Mo Di (墨翟) | 24 Histories

Overview

Mo Di was a Philosopher and Inventor.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal name	Mozi	墨子	Mozi

Life and dates

Attested activity

legendary antiquity
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 46, passage 79; Old History of the Five Dynasties 51, passage 32
BC 470 to BC 391 BC 470-391
Strongly inferred · Book of Later Han 32, passage 107
c. BC 400 先秦時期
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 48, passage 187
BC 480 to BC 400 孔、墨、曾子之賢
Strongly inferred · Records of the Grand Historian 112, passage 139
BC 470 孔墨荀孟
Directly stated · Book of Zhou 46, passage 15
BC 470 to BC 391 戰國之世
Dated from the passage context · Book of Later Han 31, passage 198

Show 11 more source-backed claims

BC 470 to BC 391 抑揚孔、墨
Dated from the passage context · Book of Liang 6, passage 145
BC 470 to BC 391 楊、墨、釋、老
Dated from the passage context · History of Ming 298, passage 95
BC 480 to BC 400 蓋墨翟，宋之大夫，善守御，為節用。
Uncertain · Records of the Grand Historian 74, passages 93-94
BC 470 to BC 391 邑號朝歌而墨子回車
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 83, passage 233
BC 400 墨
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 47, passage 82
BC 470 to BC 391 墨子之世
Directly stated · Book of Jin 41, passage 189
BC 470 to BC 391 墨子遑遑
Dated from the passage context · Book of Later Han 34, passage 60
BC 470 to BC 391 墨突不黔
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 117, passage 229
BC 480 to BC 390 墨翟
Strongly inferred · Book of Later Han 75, passages 196-197
BC 480 to BC 390 墨翟
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passage 36
BC 470 to BC 391 墨翟
Directly stated · Book of Han 98, passage 241; Records of the Grand Historian 83, passages 114, 194

Key source chapters

Career and standing

grand master of Song 宋之大夫
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 74, passage 93

Places and affiliations

Polity Song 宋 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 74, passage 93
Polity Warring States 戰國 · Relation Lived under
Strongly inferred · Book of Later Han 75, passage 197
At Zhaoge 朝歌 · Relation Turned away from
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 83, passage 233

Learning and skills

Belief frugal use 節用 · Relation Advocated
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 74, passage 93
Belief Mohism / zeal for timely practical affairs 務時之風 · Relation Exemplar of
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passage 36
Skill defense and fortification 守御
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 74, passage 93

Events and relationships

Chimney never blackened from restless service
Exemplum · Exemplar
Directly stated · Book of Han 117, passage 229
Could not escape the age slandering him
Scholarly · Subject of slander · With Confucius (孔子)
Directly stated · Book of Jin 41, passage 189
Turned chariot away
BC 470 to BC 391 邑號朝歌而墨子回車 · Travel · Traveler · At Zhaoge 朝歌
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 83, passage 233

Assessments and attributes

Assessment could not escape contemporaneous slander · Mode named-source-report Speaker Liu Shi (劉寔)
Directly stated · Book of Jin 41, passage 189
Assessment elevated and suppressed in Gaozu's cultural policy · Mode historian-judgment Speaker Wei Zheng (魏徵)
Directly stated · Book of Liang 6, passage 145
Assessment paragon of wisdom · Mode quotation Speaker Xu Le (徐樂)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 112, passage 139
Assessment used as an exemplar of exceptional wisdom · Mode quoted-source-judgment Source Person Id Jia Yi (賈誼)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 48, passage 187

Source notes

Some say contemporary with Confucius; some say after
Field chronology-vs-Confucius · With Confucius (孔子) · Mode named-source-report
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 74, passage 94
Historicity historical
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passage 36; Records of the Grand Historian 83, passage 233
Value historical
Directly stated · Book of Jin 41, passage 189; Records of the Grand Historian 112, passage 139

References in the histories

Search passages

History

23 passages

Book of Northern Qi, Chapter 46Volume 46 Biographies 38: Good Officials · 1 passage

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削木剪紙，皆無故事，班、墨之思，何以相過。」 Carving wood and cutting paper has no precedent—how could Ban and Mo's inventiveness be surpassed?"

Book of Han, Chapter 74Volume 64a: Yan, Zhu, Wuqiu, Zhufu, Xu, Yan, Zhong, Wang, and Jia 1 · 1 passage

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陳涉無千乘之尊、疆土之地，身非王公大人名族之後，無鄉曲之譽，非有孔、曾、墨子之賢，陶朱、猗頓之富也。 Chen She owned no kingdom, no famous name, no village cheering him on—he was no sage and no millionaire.

