#Reading the Mozi

The Mozi (墨子) is the collected work of the Mohist school of the Warring States period, attributed to Mo Di (Mozi) and his followers. 53 chapters survive, arranged in 15 books.

#How to read it

1. Start with Universal Love (兼爱). The heart of Mohism is jian ai — to love all people without partiality, and to benefit one another. This resonates most directly with this site's theme, Love is the Dao. Begin with the three Universal Love chapters in Book 4.
2. The ten core doctrines. Exaltation of the Virtuous, Identification with the Superior, Universal Love, Condemnation of Offensive War, Economy of Expenditures, Simplicity in Funerals, Will of Heaven, On Ghosts, Condemnation of Music, and Anti-Fatalism each come in three parts.
3. Read the original first. The Chinese is plain and forceful; let the argument land before leaning on the translation.
4. Logic last. The Mohist Canons (Book 10) and the Greater/Lesser Illustrations are the root of classical Chinese logic — dense and corrupt in transmission. Save them for the end.
5. The art of defense. Books 14–15 record the Mohists’ defensive military engineering — the practical side of "condemning offensive war."