Chapter 13 Chapter 10 The Historical Position of Mohism

Mozi was a great thinker with original spirit in China at the end of the 5th century BC.He cared deeply for the laborers, and raised a serious protest against the decadent and enjoyable life of princes and adults who disregarded the life and death of the people and indulged in extravagance.He hated the annexation wars that destroyed production, killed people, and plundered people's wealth, and put forward the idea of ​​universal love and non-aggression.He fought all his life to improve the material life of small producers and laborers and improve their social and political status.He put forward extremely valuable epistemology and thought method.He also founded the school of hard work, truth-seeking, peace-loving, organized and disciplined.Under the influence of Mozi, the later Mohism was formed.In the later period, Mohism further developed the essence of Mozi's philosophy, perfected the logic science in ancient China, and made some outstanding achievements in the field of natural science, representing the highest level of scientific understanding at that time, and became the school with the greatest influence in the middle and late Warring States period one.In particular, the achievements related to science and technology shine with brilliance that other schools of thought cannot match.

The reason why Mohism should be given enough attention today is mainly because it reflects the requirements and wishes of small producers who began to awaken during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, as well as their limitations.But the development of history shows that the class of small producers is not the embodiment of the new production relations, and they have no conditions to replace the hereditary aristocracy on the political stage.The fate of Mozi and his school, like the fate of the class they represented, had to fall into a tragic end at that time and in later generations.

In the pre-Qin period, Mohism was a prominent school.Mozi has a good image in society. "Huainanzi Daoyingxun" said: "Confucius and Mo Di, who have no land, are kings, and no officials are elders. All husbands and daughters in the world will stretch their necks and raise their heels to wish for safety." "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" "Buying" says: "Confucianism and Mohism are common people. The master of ten thousand chariots and the king of a thousand chariots cannot compete with him." This kind of evaluation reflects the prominent position of Mohism at that time.

Before the Qin and Han Dynasties, Confucianism and Mohism were also known as prominent schools.Before the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were generally three views on the evaluation of the Mozi School: The first one takes an objective and neutral attitude, and does not praise or criticize Confucianism or Mohism.For example: Confucius has no obstacles, and Mozi has no warm seats. ("Huainanzi Xiuwu Training") Confucius had seventy disciples and raised three thousand disciples, all of whom were filial and fraternal. Words became articles, behaviors were well-behaved, and what was taught was accomplished.Mozi served one hundred and eighty people, all of whom could go through the flames, and die without repaying their heels, because they were transformed. ("Huainanzi·Thai Training")

The second view also discusses both Confucianism and Mohism, but disagrees with both sides.This point of view can be represented by Han Feizi and Zhuangzi: "Han Feizi Xianxue" says: "Confucianism and Mohism are the most prominent learning in the world. Where Confucianism came, Confucius did; where Mohist came, Mo Zhai also...the burial of Mohist,...the world's ruler thinks it is thrifty. Ritual. Confucianists destroy their families and bury them...the ruler of the world considers filial piety and respects them. Husband is Mozi’s frugality, so is it not Confucius’ extravagance? Is Confucius’ filial piety, is it not Mozi’s cruelty?” In fact, Han Unless he doesn't appreciate Confucianism and Mohism, he has other ideas.

"Zhuangzi·Equality of Things" said: "...Therefore there is right and wrong between Confucianism and Mohism, so that what is wrong is not what is." In fact, neither Mohism nor Confucianism can be used as the standard of right and wrong, and Zhuangzi has Zhuangzi's Right and wrong. The third view is to take a resolute attack on Mozi, among which Mencius and Xunzi are the most influential. "Mencius Teng Wengong Xia" said: "The sage king does not act, the princes are free, and the scholars talk wildly. The words of Yang Zhu and Mo Di permeate the world. If the words of the world do not belong to Yang, they belong to Mo. Yang is for me, so there is no king; The Mo family loves at the same time, it is no father. No father and no king, it is a beast." "Yang Mo's way is endless, Confucius' way is not, it is a heresy to slander the people, and it is full of benevolence and righteousness." Mencius's criticism is full of school prejudices, It's hard to convince people.

