#481-221BCE

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Mo Ti

Mo Ti (l. 470-391 BCE, also known as Mot Tzu, Mozi, and Micius) was a Chinese philosopher of the Warring States Period (c. 481-221 BCE) associated with the Hundred Schools of Thought (different philosophical schools which established themselves in this era). He is the founder of Mohism (also given as Moism), a philosophical system advancing the concept of consequentialism (one's actions define one's character) and emphasizing universal love as the meaning of life and the solution to all conflict.

Little is known of his life other than he was a carpenter and inventor of various devices (specifics unknown) and came from the state of Lu (modern-day Shandong province), the same region as the philosopher Confucius (l. 551-479 BCE), whose precepts Mo Ti strongly disagreed with just as he rejected the vision of Lao Tzu (l. c. 500 BCE), the legendary (and possibly mythical) founder of Taoism.

Mo Ti's skill in carpentry made him a valuable asset to the warring states in constructing quality siege ladders and fortifications. In an effort to level any state's advantage over another, he provided each with exactly the same benefit, not only in material products but strategy and intelligence. He hoped, by this stratagem, to neutralize their efforts and bring them to an understanding of the value of peace and futility of war, but his labors were in vain. Even though he was able to clearly make his point to some kings, none of them adopted his philosophy. He seems to have continued, in spite of the apparent futility of his mission, until he realized that none of the states were going to choose universal love over the pursuit of personal power.

His dedication to the cause of peace was recognized and admired even by his harshest critic, the Confucian philosopher Mencius (l. 372 -289 BCE), and his philosophy did attract adherents, just not those he was hoping to convert. When the state of Qin finally defeated the others and founded the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), Mo Ti's works (along with those of Confucius and Lao Tzu) were banned and the philosophy of Legalism embraced. During the Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE), Confucianism was adopted as the national philosophy, and Mohism was forgotten until its revival in the 20th century CE.

The Warring States & Mo Ti

The Warring States Period in China (c. 481-221 BCE) was the era in which seven independent states fought each other for supreme control of the government. The Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE) was still recognized as the ruling house from Luoyang but in name only; they no longer had the power to enforce any of their laws nor perform any functions associated with a strong and stable state.

The Zhou Dynasty established itself as a decentralized government with separate states, nearly autonomous, loyal to the Zhou king who had granted the lands. In time, these states grew more powerful than the king and, as royal authority diminished, each state began to contend with the others for supremacy. None could gain the advantage, however, because each used the same tactics and observed the same laws of chivalry in warfare.

Mo Ti was a highly skilled carpenter and craftsman who became an expert in building siege ladders and designing fortifications and so was in high demand among the rulers of the seven states in helping them defeat each other. Although initially it appears that Mo Ti did design and build various devices and fortifications for the warring parties, he recognized that war was senseless and antithetical to the goodness of life and began trying to maintain each states' ability for attack or defense at the same level in order to maintain balance between them.

As noted, the states were already frustrated in trying to gain an advantage over each other and this led to their seeking Mo Ti's help in providing them with an edge; instead, he further leveled the playing field to impress upon them the futility of the ongoing wars. He understood that the states were only fighting each other out of self-interest, not because they wanted to do any good for the people, and believed this kind of behavior was simply selfish and fundamentally immoral. The historian Will Durant comments:

marvels that a man who steals a pig is universally condemned and generally punished while a man who invades and appropriates a kingdom is a hero to his people and a model to posterity. (678)

Mo Ti devoted himself to travel between the warring states in an effort to convince the rulers to embrace love and pacifism. One of the best-known examples of his strategy is when he traveled to the state of Chu in order to stop their ruler, Gonshu Ban, from attacking the state of Sung. Mo Ti ably defeated Gonshu Ban in a series of war games and then informed Gonshu that he had already provided Sung with help in fortifications and strategy and so an attack would be futile. Gonshu Ban then called off his attack.

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