Among the philosophic schools of ancient China, the Ju（the Confucianist Schools）and the Mo（the Mohist Schools）were the most influential. They were not only philosophic schools in the technical sense, but also leading forces of political and social movements. They were to a certain extent the makers of Chinese history. But the makers of history were also made by history. They were the product of the social circumstances of time, not simply the creation of the genius of their leaders. Their leaders, such as Confucius and Mo Tzu, certainly had their role to play, but there must be something already there to serve as the basis for their thought and action. From nothing, nothing could be created. In the following we shall attempt to show the social origin of the Ju and the Mo，to find out, so far as we can, the social circumstances that were responsible for the production of the two schools.
In order to simplify our discussion, let us start from something that we shall take for granted. In our present knowledge of ancient Chinese history, there is something about the validity of which one will raise no question, if one follows closely the recent development in the study of Chinese history. Let us take for granted that in the Chou Dynasty, the social and political organization of the time was, essentially an aristocracy. The aristocrats were the political and economic lords of the common people, and also the possessors of knowledge and culture. They maintained different sorts of specialists who served as the officials of their governments. Both the aristocrats and the specialists held their positions hereditarily. Generations after generations the aristocrats governed and the specialists assisted them to govern.
For reasons which we shall not discuss here, the ancient aristocracy broke down at the middle part of the Chou Dynasty. The state of confusion in the later part of the Chou Dynasty as described by the Chinese historians was simply the symptom of the breakdown. With this breakdown, there were the aristocrats, who, having lost their position and fortune, could no longer afford to maintain their specialists. The specialists who were former officials maintained by the aristocrats, now lost their occupations and scattered among the common people. As Confucius remarked:
The grand music master, Che, went to Tse. The master of the band at the second meal（of the prince）, Kan, went to Chu. The band-master at the third meal, Liao, went to Tsai. The band-master at the fourth meal, Kuch, went to Chin. The drum-master, Fang-shu withdrew to the neighbourhood of the Yellow River. The master of the hand-drum, Wu, withdrew to the neighbourhood of the River Han. The assistant music-master, Yang, and the master of musical stones, Hsiang, went to the neighbourhood of the sea.[1]
This remark served as an example of the scattering of the specialists. This state of affairs was indicated by sayings of the ancient historians such as: “The officials lost their occupations,” and “The culture was lost, but one can find it in the country.”
The aristocrats could not maintain the specialists, but they still needed them. They needed them for the education of their young and on such occasions as the performing of ceremonies. They, therefore, continued to practise their old professions. But at former times they were officials maintained by the aristocrats, now they had to work for their living from time to time as professionals in liberal professions. There were also the aristocrats or their living by selling what they had received in their early education. They thus also practised a sort of liberal profession and ranked themselves on the same level with the other wandering specialists. Confucius himself was an example of such descendants of former aristocrats.
These wandering specialists may be divided into two groups: the literary and the chivalrous. The one consists of the professionals of ceremony and music, the specialists for peace, the other of that of fighting, the specialists for war. The Ju were of the former group. Thus “Duke Ling of Wei asked Confucius about tactics; Confucius replied ‘I have heard all about sacrificial ceremonies, but about military matters I learned nothing.’”[2]He was one of the Ju，and therefore was a specialist for peace, not for war.
Among the Ju group, there were some who were not satisfied with the practice of their profession, but had the further ambition of setting the world in order. They gave their ceremony and music rational basis and thought they could be the instruments for changing the world. From these men sprang the Ju school. The Ju as a school of philosophy was originated from the Ju as a profession, but the former was not the same as the latter. We do not know who were among the first of the Ju as a profession, but it is certain that Confucius was the first who found the Ju as a school of philosophy. It is natural that at later times Confucius became The Teacher，when the Ju philosophy became the orthodox teaching of the state.
Thus from the literary group of the professional specialists the Ju as a school of philosophy was originated. No more proof need be cited to support this theory, since about it there is no longer any serious dispute. In the following I shall attempt to show that, in the same way, from the chivalrous group of the professional specialists, the Mo or the Mohist school originated.
