Mo Tzu: Basic Writings

An excellent study of a philosophy that is quite a departure from the works of Confucious and Mencius.

The book on the philosophy of Mo-tzu was interesting at first.His views against aggresive warfair,against expensive funerals,and choosing worthy people are all right. As for his views against music and on ghosts are debatable.And on universal brotherhood may sound good but a bit too unrealistic even though well meaning. But what really got my goat was his cruel,false and malliciousattacks against Confucius and his followers.He tells false stories about Confucius that scholars say didn't exist.He makes him look like the essence of evil. Perhaps Mo-Tzu should be called "The Jealous Rival of Confucius!

good book

Succinct translation

Great book

Mo Tzu is one of the three most influential social philosophers in China. Confucius 479 BC and Han Fei Zhi 234 BC are the other two. All three lived in the period of the "Hundred Philosophers" (551-233BC) that included the "Warring States" period characterized by continuous warfare. All three philosophers developed "ideologies" to end these wars. Mo Tzu is the founder of "Mohist consequentialism", also known as "State Consequentialism", which evaluates the moral worth of an action based on how much it contributes to the welfare of a state. Other more recent consequentialist philosophers are Jeremy Bentham 1789 and John Stuart Mill 1850. To appreciate Mo Tzu's ideas you should know that at that time the Chinese believed that their ancestors were living in heaven, were watching them and wanting them to do what was right. Regular sacrifices were made for these ancestors directed by the emperor, who was therefore referred to as the "son of heaven". What was right action? Tzu wrote: "One must not fail to obey the will of heaven, do what heaven desires and not do what it hates. The will of heaven does not desire that large states attack small ones, that large families overthrow small ones, that the strong oppress the weak, the cunning deceive the stupid, or the eminent lord it over the humble. It desires that those who have strength will work for others, those who understand the Way (see later "Universality") will teach others, and those who possess wealth will share it with others. It also desires that those above will diligently attend to matters of government and those below will diligently carry out their tasks. Then the government will be well ordered, the population harmonious, the state rich, and wealth and goods plentiful." According to Tzu this outcome requires "Universality" instead of "Partiality". "Universality" refers to considering all people equal with equal opportunity. Selection and promotion of people should therefore not be influenced by for example family relationships or whether a person was good looking or not. This was at that time a very revolutionary concept as family relations were considered of the utmost importance. One of many Tzu's examples is as follows: "Let us examine for a moment the way in which a filial (befitting a) son plans for the welfare of his parents. Does he wish others to love and benefit them? It is obvious he must first make it a point to love and benefit other men's parents, so that they in return will love and benefits his parents." Zhu believed in absolute effectiveness meaning that all tasks should be carried out by the most competent regardless of influential sponsors or family relationships.The principle of "universality" is often referred to as "Universal love." About Government Zhu wrote. "Why are governments failing? The rulers fail to honor the worthy and employ the capable in their administration. Success in attracting the capable depends on (1) giving them exalting titles, (2) generous stipends (3) seeing to it that laws are enforced. The government should pattern their action on the ways of heaven. For heaven too shows no discrimination between rich and poor, eminent and humble, near and far, the closely and the distantly related" (Universality, not Partiality is "The Way"). Sun Yat-sen (1919), "Father of the Nation (China)", respected both in Mainland China and Taiwan reintroduced the ideas of Mo Tzu of universal love and consequentialism. Deng Xiaoping In the period of 1927-31 acted as a political instructor to indoctrinate officers in Sun Yat-sen's "Three People's Principles", influenced by Mo Tzu's concepts. Two of Deng's most well known statements demonstrate consequentialist thinking, " It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice " and "Seek truth from facts". The book is short. You have to accept repetition of arguments; typical for teachers at that time, and that some parts to day are irrelevant, like most of his criticism of Confucius and the chapter about ghosts. The most useful chapters are: The Introduction, Honoring the worthy, Identifying with one's superior, Universal Love, Against Offensive Warfare, The Will of heaven. These chapters are brilliant.

