambition, ghost and non-fate. Five Chapters from Geng Xu to Gong Bo is a record of Mozi's words and deeds, similar in style to the Analects of Confucius, compiled by Mozi's disciples, and is the first-hand information to study Mozi's deeds. The following to the last twenty articles (including nine lost articles) are devoted to guarding the city and the city defense system, which is similar to that of Qin Dynasty. It was written by Mohist in the Warring States Period and is an important material for studying Mohist military books.
Mozi has a wide range of contents, including politics, military affairs, philosophy, ethics, logic, science and technology, etc. It is an important historical material for studying Mozi and his later studies. In the Western Jin Dynasty, both Lu Sheng and Le Yi commented on Mozi, but it has been lost. Nowadays, Sun Yirang's Mozi Idleness and The Scholars Integration are very popular. [Edit this paragraph] Third, where Mozi was born in Mozi's hometown, there is no clear record in the existing books, and there are different opinions in history. In addition, Professor Zhang Zhihan, a professor at Shandong University and an expert on Mohism, verified that Mozi was from Tengzhou, Shandong.
Song people said
Biographies of Historical Records Mencius Xun Qing: "Dr. Gai Song was good at self-defense and saving money. Or when Confucius merged, or after ",according to which some scholars called it Song people. This theory has been popular until the Qing Dynasty.
Chu people said
When Bi Yuan annotated Mozi in Qing Dynasty, according to the highly summarized annotations in Lv Chunqiu and referring to many conversations between Mozi and Luyang Wen Jun, he was presumed to be a Luyang person, that is, a Chu person.
Chu people said
It was put forward earlier in history that Mozi belonged to Luyang people and should be Bi Yuan in Qing Dynasty. When he wrote Mozi's Annotation, he quoted the highly seductive annotation in Lv Chunqiu, and referred to many conversations between Mozi and Luyang, inferring that Mozi was a Luyang person, that is, a Chu person. However, this view was criticized by many scholars, and later Liang Qichao also refuted the so-called Truman theory. "At that time, I remember that Liang Qichao quoted a sentence from Mozi's Return to Righteousness to refute the theory of Chu people. In Mozi's Return to Righteousness, it is recorded that Mozi swam south to Chu. " We can assume that if Mozi was born in Chuluyang, then he would not go to his hometown, but should be' South to Chu'. Lisheng Zhou told reporters that according to Mozi's rigorous academic attitude, the meaning of traveling and returning will not be confused. In addition, Liang Qichao took Mozi as an example to refute the theory of Song Dynasty. He quoted the saying that Mozi "returned to the Song Dynasty" in Mozi Gong Shi to prove that Mozi was not in the Song Dynasty either.
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In the article "Re-discussing that Mozi was from Lushan, Henan Province-Answering Mr. Zhang zhen Heng and Mr. Xu Zhibang" published in theNo. 1993 issue of Historical Monthly, we saw the explanation that Mozi was originally from Luyang, not from Shandong. Before Bi Yuan and Wuyi in the Qing Dynasty, no one really researched Mozi's nationality, and no one pointed it out.
Lu said
Zhang Zhihan, a well-known contemporary Mohist, made further textual research in his papers "Mozi's Origin in Tengzhou" and "A New Exploration of Mozi's Nationality", and thought that Mozi's birthplace should be Tengzhou. Its main basis:
There are many theories about Mozi's hometown in academic circles, such as Song people's theory, Lu people's theory or Qi people's theory. Although there are different opinions, it is generally believed that Mozi was born in Xiaoguo. In view of the discovery of this phenomenon, the research focuses on small fruit. "Small fruit, called Guo Yong in ancient times, was once a vassal state of the major vassal states during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period because of its weak national strength. In the early and middle spring and autumn period, Xiaoguo was a vassal state of the Song Dynasty. So some people think that Mozi should be a member of the Song Dynasty. At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Xiao was taken by Lu, so some scholars later said that Mozi should be from Lu. During the Warring States period, the strength of Qi forced Xiaoguo to bow to Qi, and the so-called "Qi Ren Theory" was circulated in academic circles. Although it was ruled by many vassal states, Xiaoguo's position remained unchanged, just near Tengzhou. In the historical materials of China, it is also recognized that Xiaoguo is near Tengzhou. After years of research, it is finally proved that Mozi is from Tengzhou and was born in a place called "Lan". This statement was subsequently submitted by him to the Mohist International Symposium, and most scholars also recognized this statement.
There is a record in Mozi's Return to Righteousness:' Mozi traveled south to Chu.' We can assume that if Mozi was born in Chuluyang, then he would not go to his hometown, but should be' South to Chu'. Lisheng Zhou told reporters that according to Mozi's rigorous academic attitude, the meaning of traveling and returning will not be confused. In addition, Liang Qichao took Mozi as an example to refute the theory of Song Dynasty. He quoted the saying that Mozi "returned to the Song Dynasty" in Mozi Gong Shi to prove that Mozi was not in the Song Dynasty either.
