Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Shangxian, Shangtong

Mozi said in "Lu Wen": "When the country is in chaos, the language is to praise the virtuous and the same." It means that when the country's politics is dark and chaotic, the importance of "respecting the virtuous" and "upholding the same" should be publicized to the monarch. significance. "Shangxian" and "Shangtong" chapters are Mozi's program for improving the social status of small private owners. Mozi put forward a series of programmatic opinions on the appointment and selection of sages in "Shangxian".At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the foundation of the hereditary aristocratic patriarchal system had begun to shake. At that time, the political situation of the vassal states was turbulent and the politics was dark. The hereditary aristocrats began to recruit talents in order to save themselves from extinction.At that time, handicraftsmen and small private owners gradually gained more independent status in the economy due to the development of production.The more freedom they have, the more motivated they are to be productive.This change, in Mozi's time, meant that the status of "scholars" was raised, the class of "scholars" expanded, and they demanded to intervene in politics.This is the objective reason for the emergence of the theory of "respecting the virtuous".

In the early and middle Spring and Autumn period, when hereditary aristocracy dominated the rule, the relationship between the ruler and the ruled was based on the blood relationship of the clan.The rich and the noble are one, as are the poor and the humble.The status of rich and poor is almost determined and unchangeable by birth.Therefore, during this period, there is no issue of "respecting the virtuous" or "respecting the virtuous", only the issue of "kissing each other".The so-called "Zhou Dao kisses relatives" is actually using clan relations as the link between people.

In the time of Confucius, the idea of ​​"elevating talents" was put forward.At that time, in order to strengthen their rule, the hereditary nobles needed to find some able figures who were capable of ruling the people.Most of the "virtuous talents" selected at the beginning were selected from among the declining, out-of-power, and repressed hereditary nobles.At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the real selection of "virtuous talents" who were not of hereditary noble origin began.According to the biography, at that time, only two of Confucius' disciples were actually born in noble families.Judging from their handicraft skills and their hard-working spirit, most of Mozi's disciples should be from the working class.Mozi has repeatedly pointed out: "A farmer and worker", as long as he is virtuous and talented, he can also participate in politics.Such ideas and requirements were not his fantasy, but were put forward only when there was a possibility of realization under the objective circumstances at the time.

Mozi's idea of ​​"respecting the virtuous" played an objective role in disintegrating the privileges of the hereditary nobles at that time.Mozi said, "seeking the wealth of the country, the benefit of the people, and the rule of punishment and government" can only be "respecting the virtuous". "Appreciating the virtuous" is the foundation of politics. He believes that to make the country govern, the first thing is to recruit talented people: If there are many virtuous people in the country, the governance of the country will be strong; if there are few virtuous people, the governance of the country will be weak.Therefore, the task of the adults will lie in the sages ("all" means adding more, gathering) sages. ("Shang Xian Shang")

Mozi also advocated raising the material treatment and social status of the sages to recruit the sages from all over the world, so that they have the opportunity to participate in the political power.He put forward the idea of ​​finding a political outlet for the magi, specifically, to open up a political path for those "scholars" who partly reflected the interests of small producers and small private owners. The so-called "sages" are people who have the moral standards of Mozi or Mohism.The standard of the sages, "Shang Xianxia" said: "The powerful help others, the wealthy encourage others, and the righteous persuade them to save others." Art" ("Shang Xian Shang") is a learned intellectual with Mohist political views.

Mozi not only put forward the standards of the sages, but also put forward specific methods for selecting the sages.At that time, this was a very radical and reformative view on the hereditary aristocratic system, because his idea of ​​selecting the magi was aimed at the old habits and systems of the Western Zhou Dynasty for hundreds of years, and was for those who had no social status. Intellectuals who came from peasants and industrialists strive to participate in political activities.Mozi used the name of the ancient sage kings to promote his idea of ​​appointing talents and enabling them. He said:

Therefore, in ancient times, the sage kings respected the virtuous and appointed them as capable. They did not party with their fathers and brothers, did not favor the rich and noble, and did not favor [bi must] color. For those who are poor and cheap, they think they are vain slaves. ("Shang Xian Zhong") Here Mozi formally proposes the reform of the hereditary aristocratic system. Only the "virtuous" can be "rich and noble", and only the "unworthy" can be "poor and humble".The wise are officials, and the unwise are apprentices.In the past, only the rich and noble could serve as officials, and the poor and humble could only serve as apprentices.

