Mohism

The Mohists' ideas are presented in a book that bears the name of the school's founder. The so-called core chapters (8–37) may have been produced during Mozi's lifetime or immediately thereafter, and are believed to reproduce his original thought. These chapters present ten major Mohist doctrines, each of which is discussed in three versions; the subdivisions are believed to reflect different traditions within the Mohist movement. Later portions of the Mozi deal with epistemological questions (chapters 40–45) and military theory (52–71) and tell anecdotes about Mozi and his disciples (46–51). These chapters were produced between the fourth and the second centuries B.C.E. by the later Mohists, reflecting major developments within the Mohist school.

The Mozi suffered considerably in the process of its transmission: no less than eighteen chapters were lost, others were significantly damaged, and almost ten chapters (1–7, and probably 38–39) are considered to be forged by later transmitters. The book was restored due to the meticulous efforts of scholars from the eighteenth century on, although proper arrangement of many portions is still subject to heated scholarly debate. Several Mohist treatises are included in the Warring States' collectanea, such as the Lüshi chunqiu (c. 240 B.C.E.); valuable information about Mohist thought is also present in the writings of the Mohists' opponents, such as Zhuangzi (fl. late fourth century B.C.E.), Xunzi (c. 298–c. 230 B.C.E.), and Han Feizi (c. 280–233 B.C.E.), as well as in the Han period texts (206 B.C.E.–220 C.E.).