Contents
Mozi
Arguing for impartial concern and against aggressive warfare.
Impartial concern · Against aggression
- Born
- Unknown
- Birthplace
- Ancient China
- Died
- Unknown
More people
Mozi
Chinese thinker associated with Mohism, a major philosophical movement of the Warring States era.
Early life
Uncertain origins
His exact dates and birthplace are not securely established; he is generally placed in the fifth century BCE.
Practical tradition
Accounts connect him with crafts and engineering, although details of his life remain uncertain.
Career
- 5th century BCE
Teaching
Developed a critique of inherited rank, wasteful ritual and partiality.
- 5th–4th centuries BCE
Mohist community
His teaching became associated with an organized school combining ethical argument and practical defence.
Ideas
Impartial concern
Argued that people should take others’ welfare seriously beyond narrow family or state loyalties.
Against aggression
Condemned offensive war for the harm and waste it imposed.
Honouring the worthy
Advocated appointment according to ability rather than inherited status.
Beyond work
Textual legacy
The Mozi preserves writings from different generations of the school, not a single authored book.
Defensive expertise
Mohist tradition connected opposition to aggression with knowledge of fortification and siege defence.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and references ↗Biography and contributions ↗Photo: Vjacheslav Rublevskiy; imagined historical portrait, not a contemporary likeness. CC0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
