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墨子

The Academy of Contemporary China and World StudiesUpdated:  August 30, 2024

Mozi

Mozi (c. 468-376 B.C.) was a renowned thinker and educator in the pre-Qin period. He was the founder and a major representative of the School of Mohism. A major rival of Confucianism, Mohism advocated "inclusive love" (jianai) as opposed to the Confucian emphasis on an hierarchical social order. It reflected more what the people at the bottom of society had in mind. It was regarded as one of the two major philosophical schools of the time alongside – and often as an alternative to – Confucianism. The teachings and theories of Mozi were collected in the book Mozi.

Mozi's concept of "inclusive love" emphasized equality and universality, requiring monarchs, ministers, fathers and sons, and brothers to love each other on an equal basis, and urging people to love others just as they love themselves. Mohists criticized social ills such as oppression of the weak by the strong, exploitation of the poor by the rich, and discrimination of the lowly by the noble, which they believed resulted from the failure to embrace inclusive love. They also promoted a "non-aggression" principle in inter-state relations, believing that war was not an effective way to resolve conflicts and that rulers should seek to rule through virtue and inclusive love, rather than through military power.

Mozi was also keen on solving practical problems and contributed significantly to the development of China's traditional economy, technology, mathematics, physics, and logic, among others. He was the first to define force in mechanics, and believed that the movement of objects was caused by the application of force. He discovered that light traveled in straight lines; defined mathematical concepts of circle and square; and proposed systematic theories of formal logic, making him a pioneer in developing ancient China's system of logic.

墨子

墨子(约前468—前376),先秦时期著名思想家、教育家,墨家学派创始人和主要代表人物。墨家是儒家学派的主要理论对手,以“兼爱”反对儒家的社会等级制度,代表社会底层民众思想,与儒家并称“显学”,有“非儒即墨”之称。墨子的思想学说收录于《墨子》。

墨子倡导的“兼爱”具有平等与博爱的意思,要求君臣、父子、兄弟都要在平等的基础上相互友爱,爱别人就像爱自己。墨子认为,社会上出现强凌弱、富侮贫、贵傲贱的现象正是天下人不能兼爱所致。因此,国与国之间也应当兼爱,要坚持“非攻”的外交原则,战争不是治病的良方,要以德义服天下,以兼爱来消弭祸乱。

墨子有强烈的社会实践精神,对中国传统生产、科技、数学、物理、逻辑学等都有巨大的贡献。墨子首先定义了力,认为物体运动是因为有力的作用;发现了光沿直线传播;定义了“圆”“方”等数学概念;提出了系统的形式逻辑理论,成为中国古代逻辑思想体系的一位重要开拓者。

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