Chapter 27 Chapter 27 The Real Mozi and the "Mo School"

The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were the famous period of "a hundred schools of thought contend" in Chinese history. Various theories swarmed and competed with each other. Cultural heroes and thought masters emerged in large numbers. Many of them still affect our lives today. The brilliant name Catchy.Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, and Han Feizi, although their theories are different, their thoughts have, without exception, influenced the changes and development of Chinese society.In contrast, a person who was as famous as them in this period was even more mysterious in the eyes of later generations: Mozi.

But when introducing historical celebrities, always add an identity in front of him, for example, those who can be officials are politicians, those who can fight wars are military strategists, those with high literary talents are writers, and those with scientific inventions , is a scientist, but when it is Mozi's turn, he has a difficult time, because he is really a generalist. In that era, he seemed to be everything. Mozi, named Zhai, was born in the state of Lu at the turn of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the founder of the Mohist School, and one of the heroes in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States era. He has contributed his own unique achievements in philosophy, science, culture, art and other aspects.During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, his theories, together with Confucianism, were the two most well-known schools, also known as Xianxue.

Mozi's identity is still shrouded in mystery until today, and there are still many controversies about his various situations in the historian circle. Sima Qian's "Historical Records" said that he was from the Song Dynasty, and this statement was once recognized.Bi Chen from the Qing Dynasty also said that he was from Chu, and even Indian scholars came to join in the fun, and verified that Mozi was an Indian. The reason is that according to historical records, Mozi was very dark, so he was not necessarily a Chinese, but some Possibly a "foreign guest" from India.But all the controversies cannot deny the fact that this is a great man.

The school founded by Mozi was the "Mohist" school in the Warring States Period.The main ideas of this school are "universal love" and "non-attack". But Mozi's core disciples, although mostly grassroots, are very elite.Another characteristic of the Mohist school is its unique harmony in natural science.The disciples of the Mohist school all have a wealth of knowledge and excellent scientific research capabilities. They are familiar with manual techniques, have a certain amount of scientific theoretical knowledge, and even make all kinds of exquisite instruments.The content of Mozi’s thought is mainly the wishes of ordinary citizens and handicraftsmen at that time. They advocated that the society should love both, that is, help each other; ; Non-life, that is, respect for life.These thoughts generally represent the wishes of the little people who were suffering from wars at that time. The struggle for hegemony among the countries has been protracted, and the common people have suffered a lot. No one wants to fight, so we must "non-aggression". "The ordinary people live in poverty, but the nobles enjoy a luxurious life. This is a very immoral behavior, so "use sparingly". .In the early Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, Mozi's thoughts were once very popular, and even regarded as a school of thought as famous as Confucianism.

As for Mozi himself, he is a more mysterious person. Today there are many debates about his name, hometown and other issues.The most famous story about him that can be found in the official history is the allusion of "Mozi Breaking the Cloud Ladder". When he knew that Chu State was going to attack Song State, even though the matter had nothing to do with him, he still traveled thousands of miles to Chu State , to prevent Chu from launching a war.At this time, the state of Chu was full of aspirations, and with the help of Lu Ban, the most skilled craftsman at that time, Lu Ban set up a kind of ladder for Chu at that time. Mozi proposed to compete with Lu Ban on the spot. The two of them took a belt as a demonstration and used all the fighting skills they had learned in their lives. In the end, Lu Ban lost. time of peace.

From this true and simple story, it is not difficult for us to see the main qualities of Mozi, a master. He is tenacious, brave, fearless in the face of danger, and has a sense of responsibility with the world in mind.It is precisely because of this character that he was able to create such a unique doctrine. The actions of Mozi's life are quite messy in various historical records. He used to be an official, and he also gave lectures to scholar-bureaucrats and even monarchs, but most of his energy was devoted to preaching, lecturing, and recruiting disciples.His main method of activity is to teach the students his own theories and various knowledge. Whenever there is a war somewhere, he will take the initiative to lead the students to stop the war.He lived the life of a true preacher.

And another important content in Mozi's life is the long-term debate with Confucianism. As one of the two great schools of thought in the Warring States period, the differences between Mohism and Confucianism are obvious.The biggest difference between the two families is that one is about the "mandate of heaven". The Mohist theory believes that one should not believe in one's fate, one cannot believe in fate, one should believe in one's own efforts.Confucianism maintains that life and death are determined by fate, wealth and honor are in the sky.This is just a small disagreement. The bigger disagreement is that the Mohist advocates praising the virtuous, that is, the common people are free to choose the "virtuous" in their hearts.Mozi even boldly advocated that even the monarchs of the vassal states should be elected by the common people, and all kinds of officials in the vassal states should be voted by the common people. From the king to the officials, they should actively serve The common people are responsible because they are elected by the common people.On this point, the differences between Mohism and Confucianism are serious. Compared with the absolute authority of the monarch advocated by Confucianism, Mohism's thought is bolder.

