History belongs to the successful, but the successful are always only a few people. The vast majority of people crushed under the wheel of history are ordinary people who are suffering unspeakably. Zhang Yanghao of the Yuan Dynasty sighed in a poem "Tong Guan Gu Gu": "In prosperity, the people suffer. In death, the people suffer." This sigh has great power and tells the tragic fate of the poor people in history for thousands of years. . Since ancient times, China has had countless people with lofty ideals and made countless heroic speeches, but very few of them truly care about the poor people. And Mozi was one of the few people among countless people who really cared about the fate of common people.
Mozi, named Zhai, was the founder of the Mohist school during the Warring States Period. In the age of war, Mozi was not afraid of dangers and traveled among various countries to promote Mohist thought. During the Warring States Period, various schools of thought contended. In the face of so many excellent theories, why did Mohism become a "prominent school" together with Confucianism? The reason is that Mohist theory represents the interests of thousands of poor people.
Everyone is aware of Mozi's propositions of "universal love" and "non-attack", but perhaps many people think this is just a ruling strategy. It must be admitted that it can indeed be used as a political means, but in Mozi, this is far more than a means. It is the social ideal of a philosopher of civilian origin.
A person's origin and growth experience often have a non-negligible impact on his life choices. Although Mozi's ancestors belonged to a clan, by his generation, the descendants of the Mo family had already become common people who worked hard to cultivate the fields. Mozi himself was a craftsman who was good at making instruments. When he was young, he worked as a herder and carpenter, and experienced the hardships of the lower class people. Confucius and Laozi were not from noble backgrounds, but at least they were not ordinary people. But Mozi was actually born in a poor peasant family. He witnessed the miserable life of the working people and knew what the common people were thinking. He understands the common people and regards himself as a common person. He calls himself "my humble" without any scruples. Some people call him "a man of common people", and he accepts it happily. He is a philosopher who stands on a high place, but he is not a saint beyond the reach of ordinary people, but one of countless common people in the world.
Many people who also come from poor backgrounds completely forget the pain of the lower class once they become successful, and even try their best to avoid mentioning their own life experience. The valuable thing is that Mozi never had the idea of leaving the lower class and entering the upper class society. On the contrary, he devoted his life to rescuing the poor people in distress.
The rolling Yellow River and the towering Dai Mei Mountain limited Mozi's vision. Mozi knew that if he wanted to benefit millions of people, he must go out of the mountains and rivers and learn knowledge from all over the world. A few years later, Mozi, who traveled all over China, returned to his hometown and began his many years of secluded life on Mount Daimei. During this period, Mozi read the literature and classics of various countries, became familiar with various military arts, and practiced swordsmanship and fighting hard.
Mozi regarded himself as the representative of the poor and small producers in the world, and his words and deeds all revealed his deep civilian complex. Mozi always lived a simple life, wearing short clothes and straw sandals, just like a farmer. According to records, Mozi and his hundreds of disciples all had "calluses on their hands and feet, dark faces, and were serving as slaves, but did not dare to ask for their own desires," and looked like ascetics. The Mohist children lived a poor life, not because they did not have adequate food and clothing. The King of Yue once invited Mozi to serve as an official in the Yue Kingdom with a reward of five hundred miles of land, but Mozi refused.
Of course, Mozi's civilian complex is mainly reflected in his ideological propositions. We are all familiar with the propositions of universal love and non-aggression, but how many of us have fully understood the sincerity behind these slogans? The saying of "loving the people as your own children" has actually been advocated by insightful people of all ages, but it was only a plan to consolidate rule, and the real purpose was not to benefit the people. But Mozi's idea of universal love is based solely on the interests of the people. Confucianism advocates the fraternity of "Kindness to relatives, respecting the virtuous and equals", which includes the idea of differential treatment; while Mozi's universal love advocates loving all people in the world regardless of hierarchy, distance, distance, or superiority. Love your body." Mozi was obsessed with the idea of universal love, and even believed that the reason why bullying occurs in real society is precisely because people do not love each other. Living in the war-torn Warring States period, Mozi witnessed the serious disasters that war brought to the people. Under the influence of the thought of universal love, he naturally put forward the idea of "non-offensive".
