The Mozi: A Complete Translation

1026 Pages·2014·37.073 MB·English

by  Mozi, Ian Johnston

THE MOZI
The Mozi
A Complete Translation
Translated and Annotated by
Ian Johnston
The Chinese University Press
The Mozi: A Complete Translation
Translated and annotated by Ian Johnston
©The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
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recording, or any information storage and retrieval
system, without permission in writing from
The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
ISBN: 978–962–996–270–8
THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY PRESS
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
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Printed in Hong Kong
To
(cid:2)(cid:3)
Teacher and Friend
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
I. Mo Zi –– The Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii
II. The Mohist School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxii
III. Mozi –– The Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxv
IV. The “Core” Doctrines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxiv
V. Mohist Responses to Other Pre-Han Philosophers . . . . . lxvi
VI. Pre-Han Responses to Mohism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lxix
VII. Han Yu’s Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lxxvii
VIII. The Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lxxviii
Key to Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lxxxiii
Table of Equivalences for Weights and Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . lxxxvi
The Mozi –– Text and Translation
Part I The Epitomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1. On Being Sympathetic towards Officers (Qin Shi(cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . 2
2. On Cultivating the Self (Xiu Shen (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3. On Dyeing (Suo Ran (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4. On Standards and Rules (Fa Yi (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5. On the Seven Misfortunes (Qi Huan (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6. On Eschewing Faults (Ci Guo (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
7. Three Arguments (San Bian (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Part II Core Doctrines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8. Exalting Worthiness I (Shang Xian, Shang (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . 54
9. Exalting Worthiness II (Shang Xian, Zhong(cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . 62
10. Exalting Worthiness III (Shang Xian, Xia(cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . 80
11. Exalting Unity I (Shang Tong, Shang (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . 90
viii Contents
12. Exalting Unity II (Shang Tong, Zhong (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . 98
13. Exalting Unity III (Shang Tong, Xia (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
14. Universal Love I (Jian Ai, Shang (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
15. Universal Love II (Jian Ai, Zhong(cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
16. Universal Love III (Jian Ai, Xia (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
17. Condemning Offensive Warfare I (Fei Gong, Shang
(cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
18. Condemning Offensive Warfare II (Fei Gong, Zhong
(cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
19. Condemning Offensive Warfare III (Fei Gong, Xia
(cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
20. Moderation in Use I (Jie Yong, Shang (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . 198
21. Moderation in Use II (Jie Yong, Zhong (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . 204
22. Moderation in Use III (Jie Yong, Xia (cid:2)(cid:3) ) — Lost
23. Moderation in Funerals I (Jie Zang, Shang (cid:2)(cid:3) ) — Lost
24. Moderation in Funerals II (Jie Zang, Zhong (cid:2)(cid:3) ) — Lost
25. Moderation in Funerals III (Jie Zang, Xia (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . 210
26. Heaven’s Intention I (Tian Zhi, Shang (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . 232
27. Heaven’s Intention II (Tian Zhi, Zhong (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . 244
28. Heaven’s Intention III (Tian Zhi, Xia (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . 262
29. Percipient Ghosts I (Ming Gui, Shang (cid:2)(cid:3) ) — Lost
30. Percipient Ghosts II (Ming Gui, Zhong (cid:2)(cid:3) ) — Lost
31. Percipient Ghosts III (Ming Gui, Xia (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . 278
32. Condemning Music I (Fei Yue, Shang (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . 306
33. Condemning Music II (Fei Yue, Zhong (cid:2)(cid:3) ) — Lost
34. Condemning Music III (Fei Yue, Xia (cid:2)(cid:3) ) — Lost
35. Against Fate I (Fei Ming, Shang (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
36. Against Fate II (Fei Ming, Zhong (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
37. Against Fate III (Fei Ming, Xia (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
38. Against the Confucians I (Fei Ru, Shang (cid:2)(cid:3) ) — Lost