How do we know that the Mohist school originated from the chivalrous group of the professional specialists, the professional fighters? Or indeed how do we know that in ancient China there was such a group at all? There is much evidence. We learn from the Huai Nan Tzu（Book of Prince Huai Nan）that “Mo Tzu, the founder of the Mohist school, had one hundred and eighty men at his service, all ready to go to fire or water at his command.”[3]From this we can see that the group led by Mo Tzu was well known for its fighting spirit. In the Mo-Tzu one passage reads:
Kung Shu-pan had completed the construction of Cloud-ladders for the state of Chu and was going to attack the state of Sung with them. Mo Tzu heard of it and set out from Chi. He walked ten days and ten nights and arrived at Ying, the capital of the Chu state....Then he told the King of Chu, saying: “My disciples numbering three hundred are already armed with my implements of defence waiting on the city wall of Sung for your invasion.”[4]
In the same book another passage reads:
There was a man in Lu who sent his son to Mo Tzu for tutoring. The son perished in a battle. The father blamed Mo Tzu for it. Mo Tzu said: “You wanted to have your son trained. Now he had completed his training and died in a battle. And you become sore. This is like trying to sell your grain, and yet becoming sore when it is sold.”[5]
These passages show clearly that Mo Tzu and his disciples participated in inter-state wars, and his disciples were trained for such participation.
In the same book we also have evidence to show that Mo Tzu's advice to the princes was sometimes made from a military point of view. Thus Mo Tzu said:
There are seven cause of worry to a state and they are: （1）When the outer and inter city walls are not defensible; （2）When the enemy state is approaching and one's neighbours do not come to rescue; ...（5）When the Prince is over confident of his own wisdom and holds no consultation, when he feels he is secure and makes no preparations for attack, and when he does not know that he must be watchful while neighbours are planning against him....With these seven cause present in the maintenance of a state, the state will perish, and in the defence of a city, the city will be reduced to ruin by the approaching enemy.[6]
It is to be noticed that among the seven cause, three are military ones. In the same book another passage reads:
Mo Tzu said to Kung Liang Huan Tzu: “We find in your house hundreds of decorated vehicles, hundreds of horses fed on grain, and hundreds of women clothed with finery and embroidery. If the expenditures for the decoration of the vehicles, for food to the horses, and for the embroidered clothes are used to maintain soldiers, there should be more than a thousand. At the time of emergency, several hundred of them can be stationed at the van and several hundred in the rear. To do this or to let the several hundred women hold the van and the rear. To do this or to let the several? I should think to keep woman is not so secure as to maintain soldiers.”[7]
This shows that Mo Tzu encouraged the princes or feudal lords to make military preparations.
Here we see the difference between Mo Tzu and Confucius. Confucius “learned nothing about military matters,” but, judging from what we have cited above, Mo Tzu was a military expert. In the Mo-tzu, there are twenty chapters devoted to the discussion of defensive warfare, though some of them have now been lost. These were what the Mohists specialized in, just as ceremony and music were what the Ju specialized in.
Though the Ju and the Mo were different, they both were professional specialists, seeking for employment to make their living. As Mencius said:
When Confucius was not employed by some ruler for three months, he looked disappointed and unhappy. When he passed over the border of a state, he was sure to carry with him the proper gift of introduction.[8]
He said again: “Among the ancients, when one was three months without being employed by some ruler, he was condoled with.”[9]He said again: “The loss of his place to an officer is like the loss of his state to a prince.”[10] This shows how the Ju were anxious to seek employment. The Mohists were also seeking employment. In the Lu-shih Chun-chiu a story was told about one of the later leaders of the Mohists, Meng Shen. Meng Shen was entrusted by a feudal lord Yang Chen-chun to guard his fief, and was told not to surrender it without the proper identification from the lord. Then Yang Chen-chun was involved in a court intrigue and fled to another country. The King of Chu confiscated the fief. Meng Shen said: “I was entrusted by the Lord with the fief and was ordered not to surrender without the proper identification from the Lord, and it is beyond my power to stop them. I have no other choice but to die.” One of his disciples Hsu Jueh tried to stop him by saying to Meng Shen: “You should die, if your death would be useful to Yang Chen-chun. Now it has no use to Yang Chen-chun at all, but with your death the teaching of the Mohists would certaily suffer interruption. Therefore you should not die.” To this Meng Shen said: “My relation to Yang Chen-chun is that between friends if not that between a teacher and his disciple; it is that between a Lord and his subordinate if not that between friends. If I should not die for him, then afterwards, those who want to have a rigorous teacher would not seek for him among the Mohists; those who want to have a faithful friend would not seek for him among the Mohists; and those who want to have a loyal subordinate would not seek for him among the Mohists. For me, therefore, to die is to realize the teaching of the Mohists and to expand their influence.” He died for his faith, and the disciples who died with the master numbered eighty-three.[11] This shows that the Mohists were very strict in keeping their word. They were careful not to give a bad impression to people, because, if so they would be considered as unreliable and the future Mohists would find difficulty seeking employment.
