In the 5,000-year history of China, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were the most special, because of frequent wars and chaos in the world, but the profound changes of a hundred schools of thought contended gave birth to Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism that continued to be passed on to later generations, and the foundation of the broad and profound Chinese civilization was laid.
It is a pity that only a small part of the brilliant "Spring and Autumn Hundred Schools" has been handed down in the end, and the rest have dissipated in the dust and smoke of history.
And the most regrettable thing about this, which makes scientific researchers regret every time they think about it, is the loss of the Mohist theory.
It is reported that the Mohists had great influence during the Warring States Period, and were not lost to the "top stream" of Confucianism, and if it could develop smoothly, it would make China's science and technology lead the world for more than 2,000 years.
So, why did the once famous Mo family completely dissipate and disappear again?
Seeking Confucianism is not comprehensible, and he created his own Mojia
Most people's understanding of Mohist is more focused on the number of tricks, and it seems that this is a school of thought that is very good at inventing and creating.
In fact, the descendants of the Mo family did have their own uniqueness in invention and technological research, which played a huge role in promoting the technological development of the Warring States Period.
However, its core theory is still the ideological content of "love", "non-attack" and "Shangxian", which is what Mozi repeatedly mentioned in his lectures.
During the Warring States Period, Mohist once became a prominent scholar in the world, and had the energy to compete head-on with Confucianism, and there was even a saying that "non-Confucianism is ink" at that time.
It is reported that at that time, the confrontation between Mohists and Confucianism was extremely serious, and the two sides had been attacking each other, and even had fierce conflicts. In particular, Mo Zhai, the founder of Mohistism, was dissatisfied with Confucianism and wrote articles to criticize it.
But what many people don't know is that Mo Zhai has a lot of roots with Confucianism and once studied classics with a great Confucian, so why did he end up at odds with Confucianism?
This starts with Mo Zhai's life experience, his family is a descendant of the Song nobleman Muyi during the Spring and Autumn Period, and some of the people in the clan served as the doctor of the Song State.
But then his family gradually declined, and by the time Mo Zhai was born, he was no different from the common people. Mo Zhai has lived in poverty since he was a child and has a thorough understanding of the miserable lives of the people at the bottom.
Although the family is poor, Mo Zhai's parents are people of insight and know that only reading can change the fate of the family, so they save money for their children to study.
And Mo Zhai did not live up to his parents' efforts, and soon became a well-educated scholar and re-entered the upper circle.
At the beginning, Mo Zhai studied under a Confucian scholar, after all, Confucianism was a prominent learning at that time, and it was recognized by the princes of all countries, and the good name of Confucius also spread all over the world, so that countless people flocked to it.
Not only that, Mo Zhai strongly agreed with the concept of "benevolent government" put forward by Confucius, and firmly believed that it was a good way to save the world.
But as he deepened his studies, Mo Zhai had a clear understanding of Confucianism, and he realized that it was actually a doctrine for the service of rulers.
Confucius seems to be full of "benevolence and righteousness", but his admiration for etiquette completely exposes his true thoughts. In Mo Zhai's view, the so-called "etiquette system" is a tool to maintain the authority of the ruling class and oppress the common people at the bottom.
Because of this, Mo Zhai became very dissatisfied with Confucianism, and eventually he decided to create a new one.
This is the famous Mohist doctrine in later generations, advocating the concepts of "love", "non-attack", "Shangxian", "festival burial" and "saving use". Mo Zhai spent his life shouting for the common people at the bottom and trying his best to impose restrictions on the ruling class.
Because of this, the Mohist doctrine attracted a large number of craftsmen and lower-class scholars as soon as it was introduced, and eventually formed a "Xianxue" that could compete with Confucianism.
The contribution of the Mohists in science and technology
Nowadays, many people highly respect the Mohist doctrine, on the one hand, because many of its contents are in line with the current social environment and have a high degree of foresight.
On the other hand, compared with the slightly "retreating" Confucian doctrine, the Mohists attached great importance to practice and made a lot of efforts in technological innovation.
If the Mohist doctrine can be passed down to this day, China will definitely be in a leading position in science and technology. Can the Mo family really make such a big contribution?
The statement itself is somewhat exaggerated, but there is no problem with the meaning it expresses.
The reason why I say this is first of all because the Mohists have carried out in-depth exploration of the world and put forward many advanced scientific theories.
For example, there is a relevant explanation of the content of mechanics in the works of the Mohists, and it also clearly explains the principle of small hole imaging.
Not only that, Mo Zhai was also the first top educator in ancient China to attach great importance to the subject of mathematics, and he proposed and named a series of mathematical concepts, such as "times", "same length", "middle", "circle", square, straight line, and so on.
Mathematics is recognized as the foundation of modern science, and the Mohists have made great contributions to its development, greatly promoting the development of Chinese civilization.
Secondly, Mozi has a very outstanding talent in mechanical manufacturing, which is comparable to the famous public loss class, and even surpasses it in many aspects.
