The Mozi (Chinese: 墨子), also called the Mojing (Chinese: 墨經) or the Mohist canon,[1][2] is an ancient Chinese text from the Warring States period (476–221 BC) that expounds the philosophy of Mohism. It propounds such Mohist ideals as impartiality, meritocratic governance, economic growth and aversion to ostentation, and is known for its plain and simple language.
The book's chapters can be divided into several categories: a core group of 31 chapters, which contains the basic philosophic ideas of the Mohist school; several chapters on logic, which are among the most important early Chinese texts on logic and are traditionally known as the "Dialectical Chapters"; five sections containing stories and information about Mozi and his followers; and eleven chapters on technology and defensive warfare, on which the Mohists were expert and which are valuable sources of information on ancient Chinese military technology.[3] There are also two other minor sections: an initial group of seven chapters that are clearly of a much later date, and two anti-Confucian chapters, only one of which has survived.
The Mohist philosophical school died out in the 3rd century BC, and copies of the Mozi were not well preserved. The modern text has been described as "notoriously corrupt". Of the Mozi's 71 original chapters, 18 have been lost and several others are badly fragmented.[4][5]
The Mozi, as well as the entire philosophical school of Mohism, is named for and traditionally ascribed to Mo Di, usually known as "Mozi" (Mandarin Chinese: Mòzǐ墨子, "Master Mo"). Mozi is a figure from the 5th century BC about whom nothing is reliably known.[6] Most sources describe him as being from the State of Lu—though one says that he was from the State of Song—and say that he traveled around the various Warring States trying to persuade their rulers to stop attacking each other.[3] Mozi seems to have come from a humble family,[3] and some elements of the book suggest that he may have been some type of artisan or craftsman, such as a carpenter.[6] Some scholars have theorized that the name Mo (墨), which means "ink", may not truly be a surname, but could be indicative of Mozi having undergone the branding or tattooing that was used in ancient China as a form of criminal punishment.[6][7]
Contentedit
The Mozi originally comprised 71 chapters. However, 18 of the original chapters have been lost, and several others are damaged and fragmented. The text can be divided into a total of six sections:[8]
Chapters 1–7: a group of miscellaneous essays and dialogues that were clearly added at a later date and are somewhat incongruous with the rest of the book.
Chapters 8–37: a large group of chapters—of which seven are missing and three are fragmentary—that form the core Mozi chapters and elucidate the ten main philosophical doctrines of the Mohist school of thought. Mozi is frequently referenced and cited in these chapters.
Chapters 38–39: two chapters—of which only chapter 39 survives—entitled "Against Confucianism" (Fēi Rú非儒), containing polemical arguments against the ideals of Confucianism. These chapters are sometimes grouped with chapters 8–37.
Chapters 40–45: a group of six chapters, often called the "Dialectical Chapters", which are some of the most unique writings of ancient China. They cover topics in logic, epistemology, ethics, geometry, optics, and mechanics. The "Dialectical Chapters" are dense and difficult, largely because the text is badly garbled and corrupted.
Chapters 46–51: six chapters—of which chapter 51, including even its title, has been lost—that contain stories and dialogues about Mozi and his followers. These chapters are probably of somewhat later date and are probably partly fictional.
Chapters 52–71: a group of chapters—nine of which have been lost—known as the "Military Chapters", containing instructions on defensive warfare, supposedly from Mozi to his chief disciple Qin Guli. These chapters are badly damaged and corrupted.
Selected translationsedit
The damaged nature of the later chapters of the Mozi have made its translations highly difficult, and often requires translators to repair and re-edit the text before translating. The first Mozi translation in a Western language—the 1922 German translation of Alfred Forke—was done before these problems were well understood, and thus contains many errors in the "Dialectical" and "Military" chapters.[9] Only in the late 20th century did accurate translations of the later Mozi chapters appear:
(in German) Alfred Forke (1922), Mê Ti: Des Socialethikers und seiner Schüler philosophische Werke, Berlin: Kommissionsverlag der Vereinigung wissenschaftlicher Verleger.
Mei Yi-pao [zh] (1929), The Ethical and Political Works of Motse, London: Probsthain. Reprinted (1974), Taipei: Ch'eng-wen.
Burton Watson (1963), Mo Tzu: Basic Writings, New York: Columbia University Press.
A. C. Graham (1978), Later Mohist Logic, Ethics, and Science, Hong Kong: Chinese University Press.
Ian Johnston (2010), The Mozi: A Complete Translation, Hong Kong: Chinese University Press.