Thus it became a traditional morality that when one was entrusted by others to perform a service, one must try one's best to fulfil his trust. Even death will not compel him to do otherwise.“A man would die for him who admires her beauty”—as an ancient dictum goes.
The Ju also put emphasis on this morality. Thus, Tseng Tzu, one of the disciples of Confucius, said:
He is a superior man who can be entrusted with the charge of a young orphan prince, and can be commissioned with authority over a state of one hundred li, and whom no emergency however great can compel him to yield his stand. He is a superior man indeed.[12]
The Tso Chuan gave a detailed report of the death of Tzu Lu, another disciple of Confucius. Tzu Lu was the “family minister” of Kung Kwei, the minister of the Wei state. When Kung Kwei was kidnapped by a deposed successor to the throne in order to effect a restoration, Tzu Lu rushed to rescue.“He was going to enter the city, when he met Tzu Kau, another disciple of Confucius, who was about to leave it and said to him: ‘The gate is shut.’‘But I wish to try to go there,’replied Tzu Lu.‘It was not your doing,'said Tzu Kau,‘you need not share in this misfortune.’‘I have eaten his pay,’rejoined the other,‘and I will not try to escape from his difficulties.’Tzu Lu entered the city and went to the tower where the prince and Kung Kwei were detained. He tried to burn the tower in order to force the prince to release Kung Kwei. The prince then sent down two men “to resist Tzu Lu, whom they struck with their spears, cutting also the strings of his cap.‘The superior man,'said he,‘does not let his cap fall to the ground when he dies.’He tied his strings again and died. When Confucius heard of the disorder in Wei, he said: ‘Chai (Tzu Kau) will come back, but Yu(Tzu Lu) will die there.’”[13] Thus Tzu Lu died with the same spirit as Meng Shen, the Mohist leader.
But on this point, the Ju seemed not to be as strict as the Mo. Thus Mencius said: “Sometimes it is proper to sacrifice one's life; sometimes it is not. To sacrifice when it is not proper, is contrary to bravery.”[14] The Confucianists emphasized the doctrine of “Golden Mean,” which teaches that the right thing must be done in the right place at the right time; there is no fixed rule for the changing circumstances. Therefore in the above example, Tzu Kau and Tzu Lu took different actions, and Confucius seemed to approve both of them.
Although the Mo originated from the chivalrous group of the professional specialist, they in many respects differed from them. The differences between the Mo and the ordinary chivalry amount to three points.
The first point is that the Mohists participated only in wars which conformed to their principle. Mo Tzu taught the condemnation of offensive wars, so the Mohists took part only in wars that were defensive. They only fought for Sung, but not for Chu. In the Mo Tzu, Mo Tzu fought for Sung, but not for Chu. In the Mo Tzu only the implements and the strategy for defensive war were discussed.
The second point is that Mo Tzu also taught the principle of government. In this respect Mo Tzu was influenced by Confucius. Therefore it is said in the Huai Nan Tzu that “Mo Tzu learned from the Ju and received the teaching of Confucius.”[15]
The third point is that Mo Tzu systematized and rationalized the morality which the ordinary chivalry maintained and practised. He also attempted to universalize it as the common standard of action for all people. This point we shall discuss presently.
As we have said in the above, both the literary and the chivalrous groups of the professional specialists were the members of society who lost their occupations in the breakdown of the ancient aristocracy. Afterwards the recruits of the former group came usually from the upper and middle classes of the society, while that of the latter group usually from the lower class. A greater part of the teaching of Confucius and Mencius was concerned with the maintaining of the traditional ceremonies and institutions. They thus took a point of view nearer to that of the upper class. But, Mo Tzu's teaching was different. In the Mo Tzu, one passage reads:
Mo Tzu travelled south to Chu to interview the King of that state. The King refused to see him with the excuse of his being old, and let Mu Ho receive him. Mo Tzu talked to Mu Ho, and the latter was greatly pleased. He said to Mo Tzu,“Your ideas are certainly good. But our King is the great king of the world. I am afraid that he will refuse to consider them because they are that of the humble men.”[16]
This shows that the teaching of Mo Tzu was nearer to the point of view of the lower class.