In Mozi's idea of ​​"respecting the virtuous", he also put forward the preliminary thought of the rule of law, which prepared the ideological conditions for the later Legalists Han Fei.He said: The sage listens to his words, traces his deeds, observes what he can do, and carefully treats officials. This is called being able to do things.Therefore, those who can govern the country can be appointed to govern the country, those who can be appointed to govern the country can be appointed to govern the country, those who can be appointed to govern the country can be appointed to govern the town. ("Shang Xian Zhong")

Mozi has expanded the scope of honoring the worthy, even the poor and lowly, as long as he is a wise man, Mozi thinks he is qualified to be an official.The officials a wise man can do can be as small as "governing the town" or as big as "governing the country".He stated with firmness and strictness: If you are unrighteous, you will not be rich, if you are unjust, you will not be expensive, if you are unjust, you will not be close, if you are unjust, you will not be close. In the ancient times, the sage kings were in charge of government, and they were deserving of meritorious deeds. Even if they were in the fields of agriculture and industry, they should be promoted if they had the ability.

Ranked by virtue, served by officials, rewarded by labor, and divided according to merit.Therefore, officials are impermanently noble, and the people are endlessly humble. If they are capable, they will be promoted, and if they are incompetent, they will be demoted. (For the above quotations, see "Shang Xian Shang") As mentioned above, Mohism mainly represented the interests and hopes of small private owners who were gradually rising at that time.They demand the right to participate in politics in the great changes in society, and obtain some political status in order to protect their own economic interests.Mozi believed that only when the sages recognized by Mohist became the officials of "governing the country" and "governing the city" could they realize their political ideals and relieve the world's public troubles, so that "the hungry get food, the cold get food, Clothes, those who are tired can rest, and those who are in chaos can be ordered."