Xunzi's criticism and reasoning are more elements. He said in "Not Twelve Sons": "I don't know the world, the right to build a country, the function, the frugality and the slow difference, etc. It was not enough to distinguish the difference. The county monarchs and ministers, however He held it for a reason, and his words were reasonable enough to deceive the foolish people, this is Mo Zhai and Song Yi." Xunzi believed that although Mozi was able to hold it for a reason and make sense, but Mozi's theory is If it is wrong, it can only confuse society and deceive the masses.

It is worth noting that none of the above comments touch on scientific issues.This phenomenon not only shows that people at that time did not pay much attention to scientific knowledge and did not realize the value of science; it also shows that Mozi's attainments in science and technology were far ahead. Joseph Needham, a modern British man, believed: "If the line followed by Mohist thought continues to develop, it may have produced Euclid's geometric system. Since only messy and incomplete versions of the Mohism have been handed down, we really cannot say for sure He never went beyond this range. But even if they did not go beyond this range, their deductive geometry was always just a secret of a special school, with little or no influence on the mainstream of Chinese mathematics." history of misfortune.

The Mohist school was very powerful in the pre-Qin period, and it stood side by side with Confucianism. After the Han Dynasty, it tended to decline and almost disappeared from the ideological circle.To account for this momentous change, its social causes must be examined. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, for more than 2,000 years, China was a centralized and highly unified country.Under the rule of the highly centralized central government, the disputes among the nations during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were eliminated, and Mozi's idea of ​​universal love and non-aggression has lost its propaganda target.Mozi advocated honoring the virtuous and opposed the hereditary privileges of the nobility. After the Han Dynasty, the official selection system was established, and there was no longer any local power of the hereditary nobility;

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was more room for handicraftsmen to move freely. In the disputes among the countries, they tried their best to publicize and promote the Mohist theory for their own interests (as promised, from Chu State to Qi State), and some people of the Mohist School were able to work in the Chu, Qin, Song and other countries were employed.After the national unification of the Qin and Han Dynasties, craftsmen lived in a unified country, there was only one monarch, and local governments had no right to formulate policies.In the central government, Legalism dominated in the Qin Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, especially after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhongshu proposed to dismiss all schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone, Confucianism was determined to be one.The Mohists could not stand alone and gradually lost room for movement.

After the completion of national unification in the Qin and Han Dynasties, the main contradiction in society was high political concentration and extreme economic decentralization.How to coordinate this pair of contradictions so that the politics and economy of the feudal society can develop in a balanced way has become the main problem that Chinese thought circles have to consider and solve after the Qin and Han Dynasties.Confucianism represents the demand for centralization of power; while the idea of ​​small farmers is reflected in Taoism. They advocate that the government should interfere less with farmers and give more freedom to small producers.Compared with the Warring States period, there was no significant development of handicraftsmen after the Qin and Han Dynasties. Large-scale handicraft production was concentrated in mining, smelting, textiles, ceramics, tea and salt, etc. Most of these industries were directly controlled by the state and managed by the government.In the industries of concentrated production, the government tries to use slaves and criminals to work as much as possible. They are not free craftsmen, they only have the obligation to work, and they have no right to speak politically.The right to speak of farmers and small private owners rests with Taoism.Both Confucianism and Taoism have a broad social foundation, and Mohism does not have the conditions of Confucianism and Taoism. After the national reunification, the power of Mohism tends to decline, which is understandable. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, Mohism was no longer a prominent school, but the influence of Mohism has been circulating and has not disappeared. It has become a trend of thought in the opposition and popular among the lower classes of society.After the Qin and Han Dynasties, first-class figures such as "You Xia" and "Ren Xia" appeared in society. They advocated helping the weak and helping the poor, being brave in doing what is right, enduring hardships and standing hard work, respecting faith, and loving and helping each other among members of the collective. Such ideas and values ​​have always been praised by the people.This kind of non-governmental organizations has never been interrupted in the past dynasties, and obviously has a deep connection with Mohism.This kind of national character is more prominent in northerners, especially Shandong (Lu) people. We are building a new culture of the Chinese nation and creating a modern civilization. We must have the courage to inherit all the excellent cultures of mankind.Mohism emphasizes science, advocates hands-on operation, does not talk about empty talk, resists the bullying of power with strength, and the spirit of collective mutual assistance, all of which are inferior to other schools in the pre-Qin period. It is a very precious spiritual wealth that is worth carrying forward.