Chris Fraser (2020), The Essential Mòzǐ: Ethical, Political, and Dialectical Writings, New York: Oxford University Press.
^Fraser, Chris (2018), "Mohist Canons", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2018 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2020-01-18
Graham, A. C. (1993). "Mo tzu 墨子". In Loewe, Michael (ed.). Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide. Berkeley, CA: Society for the Study of Early China; Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California Berkeley. pp. 336–41. ISBN978-1-55729-043-4.
Jun, Wenren (2014). Ancient Chinese Encyclopedia of Technology: Translation and Annotation of Kaogong ji, The Artificers' Record. Taylor & Francis. ISBN978-1-136-26787-1.
Knechtges, David R. (2010). "Mozi 墨子". In Knechtges, David R.; Chang, Taiping (eds.). Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide, Part One. Leiden, South Holland: Brill. pp. 677–81. ISBN978-90-04-19127-3.
Watson, Burton (1999). "Mozi: Utility, Uniformity, and Universal Love". In de Bary, Wm. Theodore; Bloom, Irene (eds.). Sources of Chinese Tradition, Volume 1: From Earliest Times to 1600 (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Columbia University Press. pp. 64–76. ISBN978-0-231-10939-0.
External linksedit
Works related to Mozi at Wikisource
Quotations related to Mozi at Wikiquote
January 01, 1970
mozi, book, jing, redirects, here, other, uses, jing, disambiguation, mozi, chinese, 墨子, also, called, mojing, chinese, 墨經, mohist, canon, ancient, chinese, text, from, warring, states, period, that, expounds, philosophy, mohism, propounds, such, mohist, ideal. Mo Jing redirects here For other uses see Mo Jing disambiguation The Mozi Chinese 墨子 also called the Mojing Chinese 墨經 or the Mohist canon 1 2 is an ancient Chinese text from the Warring States period 476 221 BC that expounds the philosophy of Mohism It propounds such Mohist ideals as impartiality meritocratic governance economic growth and aversion to ostentation and is known for its plain and simple language Mozi7th volumeAuthor trad Mo DiOriginal title墨子TranslatorBurton WatsonA C GrahamMei Yi pao zh Ian JohnstonCountryChinaLanguageClassical ChineseGenrePhilosophyPublication date5th 3rd centuries BCPublished in English1929Media typemanuscriptDewey Decimal181 115LC ClassB128 M6TranslationMozi at Wikisource Mozi Mozi in seal script top and regular bottom Chinese charactersChinese墨子Literal meaning The Writings of Master Mo TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinMozǐGwoyeu RomatzyhMohtzyWade GilesMo4 tzŭ3IPA mwo tsɨ WuRomanizationMeʔ tzyYue CantoneseYale RomanizationMahk jiJyutpingMak6 zi2IPA mɐk tsiː Southern MinTai loBa k tzuMiddle ChineseMiddle ChineseMok tsiOld ChineseBaxter Sagart 2014 C mˤek tseʔ The book s chapters can be divided into several categories a core group of 31 chapters which contains the basic philosophic ideas of the Mohist school several chapters on logic which are among the most important early Chinese texts on logic and are traditionally known as the Dialectical Chapters five sections containing stories and information about Mozi and his followers and eleven chapters on technology and defensive warfare on which the Mohists were expert and which are valuable sources of information on ancient Chinese military technology 3 There are also two other minor sections an initial group of seven chapters that are clearly of a much later date and two anti Confucian chapters only one of which has survived The Mohist philosophical school died out in the 3rd century BC and copies of the Mozi were not well preserved The modern text has been described as notoriously corrupt Of the Mozi s 71 original chapters 18 have been lost and several others are badly fragmented 4 5 Contents 1 Authorship 2 Content 3 Selected translations 4 References 4 1 Citations 4 2 Sources 5 External linksAuthorship editMain article Mozi The Mozi as well as the entire philosophical school of Mohism is named for and traditionally ascribed to Mo Di usually known as Mozi Mandarin Chinese Mozǐ 墨子 Master Mo Mozi is a figure from the 5th century BC about whom nothing is reliably known 6 Most sources describe him as being from the State of Lu though one says that he was from the State of Song and say that he traveled around the various Warring States trying to persuade their rulers to stop attacking each other 3 Mozi seems to have come from a humble family 3 and some elements of the book suggest that he may have been some type of artisan or craftsman such as a carpenter 6 Some scholars have theorized that the name Mo 墨 which means ink may not truly be a surname but could be indicative of Mozi having undergone the branding or tattooing