39. Against the Confucians II (Fei Ru, Xia (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . 350
Part III Language, Logic & Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
40. Canons A (Jing, Shang (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
41. Canons B (Jing, Xia (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
42. Explanations A (Jing Shuo, Shang (cid:2)(cid:3) )
(combined with chapter 40)
43. Explanations B (Jing Shuo, Xia (cid:2)(cid:3) )
(combined with chapter 41)
Contents ix
44. Choosing the Greater (Da Qu (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578
45. Choosing the Lesser (Xiao Qu (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620
Part IV Dialogues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 639
46. Geng Zhu (cid:2)(cid:3) =K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K 640
47. Valuing Righteousness (Gui Yi (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 660
48. Gongmeng (cid:2)(cid:3) =K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K 674
49. Lu’s Questions (Lu Wen (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698
50. Gongshu (cid:2)(cid:3) =K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K=K 724
51. Lost
Part V Defence of a City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731
52. Preparing the Wall and Gates (Bei Cheng Men (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . 734
53. Preparing against the High Approach (Bei Gao Lin
(cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778
54. Lost
55. Lost
56. Preparing against Ladders (Bei Ti (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784
57. Lost
58. Preparing against Water (Flooding) (Bei Shui (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . 792
59. Lost
60. Lost
61. Preparing against Sudden Attack (Bei Tu (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . 796
62. Preparing against Tunnelling (Bei Xue (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . 798
63. Preparing against the “Ant Approach” (Bei E Fu
(cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822
64. Lost
65. Lost
66. Lost
67. Lost
68. Sacrifices for Meeting the Enemy (Yingdi Ci (cid:2)(cid:3) ) . . . . . 836
69. Flags and Pennons (Qi Zhi (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 846
70. Orders and Commands (Hao Ling (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 854
71. Miscellaneous Defences (Za Shou (cid:2)(cid:3)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923
Personal Names Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 931
Places, Subjects & Writings Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 937
Preface
Several factors have dissuaded translators from attempting a complete
English version of the Mozi. These include a perception of the work as one
of low literary value and rather uninteresting content, and of Mo Zi himself
as a not particularly significant figure in early Chinese philosophy. There
are also the recognised difficulties in two of the five sections of the work,
those on “dialectics” and defence, due to textual degradation and problems
of arrangement. A great deal of work has, however, been done on these
chapters since Forke produced his almost complete German translation of
theMozimore than eighty years ago. Further, whilst the style of the core
essays may be, to a degree, formulaic and repetitive, this is likely to have
been for a purpose and should not be allowed to deflect attention from
what is, in fact, a content of undoubted philosophical substance, and
methods of presentation and argumentation which were quite novel in the
context of the more common compilations of gnomic utterances and
edifying anecdotes.
Fortunately things have changed in recent times. There is now an
increasing awareness of how significant Mo Zi was as a philosopher, and
how important the school of Mohism was in the dynamic of pre-Han
philosophy. Also, among what might be called the second wave of Chinese
studies on the Mozi,there was a move away from the focus of the first, text-
critical wave to more content-oriented studies. There have been several
fairly recent detailed studies, in both Chinese and English, of the two
difficult sections referred to above. Also, scattered over the past eighty
years, there have been three partial English translations, those of Mei
(1929), Watson (1963), and Ivanhoe (2001). Details of these and other
relevant works are given in the Introduction and in the Bibliography.
One might say, then, that circumstances were propitious for the
attempt at a complete translation. In fact, I came to such an attempt via a
somewhat circuitous route, beginning with an interest in the so-called
School of Names (Mingjia (cid:2)(cid:3)) and then moving on to a consideration of
the interaction between the prominent members of this school, particularly
xii Preface
Hui Shi and Gongsun Long, and the Later Mohists. It soon became clear
that a proper understanding of the Later Mohists was dependent upon a
detailed knowledge of the “core” doctrines of the earlier Mohists. The
attempt to achieve this consolidated my own recognition of the intrinsic
interest of Mohist philosophy and the importance of Mohism as a school,
and has resulted in the present work.
