ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the main features of the Mohist (Mozi) school of thought, and how it emerged from the views and needs of small-scale laborers and producers. Li argues that Mohist thought was founded on the view that labor created wealth, and that the Mohists sought to elevate the social status of artisans and craftsmen.
The Mohist ideal of the mutual benefit of ‘impartial caring’ (jianai兼愛) is also explained, and how the fantasy of a ‘great harmony’ in society lay at the core of Mohist thinking. Finally, the chapter argues that the Mohist tradition did not disappear entirely, despite ceasing to be a prominent intellectual movement. It reappeared in various forms in later Chinese history—for example, in farmers’ rebellions and as heterodox Confucian thought.
