Posted 2016/11/15
Mohism has gained fame for its deeply rooted and respected foundation as universal love , love for the common people and other subtle things which is similar as that of Christianity in the western world.It also has strong utilitarian spirit. Although it has long been forgotten in Chinese history, Mohism and Confucianism were the two major philosophies, despite having opposing ideas.
Mo Tzu, the representative leader of Mohism, was born before the death of Confucius and died before the birth of Mencius. He used to be the chief officer of the state of Sung and had about 300 followers. The main belief of Mohism is that universal love will benefit the people at every level. Mo Tzu advocated thrift, actively condemned war, and attacked music and rituals. He thought that it was too expensive to make musical instruments or to hold special events. While the kings, dukes, and officials were enjoying the music, the people were starving because of the expense of the musical instruments. so the mohism firmly believe that the upper class enjoy themselves at the expense of the poor and starvelling people.
we can know that Mo Tzu represented the working class, or even the slaves at that time which can be reveled from his utilitarian arguments. Even though Confucianism advocated the equality of all class, it tended towards the upper level (aristocracy) in a sense.