In fact, according to the translator's notes, the voice is so distinct from other Chinese tradition that some claimed Mo Tzu was not Chinese at all.Mo Tzu's philosophy was based on universal love, treating everyone with the respect due to one's family. In Confucian China, this was a radical and subversive notion. It undermined the traditional notions of filial piety, even social hierarchy, since it eliminated the special status of one's own parents in the web of personal relationships.He compounded the breach of filial piety by insisting on small, inexpensive funerals and brief mourning periods, also in the name of universal love. Mo Tzu believed completely in the spirits of the dead and in honoring them properly. He believed even more strongly in supporting "the people," usually meaning the farming classes. Confucian funeral garb, coffins, and rituals inflicted staggering costs, and harsh mourning practices literally endangered the mourner's health. Mo's utilitarian philosophy required that wealth be used to meet the needs of the living, since the dead could not use it. Utilitarianism also argued that mourners should return to normal, productive life as soon as possible, without risking the strength needed for their livelihood.Most surprisingly, Mo Tzu's universal love justified the militia composed of his followers. Mo Tzu held that the small and weak were of equal standing with the large and strong, and that bullying (or invading) of the weak was unjust. He backed his notion of justice with arms, coming to the defense to small states when unjustly attacked by the larger.Historically, Mo taught after Confucius (who is treated to special excoration in Mo's text) but before Mencius (who in turn attacks Mo). Mo appears to have been well known down to the current time, even if his actual influence on Chinese history was minor. I wonder, though - his drab utilitarian outlook may eventually have been informed Maoist policy.This is a brief and enjoyable addition to any set of Eastern classics. It's divergence from the main stream of Chinese philospohical history makes it especially interesting, since it provides contrast to the better-known thinkers.Perhaps Mo Tzu isn't for every reader, but the serious student is sure to enjoy it.//wiredweirdPS: This appears to be the same material as Watson's "Mozi" (ISBN 0231130015). The only difference seems to be the romanization, the convention for English spellings, used in the two books.

The author - Burton Watson (b. 1925) is an American academic and renowned translator of Chinese and Japanese texts, currently living in Japan. His translation of spiritual texts and poetry has attracted much interest and praise in the West, and his ability to create clear, concise and factually correct translations has been recognised with many prestigious awards. He holds a Ph.D from Columbia University and has studied and taught within the Japanese academic system.The 1963 (paperback) edition contains 140 numbered pages and consists of a Foreword, an Introduction and 11 distinct chapters. This book is part of the Columbia College Program of Translations from the Oriental Classics series:Foreword: By WM Theodore de BaryOutline of Early Chinese HistoryIntroduction1) Honoring the Worthy2) Indentifying With One's Superior3) Universal Love4) Against Offensive Warfare5) Moderation in Expenditure6) Moderation in Funerals7) The Will of Heaven8) Explaining Ghosts9) Against Music10) Against Fatalism11) Against ConfuciusIndexMo Tzu (pinyin: 'Mozi') lived between 470-391BCE, his real name was Mo-di. He was around 9 years old at the death of Confucius. Mo Tzu - or 'Master Mo' taught a doctrine of universal love toward all of humanity. This doctrine deliberately clashed with the prevailing interpretation of Confuciianism which suggested that 'love' should only be shown toward one's immediate relatives only, with none shown to those outside of the family. It is important to recognise how revolutionary this idea of universal love actually was in the China of Mo Tzu's lifetime. This was at a time prior to the introduction of Indian Buddhism into China (some time between 100BCE and 100 CE) with its teachings about compassion toward all living beings.Mo Tzu's teachings were gathered together into a single volume named after the teacher himself. Watson has used the Shanghai (1954) edition of the Chinese text entitled 'Mo Tzu chien-ku' compiled by Sun I-jang (1848-1908) as the basis for hi English translation. The original Mo Tzu text itself actually consisted of 15 chapters and 71 sections - but 18 of these sections are now lost. Watson translates 11 of these 15 chapters, omitting the chapters about logic and military science, which he feels were much later additions to the text. It is a reliable translation that contains a number of interesting footnotes throughout.

