Mozi Museum

大众网2022-06-22 11:23

　　Mozi, whose name was Modi, lived around 480 BC to 390 BC. He was a philosopher, educator, strategist, scientist, and social activist during the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States Period. He lived in the kingdom of Xiaozhu (now Tengzhou city, Shandong Province). Mozi was an encyclopedic “Saint of the Common People”, who studied arts and science, and emphasized on practice. Some of his pioneering ideas in mechanics, mathematics and optics are almost identical with the principles of modern science, so the later generations honor him as “Ke Sheng(the Saint of Science and Technique)”.

　　Mozi Museum is located on the bank of Jinghe River and besides to Longquan Tower. It is the only comprehensive courtyard building in China which integrates with Mohist culture discussion, books and reference materials collection, science and technology education and visiting. It is a national AAA level tourist attraction, a national second-level museum and a national popular science education base.

　　Mozi Museum was built in 1993 with a construction area of 5,600 square meters. It consists of the Hall of Jianai(Universal Love), the Hall of Shengji(Sacred Signs) , the Hall of Renwen(Humanities), the Hall of Keji(Science and Technology), the Hall of Junshi(Military Affairs), the Hall of Hongmo(Developping Mohism) and Mozi Academy. The Hall of Jianai, which mainly displays Mozi statues and celebrities’ comments on Mozi. The Hall of Renwen mainly displays Mozi’s ten ideas and achievements in Mohist philosophy. The Hall of Keji mainly displays Mohist achievements in geometry, arithmetic, optics, mechanics, space-time and other aspects. The Hall of Junshi mainly displays Mozi’s military thoughts and defense facilities. The Hall of Shengji, with the Painting of the Sacred Relics of Mozi, mainly displays the life story of Mozi. The Hall of Hongmo, showcases the grand occasions of international seminars and research achievements on Mohism.

　　Mozi Museum is an elegant academic palace to carry forward the traditional culture of Chinese Nation and study Mozi’s thought and culture, as well as a bridge to connect Chinese and foreign experts and scholars in the study of Mohism. It is known as “the Base for the Study of Mohism and the Holy Palace of Time-honored Tengzhou”.

　　The Main Ideas and Classic Stories of Mozi

　　The thought of Mozi is broad and profound. His main point of view is: “Jian ai”(Universal Love), “Fei gong”(Against Military Aggression), “Shang xian”(Elevate the Worthy), “Shang tong”(Conform Upward), “Jie yong”(Moderation in Expenses), “Jie zang”(Moderation in Burials), “Fei yue”(Against Music), “Fei ming”(Against Fatalism), and so on.

　　Mozi’s core idea is “Jian ai”(Universal Love). Mozi advocates the universal, equal, mutual assistance and love among people.

　　“Fei gong”(Against Military Aggression) is to oppose the ill-willed war, which is the invasion of small countries by big countries.

　　“Shang xian”(Elevate the Worthy), that is, advocating the sage, appoint the wise man, to achieve social governance and peace in the world.

　　“Shang tong”(Conform Upward), a political program of Mozi, in response to the countries’ chaos at that time, by which to propose “the uniform righteousness” of the world.

　　“Jie yong”(Moderation in Expenses) is to practice austerity, oppose extravagance and waste.

　　“Jie zang”(Moderation in Burials) is against lavish funeral, against the killing of martyrs.

　　“Fei yue”(Against Music) is to oppose the spending of people’s efforts to satisfy the rulers’ desire by enjoying the organization of large-scale musical activities.

　　“Fei ming”(Against Fatalism) is to oppose destiny. Mozi advocates man’s hard work and ambition.

　　The ordinary but also great life of Mozi has left many popular classic stories, such as, Gui Ju Fang Yuan(on standards), Ju Tu Jiang Xue(teach and lecture), Yi Li Tong Yi(the unity of righteousness and benefit), Mo Shou Cheng Gui(formularism), Ran Shan Guan Ran(dyeing and environment).

　　Gui Ju Fang Yuan(on standards)

　　After learning and practice, Mozi put forward the correct and objective standards: “No matter what kind of business one is engaged in, one must have standards”. Different craftsmen have special skills, but they should abide by the common standards and laws. They draw squares with a rectangular ruler, circles with a pair of compasses, straight lines to the tighten ink line, horizontal line with a level, and a perpendicular to the hanging vertical line. These five standards are the general law that all kinds of craftsmen should comply with.

　　Ju Tu Jiang Xue(teach and lecture),

　　Mozi takes it as his duty to “promote what is beneficial and eliminate what is disastrous to the people in the world”. he run around and preach. After several years of practice by himself, he felt that he was not influencial enough and had to organize more people to devote to the idea. About the age of thirty, he founded the first comprehensive civilian school in human history with arts, science, military, engineering and other subjects, and trained a large number of people. Historian recorded that “his disciples increase, full of the world”, and his doctrine spread to the world, and became a famous school.

　　Yi Li Tong Yi(the unity of righteousness and benefit)

　　Mozi said “Of all the things in the world, nothing is more valuable than righteousness”, while explaining the relationship between righteousness and benefit to his disciples. Practicing righteousness is to “promote what is beneficial and eliminate what is disastrous to the people in the world”, and takes “national and people’s benefits” as the standards of a measure. The goal of “universal love and mutual benefit” by showing universal love to all the people, and then benefitting them should be achieved. He used the benefit to define the connotation of righteousness, and directly linked the moral concept of benevolence, righteousness and love to utilitarianism, showing the unity of righteousness and benefit, and his attaching importance to utilitarianism.

　　Mo Shou Cheng Gui(formularism)

　　This idiom comes from Mozi. Its present meaning is to describe the idea of conservative, not thinking ahead. But its original meaning is that Mozi was good at and famous for guarding city. “Mo Shou” means “good at guarding”. The way of Mohist guarding city becomes certain rules. The weak small countries could adopt this set of rules to guard their cities, and could meet the standard of zero tolerance. This was the original literal meaning. But now, its meaning has changed to derogatory.

　　Ran Shan Guan Ran(dyeing and environment)

　　Mozi and several disciples roaming Ran Shan(dyeing mountain). He saw the scene of dyeing the silk and sighed: “White silk dyed in cyan water becomes cyan, and in yellow water becomes yellow. As soon as the color of water changes, the color of the silk changes.” Thoughting of the impact of the environment on people, he points out that everyone, regardless of their position, should carefully choose the people they live with, and so a beautiful cultural environment should be built to promote social progress.