The important contents of Mozi's thought also include "saluting colleagues and respecting the virtuous" and "saving burials and using them sparingly". Shang Tong Shangxian asked the emperor and the people to unite and follow the will of heaven and implement righteous government. The emperor should be the sage in the country, and he should be able to appoint virtuous people as officials regardless of their origin. "Officials are not always noble, and people are not always humble." The life of the upper class rulers has always been extravagant and luxurious, but the capital they squandered is the taxes of the working people. In this regard, Mozi emphasized frugality in expenditure and burial. He strongly criticized the extravagance and waste of the families of princes, generals and ministers. He believed that monarchs and nobles should imitate the three generations of ancient holy kings and maintain a frugal and honest life. Mozi not only demanded equal living conditions, but also demanded equal treatment in death. He opposed the Confucian ritual of long mourning and heavy burial, and proposed the funeral methods of "three collars of clothes", "three inches of coffin" and "the living will not be mourned for a long time".
One of Mozi's views is very special, that is, "non-music" and opposes music and other arts. The reason why he has such a strange idea is that Mozi believed that although art is good, it will make people addicted to it. If the people are distracted, it will affect farming and textiles, and if the monarchs and ministers are distracted, it will hinder the handling of government affairs. It is neither in line with the principles of the sage king nor in line with the people. Interests. This proposition can be said to have fully exposed Mozi's civilian character.
In ancient times, people were in a lowly position unable to resist for a long time, and their desire for a better life always rested on ghosts and gods. As a commoner, Mozi also had this innocent and simple belief. While advocating for rationality, he firmly believed in the existence of ghosts and gods. Because some people "tasted the things of ghosts and heard the voices of ghosts and gods", he came to the conclusion that "there are ghosts and gods". In Mozi's concept, ghosts and gods can distinguish good from evil and have a deterrent effect of rewarding good and punishing violence.
Mozi spent his whole life promoting his civilian ideals. However, his political ideas were too utopian. No princely state pursuing hegemony gave him the space to implement these ideas. Mozi's ideals ended in a tragic failure. However, failure is not shameful. In an era when everyone is competing for interests, there is such a Mozi who does not seek personal gain, but only seeks to benefit the world, which somewhat brings a little warmth to an era where swords are flashing and corpses are everywhere. Mozi's heart was devoted to the most miserable people in the world, and he was honored even though he was defeated.
A great chivalrous person will do justice to the world
There is a spirit in China called "Xia". A chivalrous person uses his own strength to hoe the strong and help the weak. Usually, in people's impression, a hero always wanders around the world with a sword on his back, using his superb martial arts to save people in danger without seeking fame or fortune. The appearance of Xia means the arrival of hope. In troubled times, there are often heroes, and Mozi was a hero during the Warring States Period.
As Jin Yong said in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", "It is certainly the duty of a chivalrous person to do justice and help people in distress, but this is just a small chivalrous person... serving the country and the people, a great chivalrous person..." Ermo What Zi has done in his life is for all the hardworking people in the world, and he deserves the title of "hero". Looking at Mohist thought, whether it is universal love without aggression, respecting colleagues and virtuous people, or saving money and burial, and heaven's will and ghosts, they ultimately point to the vital interests of the common people.
The most important thing for a chivalrous person is the word "righteousness". Different people have different interpretations of "righteousness". According to Mozi, righteousness is the great benefit of all people in the world, and seeking benefits for the people of the world is righteousness. At the beginning of the chapter "Guiyi", Mozi pointed out that "nothing is more valuable than righteousness", and his life was a life of chivalry and righteousness.
"Historical Records: Biographies of Rangers" says: "Although today's knights' actions are not in line with justice, they must do what they say, their actions must bear fruit, and their promises must be true. They do not love their bodies and go to the misfortune of soldiers." "Historical Records" "Jijie" says: "Xun Yue said, "Those who establish Qi Qi, achieve prestige and blessings, and establish personal relationships to become stronger in the world are called knight-errants."
Mozi's Xingxia relies not on magical martial arts, but on ingenious wisdom. Mozi opposed unjust wars and always advocated giving priority to defense. Stopping Chu and attacking Song Dynasty deeply reflected Mozi's chivalrous style.
The Song State was a weak state during the Warring States Period, with Jin to the north and Chu to the south. Sandwiched between the two countries, the Song State often faced the threat of war, and its production was constantly destroyed. During the reign of King Hui of Chu, Gongshu Ban built a ladder for the Chu State to attack the Song State. At this time, Mozi was in the Qi State. After hearing the news, he immediately rushed to rescue the Song State. It was a long journey from Qi to Chu. It took Mozi ten days and ten nights to reach Ying, the capital of Chu State, so that his shoes and feet were worn out. As soon as Mozi arrived in Ying, he went straight to Gongshu Ban and persuaded him to give up attacking the Song Dynasty, regardless of the fatigue of traveling and traveling.