The most famous teaching of Mo Tzu is the teaching of universal love. The essence of this teaching is the morality of mutual help. As Mo Tzu said:
When we set up universal loves as the moral standard, those who can hear and see will hear and see for one another, those who can work will work for one another, and those who have knowledge will mutually teach one another. Thus the old who have neither wife nor children will have the support and supply to spend their old age with, and the young who have neither father and mother will have the care and admonition to grow up in.[17]
This teaching seemed to originate from the morality that “friends have everything in common” as maintained and practised by the chivairous group. The group led by Mo Tzu certainly maintained and practised this morality .In the Mo-tzu one passage reads:
Mo Tzu had recommended his disciple Keng Chu Tzu to Chu. Some other disciples of Mo Tzu visited him. They were not generally entertained. The disciples returned and reported to Mo Tzu, saying: “It is of no use to us for Keng Chu Tzu to be in Chu. When we visited him, we were not well entertained.” Mo Tzu said: “You cannot tell as yet.” Soon after, Keng Chu Tzu sent Mo Tzu some money, saying, “Your disciple sends you this money which he hopes you will use.” Thereupon Mo Tzu said “So, indeed we cannot tell.”[18]
This shows that in the group led by Mo Tzu “friends had everything in common.” The Confucianists cmphasized family relations. From their point of view, therefore, when Mo Tzu's teaching prevails, “there will be no place for the peculiar affection due to the father.”[19]
Another important teaching of Mo Tzu is the “agreement with the superior,” which is his political philosophy. Mo Tzu thought that in the primitive world, when there was neither ruler nor government, the world was in great disorder.“People knew that disorder was due to the fact that there was no ruler. They therefore chose the insufficiency of his capacity, the emperor chose the vituous in the world and installed them as the ministers....When the rulers were installed, the emperor issued a mandate to all the people, saying: “Upon hearing good or evil one shall report it to the superior. What the superior should think to be right, all shall think to be right. What the superior think to be wrong all shall think to be wrong.”[20] This morality of absolute obedience to the superior seemed also to be originated from the morality maintained and practised by the chivalrous group. The group led by Mo Tzu certainly maintained and practised this morality. According to the Lu-shih Chun-chiu，the son of Fu Kuan, who was one of the later leaders of the Mohists, killed a man. Seeing that Fu Kuan had this only son, the King pardoned the offender. But Fu Kuan explained to the King that according to the rules of the Mohists, his son must be executed.“Though you have ordered your officers not to execute my son, I will execute him according to the rule of the Mohists.” He did what he said.[21] This shows how rigid was the discipline of the Mohists. In the political philosophy of the Confucianists, the relation between the prince and the subjects is analogous to that between father and son. So in the political philosophy of the Confucianists, affection is more emphasized than severe discipline.
The saying of Mo Tzu that the people “chose the virtuous in the word and crowned him emperor” has been interpreted by some writers as the expression of Mo Tzu's democratic idea in politics. Other writers were skeptical in regard to this interpretation, because, they thought, the democratic idea that the government was originated by popular election could not be originated in an environment in which there was nothing to suggest this idea. But if we know that the Mohists originated from the chivalrous group, we can see there was something to suggest this idea. We know that the Mohists group had a leader who was the dictator of the group. The leader could appoint his successor, but the first leader such as Mo Tzu himself might be elected by the members of the group. This practice is well known in the chivalrous groups of later times.
The belief of the existence of a personal God, and that of ghosts and spirits who can reward the good and punish the bad, is the belief of the lower class of society. In Mo Tzu's time, because of the fact that the society as a whole was changing, the old beliefs also became shaken. According to Mo Tzu the disorder of the time was due to the shaking of the old beliefs, he therefore tried to restore them, just as the Confucianists thought that the disorder of the time was due to the breakdown of the old institutions, and tried to restore them. In the Mo-tzu there are chapters on “the will of God” and on “the existence of ghosts.” Both the Mohists and the Confucianists did not realize that the breakdown of the old beliefs and the old institutions were the results of social change, but not its cause. In this respect both the Mohists and the Confucianists were conservatives.
