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