MO DI

This is one of a series of pages discussing Classical Chinese philosophy during the period from before Confucius (ca 650 B.C.) to the early Han dynasty (ca 200 B.C.). This page provides an introduction to the philosophy of Mo Di (also known as Mo Tzu) and of the school which he founded, known as the Mohists.

An elaborate bronze chime bell belonging to a court orchestra. Elaborate sets of these bells were required to perform court music and the extravagant expenditures which were required to cast a set of bells caused Mo Di to condemn music.

No philosopher was more important in Warring States China than Mo Di. In many respects his influence was then greater than that of any other man, including Confucius. Alone among the ancient philosophers, Mo Di founded a personal school which transmitted and developed his doctrines. His followers were certainly the best organized group and were in many regards the most innovative of all the philosophers of ancient China. The Mohists attracted considerable attention because of their expertise in defensive warfare, which made them indispensable to beleaguered rulers, and their skill in dialectics, which allowed them to triumph in the formal debates, known as "discriminations," that characterized the feudal courts. No school or thinker was immune to the influence of their ideas. Both Mencius and Xun Kuang vigorously attacked aspects of the Mohist doctrines, but both, especially Xun, were influenced by Mohist views on the goals and aims of government.

Mo Di lived during the last half of the fifth century and into the opening decade of the fourth.¹ He is said to have come from Lu (or the neighboring state of Song) and was perhaps of humble origins.² He received his education from the learned teachers of his day, who were probably disciples of Confucius or their disciples.³ His works are filled with quotations from the Odes and Documents, abound in details of the government and actions of the early sage kings, and exhibit a wide variety of knowledge. His works contain the earliest prose essays on a single topic. "Being fond of study, Mo Di was broadly learned, but would not tolerate differences of opinion."⁴ Despite his common ground with the early Ru, he came to regard their ritualistic and ceremonial pursuits as sterile and injurious to the welfare of the people.⁵

The Ten Theses
The distinctive doctrines of Mo Di were expressed in his famous Ten Theses:

1. Elevating the Worthy--rulers should honor the worthy and employ the able rather than advance relatives and favorites;
2. Conforming to Superiors--the people must be of one mind with their superiors so that unity is maintained;
3. Universal Love--it is only by an ungraded love that allows no special treatment for one's own kin that a secure society can be constructed;
4. Condemnation of aggression--warfare is always unprofitable, and if rulers could be taught this simple truth, there would be peace;
5. Moderation in expenditures--the state should expend its resources only on those things which bring benefit to the people;
6. Moderation in funerals--the sages had simple funerals and the Ru doctrines advocating elaborate funerals and extended periods of mourning are falsifications of antiquity;
7. The Will of Heaven or Honoring Heaven--the clearest standard in the world, which Mo Di would use as his square and compass;
8. Explaining the Spirits or Serving the Spirits--a defense of the traditional belief in spirits and a refutation of Ru skepticism;
9. Condemnation of Music--a refutation of Ru doctrines advocating elaborate musical performances as instruments of state ceremony;
10. Condemnation of Fate--a refutation of the fatalistic doctrines of certain Ru.

The Mohists' doctrines combined political revolution with religious conservatism. They attacked basic views of the Ru and departed radically from traditional views of aristocratic society. Their conflicts with the Ru were expressly stated in Mo Di's books, "Contra the Ru Scholars."

Mo Di was motivated by a conviction that only ungraded love, which recognized no special distinctions for one's own kin, would protect society from the evils of greed, partiality, and warfare. He stressed the need for consideration of the efficacy and utility of a project before it was undertaken and for due regard for the ultimate benefit of every action to the people. He rejected the aristocratic order and the system of preferences and privilege for which it stood and which the Ru protected. It was on this point that the most bitter exchanges focused. Part of the animosity may have been based on a difference in social standing between the aristocratic Ru and the Mohists, who were craftsmen.⁶ Mo Di is called a commoner, to be ranked with clients and the ordinary populace, and refused a royal interview because of his base origins. Mencius would not receive his followers, and Xun Kuang characterizes his teachings as those of a menial.⁷ Yet for all their opposition to his doctrines, thinkers had to admit the nobility of his ideals and the selflessness of his personal actions. A passage in the Zhuangzi best characterizes him:⁸ "Mo Di was truly the best man in the whole world. Though he became worn and withered from lack of rest, he could not attain all that he sought. But he was indeed a scholar of real worth!"