Having decided to go ahead with a translation of the complete work,
the next step was to decide on a format, particularly with respect to the
inclusion of the Chinese text. This presented something of a problem given
that I foresaw at least two distinct groups of potential readers. First, there
would be those whose interest lay solely in the philosophical content. For
such people the Chinese text might be seen as an unnecessary component,
making the work unduly long and possibly acting as a diversion. Footnotes
relating largely to textual issues would compound the problem. Second,
there would be those interested in the work as an example of early Chinese
philosophical literature and who were proficient in both languages. This
group might also be interested in how the translation was arrived at, and the
areas of particular difficulty, both textual and interpretative. I decided on a
compromise in an effort to satisfy both groups. Therefore the full Chinese
text is included but hopefully set out in such a way that the English
translation can be conveniently read without reference to the Chinese.
Also, the footnotes have been kept brief with reference being made to
sources which provide more detailed information on the whys and
wherefores of a particular textual emendation or interpretation. An
exception is made in the two difficult sections referred to previously where
a commentary has been added. In the “dialectical” chapters especially, this
could be useful to both groups of readers insofar as interpretative issues are
considered as well as textual problems.
Of course, in a work such as this, there are inevitably compromises and
shortcomings, although my hope is that, as a result of multiple revisions,
particularly those giving attention to the very helpful comments and
criticisms of the several readers from The Chinese University Press of
Hong Kong and Columbia University Press, most of the shortcomings, at
least, have been eliminated. Some of the compromises do, however,
remain, dictated for the most part by a perceived need to keep the work
within reasonable limits of length. First, there is a relative lack of attention
to modern studies of a secondary nature, both Chinese and non-Chinese. In
my view, to do justice to such scholarship would require considerable
expansion of what is already a very long work and in some respects would
Preface xiii
detract from the clear presentation of the original work. In fact, I think
Mei’s solution was the best one, providing a volume of translation with a
fairly brief introduction and a separate volume devoted to Mohist thought
more generally. However, I have, in the Introduction, aimed to refer to at
least the more important secondary studies but their treatment is far from
exhaustive. Second, there is the issue of the footnotes, which I have
endeavoured to restrict as far as possible whilst still attempting to achieve
the two aims of providing information about people, places, and other
works being referred to, and considering textual emendations and
variations in interpretation by different commentators. As one reader
pointed out with respect to the latter, more attention could have been given
to the reasons why a particular emendation or interpretation was chosen
over other alternatives. Attention to such matters would, I think, have led
to an “overload” of footnotes. The compromise has been to give references
to commentaries in which the particular issue is discussed in greater detail.
Third, I would have liked to retain the commentary which I originally had
in the “core” doctrines section which was a place where analytical studies
could be referred to. Again, constraints of space resulted in this being
excised despite the encouragement of some readers to retain it. Lastly, in
this brief mea culpa section, I should say I regret the lack of references to
Japanese literature. For several reasons, which I shall not elaborate on here,
they have not been included.
Something should also be said about certain important and recurring
terms, some of which I have rendered in ways which modern scholars
might find exceptionable. Many of the terminological issues have been
addressed, albeit briefly, either in the Introduction or the notes and
comments, but I shall add a few remarks here. For the terms yi (cid:2) and
ren (cid:2) I have retained the rather old-fashioned English equivalents of
“righteousness” and “benevolence” (Hansen speaks of the former as
prudish and religious), although in certain places yiis rendered differently
where the context clearly demands it. I accept that there are objections to
these renderings but remain unconvinced that any of the proposed
alternatives are unequivocally better. In addition, if the old terms are
retained, there should be no doubt about which Chinese terms are being
translated. Two other important pairs, which may also be seen as a pair of
pairs, are ai(cid:2)/wu(cid:2) and li(cid:2)/hai(cid:2). I have retained “love” for the first
despite the arguments for a less romantic and emotionally charged term
for ai, and something that does not carry the Confucian pejorative
connotations of “benefit” for li(for example, Hansen’s “utility”). Hou(cid:2)