Motzu

Motzu

Mozi (; Chinese: 墨子; pinyin: Mòzǐ; Wade–Giles: Mo Tzu ; original name Mo Di (墨翟); Latinized as Micius; ; c. 470 – c. 391 BCE) was a Chinese philosopher, logician and essayist who founded the school of Mohism during the Hundred Schools of Thought period (the early portion of the Warring States period, c. 475–221 BCE). The ancient text Mozi contains material ascribed to him and his followers. Born in what is now Tengzhou, Shandong Province, Mozi founded the school of Mohism, which argued strongly against both Confucianism and Daoism. Mozi's philosophy emphasized universal love, social order, the will of heaven, sharing, and honoring the worthy. During the Warring States period, Mohism was actively developed and practiced in many states, but fell out of favor when the legalist Qin dynasty came to power in 221 BCE. During the Qin period, many Mohist classics are thought to have been destroyed when the emperor Qin Shi Huang supposedly carried out the burning of books and burying of scholars. The importance of Mohism further declined when Confucianism became the dominant school of thought during the Han Dynasty, disappearing almost entirely by the middle of the Western Han dynasty. Mozi is referenced in the Thousand Character Classic, which records that he was saddened when he saw the dyeing of pure white silk, which embodied his conception of austerity (i.e., simplicity and chastity).

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