that was used in ancient China as a form of criminal punishment 6 7 Content editThe Mozi originally comprised 71 chapters However 18 of the original chapters have been lost and several others are damaged and fragmented The text can be divided into a total of six sections 8 Chapters 1 7 a group of miscellaneous essays and dialogues that were clearly added at a later date and are somewhat incongruous with the rest of the book Chapters 8 37 a large group of chapters of which seven are missing and three are fragmentary that form the core Mozi chapters and elucidate the ten main philosophical doctrines of the Mohist school of thought Mozi is frequently referenced and cited in these chapters Chapters 38 39 two chapters of which only chapter 39 survives entitled Against Confucianism Fei Ru 非儒 containing polemical arguments against the ideals of Confucianism These chapters are sometimes grouped with chapters 8 37 Chapters 40 45 a group of six chapters often called the Dialectical Chapters which are some of the most unique writings of ancient China They cover topics in logic epistemology ethics geometry optics and mechanics The Dialectical Chapters are dense and difficult largely because the text is badly garbled and corrupted Chapters 46 51 six chapters of which chapter 51 including even its title has been lost that contain stories and dialogues about Mozi and his followers These chapters are probably of somewhat later date and are probably partly fictional Chapters 52 71 a group of chapters nine of which have been lost known as the Military Chapters containing instructions on defensive warfare supposedly from Mozi to his chief disciple Qin Guli These chapters are badly damaged and corrupted Selected translations editThe damaged nature of the later chapters of the Mozi have made its translations highly difficult and often requires translators to repair and re edit the text before translating The first Mozi translation in a Western language the 1922 German translation of Alfred Forke was done before these problems were well understood and thus contains many errors in the Dialectical and Military chapters 9 Only in the late 20th century did accurate translations of the later Mozi chapters appear in German Alfred Forke 1922 Me Ti Des Socialethikers und seiner Schuler philosophische Werke Berlin Kommissionsverlag der Vereinigung wissenschaftlicher Verleger Mei Yi pao zh 1929 The Ethical and Political Works of Motse London Probsthain Reprinted 1974 Taipei Ch eng wen Burton Watson 1963 Mo Tzu Basic Writings New York Columbia University Press A C Graham 1978 Later Mohist Logic Ethics and Science Hong Kong Chinese University Press Ian Johnston 2010 The Mozi A Complete Translation Hong Kong Chinese University Press Chris Fraser 2020 The Essential Mozǐ Ethical Political and Dialectical Writings New York Oxford University Press Many Mozi translations in Modern Chinese and Japanese exist References editCitations edit Fraser Chris 2018 Mohist Canons in Zalta Edward N ed The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Winter 2018 ed Metaphysics Research Lab Stanford University retrieved 2020 01 18 Jun 2014 p 23 a b c Knechtges 2010 p 677 Graham 1993 p 339 Nivison 1999 p 762 a b c Nivison 1999 p 760 Watson 1999 p 64 See Knechtges 2010 p 677 Graham 1993 pp 336 37 and Nivison 1999 pp 761 63 Graham 1993 p 340 Sources edit Works cited Graham A C 1993 Mo tzu 墨子 In Loewe Michael ed Early Chinese Texts A Bibliographical Guide Berkeley CA Society for the Study of Early China Institute of East Asian Studies University of California Berkeley pp 336 41 ISBN 978 1 55729 043 4 Jun Wenren 2014 Ancient Chinese Encyclopedia of Technology Translation and Annotation of Kaogong ji The Artificers Record Taylor amp Francis ISBN 978 1 136 26787 1 Knechtges David R 2010 Mozi 墨子 In Knechtges David R Chang Taiping eds Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature A Reference Guide Part One Leiden South Holland Brill pp 677 81 ISBN 978 90 04 19127 3 Nivison David Shepherd 1999 The Classical Philosophical Writings In Loewe Michael Shaughnessy Edward eds The Cambridge History of Ancient China Cambridge England Cambridge University Press pp 745 812 ISBN 978 0 521 47030 8 Watson Burton 1999 Mozi Utility Uniformity and Universal Love In de Bary Wm Theodore Bloom Irene eds Sources of Chinese Tradition Volume 1 From Earliest Times to 1600 2nd ed New York NY Columbia University Press pp 64 76 ISBN 978 0 231 10939 0 External links edit nbsp Works related to Mozi at Wikisource nbsp Quotations related to Mozi at Wikiquote Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mozi book amp oldid 1213922562, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
