Mozi: The Complete Writings

Master Mo preached universal love: care for others' families and states as you care for your own, and war, theft and oppression will end. He opposed offensive war, lavish funerals, music and fatalism; he believed in ghosts and spirits and in a Heaven that rewards the good. His followers formed a disciplined order of engineers who rushed to defend besieged cities, and the last chapters of the book are manuals of fortification against ladders, tunnels and floods. In between come the Mohist Canons, the most sophisticated logic, optics and mechanics of ancient China. This complete new English translation covers all the surviving chapters, from Keeping Scholars Close to the siege-defence books. Names are given in modern pinyin and key terms are rendered plainly rather than buried in jargon, so the arguments, stories and debates can be read straight through by anyone curious about Chinese thought.