For example, Mozi made all-round improvements to the weapons and siege equipment at that time, so that its ability to attack fortifications has been significantly improved.
Legend has it that Mozi also invented a very practical wooden kite, which could even fly manned. In order to solve the transportation problem, Mozi also made a lot of wooden tools, which greatly reduced the loss during transportation.
Under the influence of Mozi, the successors of the Mohist doctrine also developed a strong interest in mechanical manufacturing, which brought great changes to the handicraft industry.
Last but not least, Mohist doctrine is a very practical and pragmatic theory in ancient China, which is very important in scientific research.
Mozi advocated that the existence and non-existence of things should not be based on personal imagination, but must have "the reality of the ears and eyes". This is a great advance in the epistemology of ancient China, which coincides with the materialist thought admired by later generations.
At the same time, the Mohist doctrine also filled in one of the major deficiencies of Chinese civilization, that is, it proposed and perfected logic, and established a complete set of thinking methods in this way.
Therefore, Moji, Enlightenment, and Ancient Greek Logic are called the three major logics in the world.
Both epistemology and logic have important guiding significance for scientific research, so it seems that the loss of Mohist doctrine is really a great regret of Chinese civilization.
The importance of logical thinking
The dissipation of "non-Confucianism is ink".
Seeing this, many people must be curious, since the Mohists had an influence not inferior to Confucianism during the Warring States Period, and they had enough cash, why did they end up being short-lived?
You must know that at that time, the Taoists, soldiers and doctors, whose influence was far less than that of the Mo family, were all inherited, and they were passed down to two thousand years later.
To be honest, the fall of the Mo family was caused by many factors.
First and foremost is the division within it. After the death of Mozi, the huge Mo family was divided into three schools: Xiangli's Mo, Xiangfu's Mo, and Deng Ling's Mo.
The three schools of thought were constantly fighting with each other, disapproving of each other's ideas, wasting a lot of time attacking each other, and even forgetting to contend with their old rivals, Confucianism. It can be seen that in the eyes of some people, heretics are more hateful than heretics.
The infighting greatly damaged the vitality of the Mo family, and they gradually fell behind in the competition, and their strength was not as good as before.
Secondly, there is another key reason for the fall of the Mo family, that is, its competitors are too strong.
Confucianism originally had many loopholes, so it was refuted by Mo Zhai.
But as an extremely inclusive doctrine, Confucianism has made rapid progress.
While the Mohist disciples were busy with infighting, Mencius, the "sub-sage", supplemented Confucianism in an all-round way, not only making it more pragmatic, but also adding a lot of content that focused on the common people at the bottom, making it easier for the public to recognize.
In response to Mozi's criticism, Xunzi adjusted and improved Confucianism, so that it had more vigorous vitality.
Finally, the rise of the Mohist doctrine is because it conforms to the approval of the people at the bottom, and its theory is very advanced, but it is also the fundamental reason for its demise.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the right to speak public opinion was basically in the hands of rulers and scholars, and the influence of the people at the bottom was minimal.
The Mohist doctrine could not be recognized by the rulers from the beginning, which doomed its spread to be greatly limited.
In the case of the division of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period, there is still room for the Mohist doctrine to spread and survive. Once the division is ended, it will come to an end.
The Seven Heroes of the Warring States
The same is true in real history, the state of Qin completed the unification of the six kingdoms with the help of the disciples of the Mo family, and Qin Shi Huang also became the first emperor of the ages with great merits.
But after the world was settled, the Qin people crossed the river and demolished the bridge, directly abandoned the Mo family, and banned their doctrine.
The approach of the Qin people was not incomprehensible at that time, and the Mo family cultivated a large number of chivalrous warriors because of the characteristics of their doctrine, and these people were a good armed force in times of turmoil.
However, during the Chengping period, these people were likely to evolve into a source of trouble, so the Qin state banned them to avoid future troubles.
Moreover, the Mo family has a strict organizational system, and once there is a crisis, it is easy to twist into a rope. Such a power exists in the people, and it is a huge threat to the rulers of the feudal dynasty, and naturally they cannot be allowed to "sleep soundly on the side of the couch".
It can be seen from this that if the ideas and theories of a school are slightly ahead of the times, they will be terrifyingly strong, but if they are too far ahead, they will not be allowed to be left untouched by the world.
epilogue
In general, because Mozi's doctrine contains materialist epistemology and complete logical content, the Mozi disciples have strong abilities in mechanical manufacturing and scientific research. If the Mohist doctrine survives, scientific research in ancient China will flourish.
It is a pity that Mozi's theories were still too advanced after all, and could not be universally recognized by the people at that time. As a result, the once prosperous Mohist family eventually became a flash in the pan, and quickly dissipated into the long river of history after blooming with the most enthusiastic light.
Reference:
The Positive Significance of Mozi's Concept of "Non-Happiness" in History
- Zeng Suijin
The Educational Philosophy of Mohists and Its Practical Significance
- Chen Keshou