Mo Tzu's teaching of simplicity in funeral ceremonies and brevity in the mourning period also came from the point of view of the lower class of society. The old institutions of elaborate funeral and extended period of mourning as supported by the Confucianists needed change especially from the point of view of the lower class. The proletarians naturally are poor and have to work day by day for their living. They cannot do as the rich who have money for elaborate funerals and leisure for extended periods of mourning. From this point of view Mo Tzu taught the simplicity of funeral and the short period of mourning to replace the old institutions.
From the same point of view Mo Tzu condemned music and luxury. Here the Mohists were again in opposition to the Confucianists, who thought that ceremonies, and to a certain extent luxury, are needed to make the distinction between the higher and the lower, between the superior man and the small man.
The Mohists were also specialists in manufacturing the implements for war, thought only for defensive war. We have seen that Mo Tzu, in defending Sung against the invasion of Chu, sent his disciples to Sung with his implements of defence. The same story tells us that in going to Chu to persuade the King not to invade Sung, Mo Tzu called upon Kung Shu-pan, the engineer who made the Cloud-ladders for attacking Sung.“Mo Tzu untied his belt,” as the story goes, “and laid out a city with it, and uesd a small stick for a weapon. Kung Shu-pan set out nine different machines for attack. Mo Tzu repulsed him nine times. Kung Shu-pan was at end with his machines of attack, while Mo Tzu was far from being exhausted in contrivances of defence.”[22] For manufacturing machines or implements, the Mohists had to know something about physics and mathematics. They did have some knowledge in these respects as we see in the Mo-tzu.
From what is said above we see the reasons why Confucianists and the Mohists differed and always stood in opposition. In ancient times, Mo Tzu had a reputation and influence equal to that of Confucius, because they both represented schools, each of which had its own social background, and each was a living social force. We may also similarly explain the fact that since the Han Dynasty, Confucianism was upheld while Mohists were suppressed. The reason is that the ruling class needed a philosophy that stands for the higher class of society. But, though Mohism was suppressed, the chivalrous groups continue to exist, which we can find even today, if only we can have a real contact with the lower part of our society.
Reprinted from The Chinese Social and Political Science Review，19-2.
[1]Analects of Confucius, BK. XVIII, Chap. IX, Sec. 1-5.
[2]Analects of Confucius, BK. XX, Chap. I, Sec. 1.
[3]Huai Nan Tsu, Chap. XX.
[4]Mo-tzu, Chap. L; cf. The Works of Mo Tzu, tr. by Y. P. Mei, pp. 257-258.
[5]Id., Chap. XLIX, cf. Mei, op. cit. p. 248.
[6]Mo-tzu, Chap. V, cf. Mei, op. cit. pp. 17-18.
[7]Id., Chap. XLVII, cf. Mei, op. cit. p. 227.
[8]Mencius, BK, III Pt. II, Chap. III, Sec. 1.
[9]Ibid.
[10]Id., Sec. 3.
[11] “Shang Tai,” Lu-shih Chun-chiu.
[12]Analects, Bk. Ⅷ, Chap. Ⅵ.
[13] “The Fifteenth Year of Duke Ai.” Tso Chuan, cf. Legge's translation, Chinese Classics, vol. Ⅴ, Pt. Ⅱ, p. 843.
[14]Mencius, Bk. Ⅳ, Pt. Ⅱ, Chap. ⅩⅩⅢ.
[15]Huai Nan Tzu, Chap. Ⅹ.
[16]Mo-Tzu, Chap. XLVII, cf. The Works of Mo Tzu, translated by Y. P. Mei, p. 223.
[17]Mo-tzu, Chap. XVI, cf. Mei, op. cit. P. 89.
[18]Id., Chap. XLVI, cf. Mei, op. cit. P. 214.
[19]Mencius, BK. III, Pt. II, Chap. IX. Sec. 9.
[20]Mo-tzu, Chap. XVI, cf. Mei, op. cit. P. 56.
[21] “Chu Hsi,” Lu-shih Chun-chiu.
[22]Mo-Tzu, Chap. L. cf. Mei op. cit. p. 259.