Mo Tzu is one of the three most influential social philosophers in China. Confucius 479 BC and Han Fei Zhi 234 BC are the other two. All three lived in the period of the "Hundred Philosophers" (551-233BC) that included the "Warring States" period characterized by continuous warfare. All three philosophers developed "ideologies" to end these wars. Mo Tzu is the founder of "Mohist consequentialism", also known as "State Consequentialism", which evaluates the moral worth of an action based on how much it contributes to the welfare of a state. Other more recent consequentialist philosophers are Jeremy Bentham 1789 and John Stuart Mill 1850. To appreciate Mo Tzu's ideas you should know that at that time the Chinese believed that their ancestors were living in heaven, were watching them and wanting them to do what was right. Regular sacrifices were made for these ancestors directed by the emperor, who was therefore referred to as the "son of heaven". What was right action? Tzu wrote: "One must not fail to obey the will of heaven, do what heaven desires and not do what it hates. The will of heaven does not desire that large states attack small ones, that large families overthrow small ones, that the strong oppress the weak, the cunning deceive the stupid, or the eminent lord it over the humble. It desires that those who have strength will work for others, those who understand the Way (see later "Universality") will teach others, and those who possess wealth will share it with others. It also desires that those above will diligently attend to matters of government and those below will diligently carry out their tasks. Then the government will be well ordered, the population harmonious, the state rich, and wealth and goods plentiful." According to Tzu this outcome requires "Universality" instead of "Partiality". "Universality" refers to considering all people equal with equal opportunity. Selection and promotion of people should therefore not be influenced by for example family relationships or whether a person was good looking or not. This was at that time a very revolutionary concept as family relations were considered of the utmost importance. One of many Tzu's examples is as follows: "Let us examine for a moment the way in which a filial (befitting a) son plans for the welfare of his parents. Does he wish others to love and benefit them? It is obvious he must first make it a point to love and benefit other men's parents, so that they in return will love and benefits his parents." Zhu believed in absolute effectiveness meaning that all tasks should be carried out by the most competent regardless of influential sponsors or family relationships.The principle of "universality" is often referred to as "Universal love." About Government Zhu wrote. "Why are governments failing? The rulers fail to honor the worthy and employ the capable in their administration. Success in attracting the capable depends on (1) giving them exalting titles, (2) generous stipends (3) seeing to it that laws are enforced. The government should pattern their action on the ways of heaven. For heaven too shows no discrimination between rich and poor, eminent and humble, near and far, the closely and the distantly related" (Universality, not Partiality is "The Way"). Sun Yat-sen (1919), "Father of the Nation (China)", respected both in Mainland China and Taiwan reintroduced the ideas of Mo Tzu of universal love and consequentialism. Deng Xiaoping In the period of 1927-31 acted as a political instructor to indoctrinate officers in Sun Yat-sen's "Three People's Principles", influenced by Mo Tzu's concepts. Two of Deng's most well known statements demonstrate consequentialist thinking, " It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice " and "Seek truth from facts". The book is short. You have to accept repetition of arguments; typical for teachers at that time, and that some parts to day are irrelevant, like most of his criticism of Confucius and the chapter about ghosts. The most useful chapters are: The Introduction, Honoring the worthy, Identifying with one's superior, Universal Love, Against Offensive Warfare, The Will of heaven. These chapters are brilliant.

Mo tzu was an eccentric with a lot of good ideas and a few wierd ones that let him down badly. Still, given that he was thinking more than 2300 years ago we can excuse him a few lapses. It is definitely worth reading this book, there was something magic in the world between 600 and 300 BC, so many people in so many parts of the world straining to answer the question "What does it really mean to be human". Sadly Mo is sparsely known these days, but I would have loved to have spent a few evenings arguing with him, definitely a great mind.