Mozi Academy

　　The Mozi Academy is located within the Jinghe Park in Tengzhou. Jinghe Park is situated on the north bank of Chenghe River, west of Shanguo South Road, and was constructed on the reclaimed land and water from the straightened section of the river. The park was developed starting March 1985, and after seven or eight years of effort, has now taken initial shape.

　　Mozi, a great thinker of the early Warring States Period, was the founder of the Mohist school. His surname was Mo, given name Di, and his birth and death dates are unknown.

　　Modern scholars generally believe that Mozi was born around 476 BC and died around 390 BC. There is also debate over where he was born. The "Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Mencius and Xun Qing" states that he was “a minister of Song,” while the "Lüshi Chunqiu: When Dyeing" considers him a native of the State of Lu. Some say he was originally from Song but later lived in Lu for a long time. Mozi himself claimed, “Now Di has no affairs with rulers above nor hardships with farmers below,” which suggests he belonged to the “shi” (scholar-gentry) class of the time. However, he also acknowledged being a “0.” He may have been a craftsman or small artisan owner, possessing considerable technical skills in production. Mozi “toiled day and night, making self-discipline and hardship his guiding principles,” and traveled extensively among various feudal states to promote his political ideals. It is said that he once stopped the Chu state from attacking the Song state, putting into practice his principles of universal love and non-aggression. He “traveled south to the state of Wei,” advocating for the training of soldiers in preparation for defense. He also visited the state of Chu multiple times and submitted writings to King Hui of Chu. He declined the offer of land from the Chu king and, in his later years, went to the state of Qi in an attempt to dissuade Xiang Ziniu from attacking Lu, though without success. The King of Yue invited Mozi to serve as an official and offered him a fief of 500 li. Mozi set the condition of “listening to my words and adopting my principles” as the requirement for going, regardless of the fief or noble rank, aiming to realize his political ambitions and ideals.

　　Mozi was also one of the important pioneers of ancient Chinese logical thought. In the book "Mozi," he consciously and extensively employed methods of logical reasoning to establish or argue his political and ethical ideas. Mozi was the first to propose that names must correspond to reality. He also introduced logical concepts such as bian (debate), lei (category), and gu (reason) for the first time in the history of Chinese logic. In the chapter "Gengzhu," he called for those “who can engage in debate to do so,” and advocated learning “debate” as a specialized field of knowledge. When refuting others’ views, he often said, “You have not examined the categories of my argument, nor understood the reasons behind it,” and upheld the principle that “one should follow reason rather than unreasoned claims”—that is, arguments backed by reason take precedence over those without. Although Mozi’s concept of “bian” broadly refers to debating techniques, it was grounded in understanding categories (types of things) and clarifying reasons (bases, justifications), thus falling under the category of logical analogy or argumentation. Mozi’s “Three Criteria” (San Biao) served not only as standards for evaluating speech and thought but also contained elements of reasoning and argumentation. Mozi also skillfully used analogical methods to expose contradictions in his opponents' arguments. Thanks to Mozi’s advocacy and enlightenment, the Mohist school cultivated a tradition of valuing logic, and the later Mohists established the first system of logic in ancient China. Mozi’s philosophical thinking reflected the dual nature of the petty producer class, liberated from the patriarchal slave system. The rational elements in his thought were inherited and developed by later materialist thinkers, while the mystical dross was absorbed and utilized by theological teleologists after the Qin and Han dynasties. As the founder of the pre-Qin Mohist school, Mozi had a significant impact on the history of Chinese philosophy. Although Mozi spoke and taught extensively, he left no personal writings. The surviving chapters of the book "Mozi," such as "Exalting the Worthy," "Exalting Unity," "Universal Love," "Non-Aggression," "Economizing on Expenditure," "Economizing on Funerals," "Heaven’s Will," "Understanding Ghosts," "Condemning Music," and "Condemning Fate," are records of his thoughts and speeches documented by his disciples or second-generation disciples. These form important sources for studying Mozi’s ideas.