At Gongshuban, Mozi said: "I heard from the north that Zi was a ladder, and I will attack the Song Dynasty. What crime did the Song Dynasty commit? Jing State has more than enough land, but not enough for the people. Killing what is not enough and fighting for all the surplus cannot be called Wisdom; in the Song Dynasty, attacking innocent people cannot be called benevolence; knowing but not fighting can not be called loyalty; fighting and not being able to fight cannot be called strong. Killing many people instead of killing the few cannot be called knowing the kind." A wonderful debate made the public lose. Ban was speechless and could only admire secretly. However, the King of Chu was already preparing to attack Song Dynasty at that time, and the only way to stop the attack was to persuade the King of Chu. Under the recommendation of Gongshu Ban, Mozi met the King of Chu. Mozi pointed out that the strong Chu attacking the weak Song is like "leaving its literary pavilion, and there is a poor neighbor next to it, and want to steal it; leaving its brocade, and there are short brown ones next to it, and trying to steal it; leaving its rice and meat, and there are chaff next door, and then Want to steal it" vividly reveals the meaninglessness of Chu's attack on Song.
Although Gongshu Ban and the King of Chu felt that Mozi's words were reasonable, they still insisted on attacking the Song Dynasty. Mozi understood that empty words alone could not stop Chu. Only by making King Chu understand that Chu had no chance of winning in this war could King Chu's plan be completely dispelled. In front of the King of Chu, Mozi and Gongshu Ban launched an offensive and defensive exercise. "Gongshu Ban set up nine opportunities to attack the city, and Mozi was nine away (rejected)." Gongshu Ban's offensive equipment had been exhausted, and Mo Zi Zi's defensive equipment is more than enough. In order to make the King of Chu completely give up, Mozi showed his trump card and told the King of Chu that Qin Huali, a disciple of the Mo family, and other 300 people had already prepared weapons to defend the city and were waiting for the Chu army. The Chu army had no chance of winning this trip. Faced with the facts, King Chu's plan to attack Song had to be abandoned.
In addition, Mozi also tried his best to dissuade Lu Yang Wenjun from attacking Zheng and Qi from attacking Lu. With his fearless courage and his wisdom and technology, he saved countless civilians from war. of killing.
Mozi traveled around the world and worked hard to realize the "righteousness" in his mind. However, the "righteousness" he advocated at that time was actually only a beautiful fantasy and did not meet the requirements of various countries for hegemony. The world valued profit more than justice. . Therefore, Mozi's activities to promote righteousness were often frustrated. The "Guiyi" chapter records such an incident. Once Mozi met an old friend on the way from Lu to Qi. Mozi's dusty face and withered appearance made the friend very sad. He said that the world has already There were not many people who preached righteousness, so he advised Mozi to stop this kind of laborious righteousness activity. But Mozi said: "Now there are people here, and there are ten sons. One person plows and nine others work, so the plowers can't help but be anxious. Why? There are many people who eat and few plows. Do not be righteous today. If Zi is trying to persuade me, why should he stop me?" This rebellious spirit of "knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, but preferring to go to the tiger mountains" is the embodiment of Mozi's heroic spirit.
In Mozi's heart, righteousness is more important than his own life. He believes that people can kill themselves because of an argument, because this kind of argument is to defend "righteousness", and dying for righteousness is great. Mozi valued justice over profit, and his character was quite chivalrous. In Mozi's view, even if you eat according to your belly and dress according to your body, you can never exchange righteousness for profit. Mozi had a disciple named Gao Shizi, who was a high-ranking official in the state of Wei. He enjoyed the generous wealth and salary given by King Wei. However, because King Wei never accepted Gao Shizi's ideas, Gao Shizi resolutely abandoned the high-ranking official Houlu of Wei and went to Qi to work for him. official. When Mozi learned that his disciple was able to "turn his back on wealth and pursue righteousness," he admired him very much and told him that as long as it was morally right, it didn't matter even if he was criticized.
Mozi was a knight, but he was not a lone hero. Mozi cherished the lofty ideal of "bringing benefit to the world and eliminating harm to all peoples". For this ideal, he lobbied abroad almost all year round. Several years of running around and shouting made him deeply feel the insignificance of his own power. Therefore, before the age of 30, Mozi began to recruit many disciples and cultivate patriots who would devote themselves to the righteousness of the Mohist family. Under the teachings of Mozi, Mohist disciples took pleasure in self-suffering and took saving the world as their own responsibility, becoming Mo Xia who "went through fire and water, and never turned around".
Mohism gradually declined after Mozi, and almost no one paid attention to Mohist theory. However, thousands of years later, when we brush away the dust of history and approach Mozi's world again, we can still feel a chivalrous Mozi.
