Casual Talks on Mohism

Why did I want to study Mohism? I compared Mohist thought with Confucian thought and discovered that Confucianism constantly emphasizes the distinction between the lowly and the exalted, the big and the small, and those above and below, creating an extremely rigid hierarchy. This leads those who command the military to think, “I’m the boss, so you have to listen to me.” With this mindset, they can never discover the ingenious strategies and unusual ideas among hermits and commoners. This idea of superiority and inferiority directly deprives ordinary people of their right to speak. So, when we compare the Mohist principle of equality with the Confucian emphasis on hierarchy, it’s clear that Mohism holds the intellectual high ground. During the later civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists, the Communist commanders widely practiced military democracy, while the Nationalist commanders did not. The Nationalist commanders thought, “When it comes to fighting a war, you just listen to the military officers. What’s the point of military democracy? It’s just asking for chaos.” From this, we can see that Confucian thought had taken root in the Nationalist commanders, while the Communist commanders were imbued with Mohist thought. This made me realize that exploring Mohist thought is actually quite interesting.