Jian ai and the Mohist attack of early Confucianism

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Philosophy Compass

Publication Date

Summer 5-1-2013

Volume

8

Issue

5

First Page

425

Last Page

437

Abstract

In Chinese pre-Qin period, Mohism was the first school that challenged Confucianism. A common view is that Mohists attacked Confucianism by proposingjian ai, often translated as “universal love,” that opposes Confucian “graded love”. The Confucian-Mohist debate on ethics is often regarded as a debate between Mohist “universal love,” on the one hand; and Confucian emphasis on family and kinship, on the other. However, it is misleading to translate jian aias “universal love,” as it distorts our understanding of the debate. The word jian in classical Chinese means “inclusive,” not “impartial”. The Jian Ai chapters in the Mozi do not object to the idea that our moral practices ought to vary according to our relationship with others and their social positions. Furthermore, Mohist jian ai was not proposed in the first instance to refute Confucian ideas. The Confucian-Mohist debate should not be understood as a battle between nepotism and excessive insistence on impartiality, because both of them advocate that we should care for people in general and that we should maintain close relational ties.

DOI

10.1111/phc3.12031

E-ISSN

17479991

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Chiu, W. W. (2013). Jian ai and the Mohist attack of early Confucianism. Philosophy Compass, 8(5), 425-437. doi: 10.1111/phc3.12031

Share

COinS