According to the current history books, Mozi was one of the most famous Chinese philosophers and the founder of the Mohist school of thought during the Warring State period of time(c. 475 BCE – 221 BCE). Mohism was one of the most prominent organized schools along with other Daoism schools.
From the fragmented text Mozi available today in the book of Daozang, his core teachings were “Universal Love, Oneness(Unity, Law of One, this theory supports other teachings), Will of The God Tian(The God Tian desires righteousness and loves all people impartially, rewarding good behavior and punishing evil.) , Righteousness, (“Yi”义, Doing what brings the greatest practical benefit to society and the common people.)，Utilitarian-Pragmatism, Kindness(Ren) and non-aggression”.
Also, Mohism was not just a philosophy school, they taught science too, which made it unique in the school of thoughts. Mohists were pioneers in the study of light and vision. Mohists defined physical concepts with mathematical precision, strikingly similar to definitions later used in modern geometry and Newtonian physics. They were famous for their defensive engineering.
During a meditation, I asked questions about Mohism to GOD Michael and Mozi. GOD Michael commented that Mozi is a god and he lived around the time as we understood in history. (around 450 BCE)
Mozi commented that his parents were from the XianBei people who were pre-history Zhong/Zhonghua people and returned back to the central plain of China. Mohism came from pre-history Daoism passed down by the XianBei people and it was popular at the time. What we know as Mohism today was mostly from his understanding and teaching about pre-history Daoism. (prior to 3000 BCE)
Mozi also commented that the main god of pre-history Daoism was named “Tian”(translated by the drawing of the character, it means “Infinite One”, “One Big Being”(一大人), “One Great Being”) and it was the name for GOD Michael. This is also the origin of the name of later main god of Daoism “YuanShi Tian Zun”, translated by meaning “The Original and most Honorable One”. “Taiyi”- “The Infinite One”, “The Most Senior One”, “The Greatest One”. People later distorted the meaning of Tian to objectify it to mostly refer “Tian” to heaven or the sky, which lost the meaning of the name of the God. (Nowadays, the expression “Swearing to Tian” in Chinese still has the equivalent meaning of “swearing to the God”. )
Regarding the name of Mohism, Mozi commented that there was a distortion on the name of Mohism as “Mo” means “Ink, black”. Also, his last name was “GongSun” and “Mo” was not in his name. Mozi commented that since we already used “Mozi” to refer to him, “Mozi” is ok too for him or we can call him “GongSun Di”(公孙翟). Mohism could be better named as “Tian-Daoism” or ”Pre-history Daoism”.
(To Be Continued…)
Sep 10, 2026
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Notes: Explanation of some of the Core Teachings of Mozi:
- Universal Love (Jian’ai): People should care for everyone equally, treating strangers and other nations with the same concern as their own family, unlike the graded love of Confucianism. (Simply put, it’s similar to Jesus’ teaching “Love one another”, “Love your neighbours”. Mozi’s theory provided some good logical support for this teaching. Mozi famously said: “Partiality is the cause of major harms in the world; universality is the cause of major benefits.”)
- Will of The God Tian: The God Tian(GOD Micheal) desires righteousness and loves all people impartially, rewarding good behavior and punishing evil.
- Utilitarian Pragmatism: Actions and ideas are judged by whether they benefit the greatest number of people and improve the socialty, and increase social order.(Increasing social order requires strengthening cooperation, trust, and shared values within a community) – Pragmatism: A mindset focused on practical outcomes, testing ideas by how well they work rather than relying on rigid abstract theories. Utilitarianism: An ethical rule stating that the right action is the one that creates the most well-being and the least pain for society.
- Against Offensive Warfare: Wars of aggression waste lives and resources, failing the test of practical benefit.
- Meritocracy (Promotion of the Worthy): Leaders and officials should be chosen based on virtue and ability, not family background or noble birth.
- Righteousness： Mohism focuses on Result. Mozi argued that empty moral talk is useless if it doesn’t feed the hungry or clothe the cold. For Mohists, righteousness is not an abstract feeling; it is the concrete act of delivering utility and prosperity to mankind.
Below is a statue of Mozi(GongSun Di, 公孙翟)
