SOAS, University of London (The School of Oriental and African Studies)

Do The Ten Mohist Theses Represent Mozi’s Thought?

Abstract

Every textbook on Chinese philosophy presents Mozi’s thought with his ten novel theses or dogmas, which have been preserved as the titles of the Core Chapters (chs. 8-37): to elevate the worthy (shang xian), to conform upward (shang tong), to care for all (jian ai), to condemn military aggression (fei gong), to moderate expenses (jie yong) as well as burials (jie zang), to acknowledge the will of Heaven (tian zhi) and the percipient ghosts (ming gui), and to condemn music (fei yue) as well as fatalism (fei ming). Through a close reading of the Mozi and other early sources written by or attributed to masters, I shall argue in this lecture (1) that these ten core ideas may not have been promoted by the earliest spokesmen of Mohism but gradually emerged while various layers of the book Mozi were written, and (2) that these ten ideas were not consistently attributed to early Mohism by Zhou and Han masters. Their association of Mo with these specific mottos is limited and inconsistent; their use of one motto--“care for all”--does not show much awareness of its exclusive belonging to one thinker or school. This puts into question the current identification of Mozi with a consistent philosophy of ten theses. The difference between the earliest and the contemporary characterizations of Mozi do not only shed new light on early Mohism, but also on our preconceptions when reading early sources.

Admission

Lecture is free and no registration is necessary. 

Jointly organised at SOAS by the Early China Seminar at the Department of the Languages and Cultures