Mozi and his school adopted a peaceful method of "talking from the top and teaching from the bottom".Therefore, on the one hand, they fiercely attacked the most powerful Confucianism at that time, and on the other hand, they defended the city for the king and nobles to defend against the enemy, hoping to prove that they were sages, so as to gain trust and promote their theories. Contrary to the above situation, on the issue of "respecting the virtuous", Mozi subjectively maintained the ruling order of the hereditary aristocracy at that time, but objectively, following Mozi's method would inevitably destroy the hereditary aristocratic system. As a result, he embarked on the road of bureaucratic politics advocated by the Legalists later. The resounding slogan "Officials are impermanently noble, and people will never be cheap" vaguely reflected the new trend of the transition from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period. It marked the inevitable trend of the hereditary aristocratic system being eliminated and replaced by bureaucratic politics.Therefore, we must point out that the progressive significance and role of Mozi's idea of ​​"advocating the virtuous" far exceeds the previous estimates of Mohism.Although the Mohist group of "scholars" who rose from the "farmers and industrialists" only accounted for a very small number of the laborers, they not only gained personal freedom and economic independence, but also had a great influence on politics. , but also to offer their views, to ask questions, and to ask for participation.This is only in the era of major social changes, and only when the vast number of "farmers and industrialists" have formed a certain social force, will there be a philosophy that reflects their economic aspirations and political requirements.When we study Mozi, we do not study his personal thoughts in isolation, but through the study of the schools represented by Mozi, we can understand the development of ancient society and ancient history in detail.Understanding the China of yesterday will be more conducive to understanding the China of today. Although Mozi, like the Legalists, has come into contact with the new direction of appointing talents, rewarding meritorious deeds and punishing crimes, he still advocates not disrupting the original hereditary aristocratic system of high and low ranks. Improve the economic status of small private owners.Failure to achieve his purpose is the inevitable result. "Shangtong" is the theoretical basis of "Shangxian". "Shang" and "shang" are sometimes used interchangeably, and "shangtong" means "shangtong". Mozi has repeatedly emphasized in the idea of ​​"advocating the virtuous" that the sage should govern the country and the town, that the sage should be an official, and that the sage should be in a high position.Mozi believed that a sage in morality should also be noble in political status.The sages and those in high positions should be united. The basic idea of ​​the theory of "Shang Tong" is to explain that the standards of right and wrong stipulated by the sages have the value of truth, and the rulers above should also be sages, so the standards of right and wrong stipulated by the above have the value of truth. Mozi imagined that in ancient times, when there was no national leader, people in the world had their own reasons.Therefore, one person has one truth, ten people have ten truths, and a hundred people have a hundred truths. The more people there are, the more so-called truths they have.Everyone thinks that his own reasoning is right, and he does not agree with other people's reasoning.So it's wrong to tell each other what's wrong. ("Shang Tongzhong") Mozi also imagined that in ancient times when there was no country and no leader, everyone had different ideas, and everyone did not know the principle of universal love. From the father and son brothers of the family, to the common people in the world, they all used "water, fire and poison to harm each other". Harmful".At that time, "the chaos in the world is like a beast" ("Shang Ditto").Mozi attributed the root causes of the chaos and harm in the world to two points: the first is the lack of common understanding, and the second is the lack of authoritative leaders.According to his "will of heaven", Mozi deduced that the selection of the supreme ruler of the country and society (son of heaven) was determined by the will of "God" and "ghosts and gods".Since the Son of Heaven is chosen by the Heaven, then all levels of restraint, the following three princes, princes, left and right generals and officials are naturally virtuous.Therefore, Mozi's argument that "appreciating the same" is the most fair and reasonable in terms of his subjective wish, but objectively speaking, this "approving the same" is the same as the will of the world. It was to help the princes and lords at that time consolidate the prestige that had been shaken before the people. According to "Shang Tong", after the people's "director" (monarch) is selected by Tianzhi, the people must take the right and wrong standards of their superiors as the guiding principle of behavior.In this way, political leaders are also teachers of principles (righteousness), and there will no longer be "one righteousness for one person", "ten righteousness for ten people", or "one hundred righteousness for a hundred people", but only one principle of common belief , that is the proposition of "Will of Heaven" invented by Mozi himself-everyone loves each other, do not invade, do not fight.Unity under such "righteousness" is right, otherwise it is wrong. Falling into the same error as his theory of "universal love", he put the theory of "sameness" on an unsecured and fabricated basis, so it is untenable. Some scholars who have a preference for Mozi, such as Liang Qichao and others, not only do not think that Mozi’s political thought is to maintain the hereditary aristocratic system, but instead say that he has the idea of ​​civil rights and democracy, and that his theory is somewhat like Rousseau’s " Civil Contract Theory".Liang Qichao's interpretation of the material on which he was based was also wrong.He interpreted the "Jun and Chenmeng Tongyue Ye" in "Jingshang" as the thought of "civil agreement". First, the material he based on was not Mozi's, but later Mohist's.Second, he misunderstood the meaning of "covenant". "Covenant" is not the "covenant" of "contract", but the "covenant" of "constraint".The meaning of this sentence is just to say: "The king is the general manager of the people." It is undeniable that Mozi's theory of "advocating the same" is the basis of religious superstition, which cannot be compared with the glorious significance of his theory of "advocating the virtuous", and cannot be verified through practice.We can say that this is the weakest link in Mozi's political theory. Mozi's political thought of advocacy also has its progressive side.He believes that from the emperor to the local grassroots organizations, every level should elect talented people to take charge.He wanted a centralized, strong political system.This request, whether Mozi is conscious or not, reflects the common concern of the contending schools of thought at that time, and reflects the trend toward unification economically and politically during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, which is of progressive significance. . At the same time, we must also point out that the conditions for the full realization of this political ideal are far from being met, and there are some utopian elements in it.This kind of utopia is opposite to the hereditary system of scattered and separatist regimes since the Western Zhou Dynasty. It reflects the persecuted people's demand for an end to the situation of the melee between the princes and the dispersal of the separatist regimes, and reflects the new requirements and trends of establishing a unified country.This requirement is consistent with his proposition of universal love and non-aggression.