"In fact, there are many sayings now, but most scholars still prefer what Tengzhou said." [Edit this paragraph] 4. Mozi Thought According to Mozi, Mozi Thought has fifteen programs. Jimo Luwen said: "Anyone who enters his country must choose his profession and engage in it. If the country is in chaos, then the language is Shang Xian and Monk Tong; If the country is poor, the language will be used sparingly and buried sparingly; If the country is full of sounds, then language is unhappy and fatal; If the country is immoral and rude, then language respects heaven and ghosts; State affairs seize aggression, that is, love words without attacking. " Among them, universal love and non-aggression are the core of Mozi's thought.
Mozi's theory mainly includes the following points:
(1) Love and attack. The so-called universal love means equality and fraternity. Mozi asked monarchs, ministers, fathers and sons and brothers to love each other on the basis of equality. "Love yourself if you love yourself", Mozi believes that the phenomenon of being strong against the weak, rich against the poor, and arrogant is caused by people all over the world not loving each other.
The ghost of Tian Zhiming. Advocating ghosts and gods is a major feature of Mozi's thought. Mozi believes that heaven has ambition-to love all the people in the world. Because "people, regardless of age, are all ministers of heaven" and "the love of heaven is thick", if the monarch violates God's will, he will be punished by heaven, otherwise he will be rewarded by heaven. Mozi not only believes in the existence of ghosts and gods, but also thinks that they will reward the good and punish the evil for the monarchs or nobles on earth. The innate human rights and the thought of restricting monarchs in Mozi's religious philosophy are one of the highlights in Mozi's philosophy.
③ Shangxian County, Shang Tong. Shang Tong asked the people and the Emperor to keep pace, unite as one, and practice just politics. Sages include those who choose sages as officials and those who choose sages as emperors. Mozi believes that the monarch must elect the country's sages and the people should obey the monarch in public administration. Mozi asked the above to know the situation, because only in this way can we reward good and punish evil. Mozi asked the monarch to use Shang Xian, that is, to appoint the virtuous and get rid of the corrupt. Mozi attached great importance to Shang Xian and thought that Shang Xian was the foundation of politics. He especially opposed the monarch's use of flesh and blood relatives, but ignored the origin of saints, and put forward the view that "officials are impermanent and expensive, and the people have no end."
(4) frugal burial. Thrift is a point that Mohist school emphasizes very much. They criticized the extravagance and waste of monarchs and nobles, especially against the custom of long funeral and heavy burial valued by Confucianism. People think that monarchs and nobles should live a clean and thrifty life like Dayu in ancient times. Mozi asked Mohism to practice in this respect.
Philosophy and political thought
The main contribution of Mozi's philosophy is epistemology. He regards the direct feeling experience of "the truth of eyes and ears" as the only source of understanding. He believes that judging the existence of things should be based on what everyone sees and hears, not personal imagination. Based on this simple materialist empiricism, Mozi put forward the criteria for testing the truth and falsehood of knowledge, namely, three tables: "The origin of knowledge lies in the matter of ancient sages", "The truth of people's eyes and ears is observed below", and "Abandoning criminal politics and observing the interests of the people in the country". Mozi integrated "matter", "reality" and "benefit" and tried to eliminate personal subjective prejudice by taking indirect experience, direct experience and social effect as the criterion. On the relationship between name and substance, he put forward the proposition of "not taking it by name, taking it by name" and advocated naming it by substance. Mozi's epistemology which emphasizes the authenticity of sensory experience also has great limitations. He once concluded that there were ghosts and gods on the grounds that someone "tasted the things of ghosts and gods and smelled their voices". But Mozi didn't ignore the function of rational knowledge, and Mohist created China's first logical thought system.
One view is that Mozi's world outlook has profound internal contradictions. On the one hand, he emphasized "non-fate" and "respect for power" and thought that it was not "fate" but "power" that determined people's different experiences. On the other hand, Mozi affirmed the role of "Heaven" and "Ghost". He described "Heaven" as a personality god with will, and preached that "those who obey the will of God will be rewarded". "Those who go against God's will" will be punished. He believes that "loving each other and benefiting each other" means "obeying God's will" and "opposing evil and stealing from each other" means "violating God's will". However, another view holds that "non-destiny" and "ambition" reflect Mozi's strong thinking tension of "the debate between heaven and man" In Mozi's religious philosophy, ambition loves everything but does not control fate, and heaven rewards diligence, and heaven likes people who are constantly striving for self-improvement.
