Philosophers
Mozi
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Mozi (Mo Di), flourished circa 430 BCE, was the founder of Mohism, the first Chinese philosophical movement to mount an explicit, step-by-step reasoned defense of objective moral standards, roughly contemporaneous with Socrates in the West. He is thought to have belonged to the rising class of craftsmen and artisans; the Mohist texts frequently draw on crafts and mechanics for their arguments, and one anecdote has King Hui of Chu refusing him an audience on account of his low social status.
Facts
Defining MomentKing Hui of Chu refused Mozi an audience because of his low social status, an anecdote scholars read as evidence of his artisan-class origin. 1 Notable PublicationThe Mozi, a text compiled by his followers over generations rather than written by him alone. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and Informationentry: Mohism, Section 1 Mozi and the MohistsQuote, entry: Mohism, Section 1 Mozi and the Mohists
One passage depicts King Hui of Chu (488-432 BCE) refusing to grant him an audience because of his low social status.
1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and Informationentry: Mohism, IntroductionQuote, entry: Mohism, Introduction
They were the first in the tradition to engage, like Socrates in ancient Greece, in an explicit, reflective search for objective moral standards and to give step-by-step, tightly reasoned arguments for their views.
Open Questions (1 open question)
What Are Mozi's Life Dates and Origins?
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy's own entry on Mohism states plainly that little is known of Mozi's life, not even which state he was from; only a rough floruit of circa 430 BCE, contemporaneous with Socrates, can be given with any confidence.
What would resolve this Further archaeological or textual discovery bearing on Mozi's home state and exact birth and death years; the surviving record only supports a floruit of roughly 430 BCE.
Early Chinese intellectual history, classical Chinese textual studiesStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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