These abbreviations are those used in Knoblock, Xunzi.

¹Sun Yirang dates him 468-376, Qian Mu 479-381, and Fang Shouchu 490-403.
²SJ, 74.17 knows virtually nothing of Mo Di, not even when he lived. Sun Yirang, Mozi jiangu, "Postface," 1.2a, examines the theories on his origins.
³LSCQ, 2/4 "Dangran," 2.9b says that Mo Di studied in Lu under the descendants of Shi Jue who had been sent from Zhou by King Xuan (r. 827782) to Duke Hui of Lu. HNZ, "Yaolue," 21.6b, says that Mo Di studied under Ru scholars, but rejected their advocacy of the way of Zhou and followed instead the way of Xia. Mozi, 46 "Geng Zhu," 11.14a contains a dialogue between Mo Di and Master Wuma who is to be identified either as the disciple Wuma Qi or his son; 11.19a contains a question put to Mo Di by a pupil of the disciple Zixia; 11.22b and Mozi, 48 "Gongmeng," 12.8a, contain dialogues between Gong Mengzi and Mo Di. This Gongmeng is identified by the Qing dynasty scholar Hui Dong with Gongming Yi or Gongming Gao in Mengzi (3A.1 and 5A.1 respectively) identified by Zheng Xuan and Zhao Qi as disciples of Zengzi.
⁴Zhuangzi, 33 "Tianxia," 10.14b.
⁵HNZ, 21.6b.
⁶Fang Shouchu, Moxue yuanliu, 1517 concludes that he was probably a wheelwright. Fung Youlan, Zhongguo zhexue shi xinbian, 1412, concludes that he was a craftsman who rose to the rank of a shi "knight" and supported the interests of those engaged in handicrafts.
⁷LSCQ,, 21/5 "Ailei," 21.7b; LSCQ, 19/2 "Gaoyi," 19.4a; Mozi, 47 "Guiyi," 12.2a. The King pleads old age and has Mo Di see Mu He who refers to his base origins. Mo Di is said to have been "black," i.e. darkened by the sun, which is indicative of one who engages in manual labor, 12.7a. Mengzi, 3A.5; Xunzi, "Wangba," §11.5b.
⁸33 "Tianxia," 10.16a.

Short Bibliography

Forke, Alfred. Me Ti des Sozialethikers un seiner Schüler philosophische Werke. Berlin, 1922.
___. Geschichte der alten chinesischen Philosophie. Hamburg, 1927.
Geisser, Franz. Mo Ti: der Künder der allegemeinen Menschenliege. Berne, 1947.
Graham, A. C. Divisions in Early Mohism Reflected in the Core Chapters of Mo-tzu. Singapore, 1985.
___. "The Concepts of Necessity and the 'a priori' in later Mohist Disputation." Asia Major NS 19 (1975), 163-190.
___. Later Mohist Logic, Ethics and Science. Hongkong, 1978.
___. "The Organization of the Mohist Canons." In Roy, David T, and Tsien, Tsuen-hsuin, eds. Ancient China: Studies in Early Civilization, pp. 167-179.
___. Studies in Chinese Philosophy and Philosophical Literature. Singapore, 1986.
Mei, Y.P. The Ethical and Political Works of Mo-tse. London, 1929.
___. Mo-tse the Neglected Rival of Confucius. London, 1934.
Watson, Burton. Mo Tzu: Basic Writings. Columbia, 1963.

This material is abridged from John Knoblock, Xunzi: A Translation and Study of the Complete Works. 3 vols. Stanford, 1988-1994. Please do not reproduce without permission.

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