Compared with the ten ideas advocated by Mozi, Mozi's philosophical thoughts are equally bold. In philosophy, Mozi advocates the "three forms", that is, when we know things, we must pass through the "three forms" of things.The so-called table is the standard for judging things. The standard Mozi identified includes three things. The first is the ruling experience of the emperors of all dynasties; the second is the feeling of the common people; the third is whether it is in line with the fundamental interests of the common people.In the principle of understanding things, Mozi paid more attention to perceptual feelings and direct experience, which should be related to his personal background as a commoner. His ten thoughts were also produced on the basis of the three forms.Also because of his background as a commoner, Mozi in life is an absolute ascetic figure. He lives a simple life, wears coarse sandals, and wanders among various countries.

Many of Mozi's ideas are progressive.For example, he advocated that the interests of the common people should prevail, and that the basis for judging things should be obtained from direct experience. These are of epoch-making significance in the history of Chinese philosophy.Although there are fantasies about ghosts and gods in his top ten ideas, the idea that the people should elect the monarch and officials can be called the earliest idea of ​​popular election in China.However, Mozi also advocated that students should obey their teachers unconditionally, and people should obey their superiors unconditionally. difficult.

While becoming a thinker and philosopher, Mozi is also a famous scientist in Chinese history.His scientific achievements were not only unmatched among the philosophers at that time, but also far ahead of the world at that time. The content of Mozi's scientific thinking includes all aspects of today's mathematics, physics, and mechanical manufacturing.He is a scholar with both theoretical induction and analysis ability and practical operation ability.In terms of cosmology, Mozi put forward the viewpoint of "cosmic movement theory", which holds that all things are in motion and change.He believed that the universe is a continuous whole from which individuals are separated.On the issue of the origin of the world, Mozi’s statement is also in direct opposition to the Taoist reform thought. He believes that the origin of the world is matter, which is an extremely rare simple materialism thought more than 2,000 years ago.

In terms of mathematics, Mozi was the first person to regard mathematics as a theory. In his own works, Mozi systematically expounded the decimal system, and systematically discussed theoretical problems such as squares, triangles, and square root in mathematics. His theoretical elaboration, especially his theoretical elaboration of triangles, is exactly the same as that of the ancient Greek scientist Euclid.In terms of physics, Mozi was the first scholar who discovered the action force and reaction force, and even conducted the first small hole imaging experiment in human history.200 years earlier than Archimedes, he had already discovered the principle of leverage. We always call the principle of leverage "Archimedes' theorem". In fact, from the perspective of copyright, Archimedes did "infringe". Mozi was not just a scientific theorist. He was most famous in China at that time for his mechanical manufacturing skills.In terms of mechanical manufacturing, his reputation was even stronger than that of Lu Ban, the number one craftsman at the time. The two fought for a long time over the problems of the Song Dynasty, and finally ended in Mozi's victory. Mozi's mechanical manufacturing achievements include a wooden bird that can flap its wings when it is wound up, and a carriage that can carry a weight of 30 stone.He has always advocated universal love and non-aggression, and he is familiar with the manufacture of almost all weapons. In his book "Mo Jing", there are detailed elaborations on the manufacturing methods of siege weapons, city defense weapons, and crossbows. Mozi, who has achieved a lot in his life, is doomed to be unfortunate, because his theory will not be accepted by the ruler. Mozi's core thoughts are universal love, non-aggression, and appreciating the virtuous, among which the feudal rulers hate the most.After all, the emperor is a dictator. Which dictator is willing to let the people control his own destiny, and which official is willing to let the people control his own future?As for the so-called universal love and non-aggression, this is even more ridiculous. The Spring and Autumn and Warring States are about to fight. If you ask me to be non-aggressive, what should I do if people attack me? Therefore, compared with various theories such as Legalism and Confucianism, Mohism is destined not to be accepted no matter whether it is alive or dead.Mozi devoted most of his life to running around to stop the war, but except for a few limited successes, most of his actions failed.Which ruler is willing to change his established strategy of fighting for the world for the simple wish of one person?Who would seriously bend down to listen to Mozi's dream?Universal love, a joke, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period itself is an era of the weak and the strong, those who can survive are not those who can love both, but the cruelest ones. As for non-attack, do we have to wait for others to attack me? The school established by Mozi is called "Mohism", which is a very magical organization in the history of the Warring States Period.The main tenet of the Mohists is to "use the benefits of the world to eliminate the harm of the world", especially in all kinds of wars during the Warring States Period, they all took it as their responsibility to support the weak. Xia stepped forward and took on the important task of defending the city and maintaining peace. Even people who are not related to them, for the ideals in their hearts, they are willing to defend with their lives.This is a team with strict organization, lofty ideals and dedication.Under the circumstances that it is impossible for the rulers to accept Mozi's ideals, the little people scattered at the bottom of the society tirelessly started the preaching of Mohism. However, the prosperity of Mohism during the Warring States Period declined day by day with the end of the Warring States Period.The late Mohism was divided into two branches, one was mainly based on scientific research, including physics, optics, etc., and the other became a part of the social ranger group. After being brutally suppressed, in the end, it was hidden in the dust and smoke of Chinese feudal society.