Politically, Mozi put forward the ideas of "universal love", "mutual non-aggression", "Shang Xian", "Shang Tong", "frugal use", "frugal burial" and "unhappy". The core of his social and political thought is "being different", and "breaking without breaking" is his concrete action program. He believes that as long as everyone "loves each other and benefits each other", there will be no bullying, arrogance, ignorance and mutual attacks between countries in society. He sharply exposed and criticized the disasters caused by the wars launched by the rulers and the luxury and enjoyment in ordinary customs. In the principle of employing people, Mozi advocated meritocracy, opposed cronyism, and advocated that "officials are impermanent and expensive, and the people are not cheap." He also advocated that from the emperor, governors to chiefs at all levels, we should "choose the best people in the world and use them" to act as; The people and the emperor should obey God's will, carry forward fraternity and practice just politics. Otherwise, it is illegal. This is Mencius' famous proposition of "non-aggression and universal love".
logical thinking
Mozi is also one of the important pioneers of China's ancient logic thought. He consciously and extensively used logical reasoning to establish or demonstrate his political and ethical thoughts. He also put forward logical concepts such as argument, category and reason for the first time in the history of China's logic. And it is required to study debate as a kind of specialized knowledge. Although Mozi's "argument" refers to the debating technique, it is based on the knowledge of categories (things and the like) and reasoning (grounds and reasons), so it belongs to the category of logical analogy or argumentation. Mozi's "three forms" are not only the ideological standard of speech, but also the factors of reasoning and argumentation. Mozi is also good at revealing the enemy's contradictions by analogy. Due to Mozi's advocacy and enlightenment, Mohism developed the tradition of attaching importance to logic, and later Mohism established the first system of ancient logic in China. [Edit this paragraph] V. Mozi's works There are Mozi's works about Mozi. This book is a record of Mozi's words and deeds by his disciples and his re-disciples.
Mozi is divided into two parts: one part records Mozi's words and deeds, expounds Mozi's thoughts, and mainly reflects the early Mohist thoughts; On the other hand, Shang Jing, Xia Jing, Jing Shuo Shang, Jing Shuo Xia, Daqu and Xiaoqu, generally called Mo Bian or Mo Jing, embody Mohist epistemology and logical thought, and also contain many natural science contents, reflecting Mohist thought in the later period. 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 are the logic system of ancient Greece and the theory of Buddhism); It also contains many natural sciences, especially astronomy, geometric optics and statics.
The compilation of Mozi's Mohist works was compiled by Liu Xiang in the Western Han Dynasty and gradually lost after the Six Dynasties. At present, 53 books of Taoist Collection were originally written by Mo Zhai, but there are also works by Mozi disciples and later Mohists, which are the main historical materials for studying Mohists now. The book Mozi can be divided into five groups according to its content: Mozi's early seven works, from pro-Confucianism to three debates, the first three are mixed with Confucianism, which should be the traces of Mozi's early "learning from Confucianism and being taught by Confucius"; The last four chapters are mainly about Shang Xian, Shang Tong, Tian Zhi, frugality, non-happiness and other theories. Twenty-four articles from Shang Xian I to Fei Ruxia are a group, which systematically reflect ten propositions of Mozi: universal love, non-aggression, Shang Xian, Shang Tong, frugality, mourning, unhappiness, ambition, ghosts and fate. Five Chapters from Geng Xu to Gong Bo is a record of Mozi's words and deeds, similar in style to the Analects of Confucius, compiled by Mozi's disciples, and is the first-hand information to study Mozi's deeds. From the following to the last twenty articles (including nine lost articles), "Preparing the City Gate" is devoted to guarding the city skills and the city defense system, and its system is similar to that of Qin, which was written by the Mohist school of Qin during the Warring States Period. This is an important material for studying Mohist military art.
Mozi has a wide range of contents, including politics, military affairs, philosophy, ethics, logic, science and technology, etc. It is an important historical material for studying Mozi and his later studies. In the Western Jin Dynasty, both Lu Sheng and Le Yi commented on Mozi, but it has been lost. Nowadays, Sun Yirang's Mozi Idleness and The Scholars Integration are very popular.
Since the Qin Dynasty, Mozi's and his disciples' remarks have been scattered in various ancient books, such as New Preface, Autopsy, Yanzi Chunqiu, Han Feizi, Lu's Chunqiu, Huainanzi, Liezi, Warring States Policy, Old Events in Palace, Biography of Immortals and so on. Liu Xiang recorded Mozi as seventy-one articles in the Records of Han Shu Yi Wen Zhi in the Western Han Dynasty. There were only 60 articles in the Song Dynasty, and now there are only 53 articles, which have been lost 18. Among them, the second part of frugality, the first and second parts of frugality and burial, the second part of Ming Ghost, the second part of Feiyue and the first part of Feiru are all lost. Except for these eight parts, all the other ten articles are lost. Of these ten articles, only poetry is just.
The book Mozi was neither written by one person nor accomplished overnight. It is generally believed that Mozi was written by Mozi himself and his disciples to describe Mozi's remarks.