Mo Zi and His Philosophy
2 min readMo Zi(470-391) was a curious figure among the early giants of Chinese thought. Unlike most of the other names he is associated with, he seemed to have been of low birth, possibly the son of a slave. His direct legacy, Moism died out fairly quickly; in spite of this, his thought was enormously influential for all Chinese thought to follow.
He first studied Confucianism but then opposed it. Many modern historians have high opinions of himsaying that he spoke for the interests of the working people of his time. His life was literally spent moving fron feudal court to feudal court trying to talk some ruler or other into living by his philosophical teachings.
At the heart of his thinking was the belief that all human beings were fundamentally equal in the eyes of heaven; differences between human beings, such as status, wealth, or position, were artificial and man-made distinctions. The equality of humans before heaven mandated an overriding ethical principle for people to live by: niversal love, to love every human being equally.
Love for Mo Zi was a practical thing, closely related to Confucius’ Ren. To love people was to take care of them, to feed them when hungry, to clothe them when naked, and to house them when they are homeless. Universal love also meant avoiding any activity that might hurt another person, such as war or profiteering.
This moral obligation to take care of fellow human beings applies to all human beings. If you take care of only a few people that you are intimately related to, you are practicing partial love rather than universal love. It is partial love that is responsible for all the calamties that thuman beings sutter. It all the people in the worid loved one another, the strong would not oppress the weal, the many would not bully the few, the rich would not insult the poor, the honored would not despise the humble, and the cuning would not deceive the simple-minded. Universal love would prevent all hatred, calamities, and hostilities.