Book of Han, Chapter 98Volume 87a: Yang Xiong 1 · 1 passage

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群公常伯楊硃、墨翟之徒喟然稱曰：「崇哉乎德，雖有唐、虞、大廈、成周之隆，何以侈茲！ The assembled lords and ministers, Yang Zhu, Mozi, and their like, sighed and said, "How lofty is this virtue! Though Yao and Shun had their glory, and though the Great Hall of Xia and flourishing Zhou rose so high, how could they surpass this!

Book of Han, Chapter 117Volume 100a: Afterword and Family History 1 · 1 passage

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夫德不得後身而特盛，功不得背時而獨章，是以聖喆之治，棲棲皇皇，孔席不煗，墨突不黔。 Virtue cannot peak if you put yourself last, nor can merit blaze if you ignore the hour; hence true sages never rest—Confucius' mat stayed cool, Mozi's hearth stayed clean.

Book of Later Han, Chapter 31Volume 28a: Biographies of Huan Tan; Feng Yan · 1 passage

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兵威屈辱，國權日損，三王背畔，赤眉害主，未見兼行倍道之赴，若墨翟累繭救宋，申包胥重胝存楚，衛女馳歸唁兄之志。 Arms were shamed, the throne's power ebbed, princes turned traitor, the sovereign fell to the Red Eyebrows—yet I saw no Mo Di racing to save Song, no Shen Baoxu weeping Chu home, no sister of Wei galloping to her brother's grave.

Book of Later Han, Chapter 32Volume 28b: Biography of Feng Yan · 1 passage

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楊朱號乎衢路兮，墨子泣乎白絲； Yang Zhu cried out at the crossroads; Mozi wept for silk turned from white;

Book of Later Han, Chapter 34Volume 30a: Biographies of Su Jing; Yang Hou · 1 passage

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仲尼棲棲，墨子遑遑，憂人之甚也。 Confucius hurried from court to court; Mozi rushed about—they cared for humanity that intensely.

Book of Later Han, Chapter 75Volume 68: Biographies of Guo, Fu, Xu · 2 passages

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恂恂善導，使士慕成名，雖墨、孟之徒，不能絕也。 Guiding disciples with gentle persistence until they hungered for renown—even Mozi and Mencius could scarcely have surpassed that gift.

〈墨翟、孟軻也。〈(The text means Mozi and Mencius—

Book of Jin, Chapter 41Volume 41 Biographies 11: Wei Shu; Li Xi; Liu Shi; Gao Guang · 1 passage

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故孔墨不能免世之謗己，況不及孔墨者乎！ Even Confucius and Mozi could not escape slander—what hope have lesser men?

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 51Volume 51 Book of Later Tang 27: Biographies 3: Imperial Family · 1 passage

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楊千郎者，魏州賤民，自言得墨子術於婦翁，能役使陰物，帽下召食物果實之類。 Yang Qianlang was a common man of Weizhou who claimed to have learned Mozi's techniques from his father-in-law and could command spirits of the yin realm: food, fruit, and other provisions would appear from under his cap.

Book of Liang, Chapter 6Volume 6: Emperor Jing · 1 passage

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然不能息末敦本，斫雕爲朴，慕名好事，崇尚浮華，抑揚孔、墨，流連釋、老。 Yet he could not rest the branch and strengthen the root or carve away ornament for simplicity; he admired reputation, loved novelty, and honored the floating and splendid; he elevated and suppressed Confucius and Mozi and lingered over Buddhism and Daoism.

History of Ming, Chapter 298Volume 298 Biographies 186: Recluses · 1 passage

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嘗言：「楊、墨、釋、老，聖道之賊，管、商、申、韓，治道之賊，稗官野乘，正史之賊，支詞艷說，文章之賊。 He once said: "Yang Zhu, Mozi, Buddhism, and Daoism are enemies of the sage's Way; Guan Zhong, Shang Yang, Shen Buhai, and Han Fei are enemies of good governance; unofficial histories and wild records are enemies of orthodox history; florid and seductive writings are enemies of true literature.

Book of Southern Qi, Chapter 47Volume 47 Biographies 28: Wang Rong, Xie Tiao · 1 passage

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竊習戰陣攻守之術，農桑牧藝之書，申、商、韓、墨之權，伊、周、孔、孟之道。 I have studied the arts of attack and defense, books of farming and herding, the stratagems of Shen Buhai, Shang Yang, Han Fei, and Mozi, and the Ways of Yi Yin, the Duke of Zhou, Confucius, and Mencius.

Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 39Volume 39: Book of Shu 9: Biographies of Dong, Liu, Ma, Chen, Dong, and Lü · 1 passage

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欲遣週不疑就巴學，巴答曰：「昔遊荊北，時涉師門，記問之學，不足紀名，內無楊硃守靜之術，外無墨翟務時之風，猶天之南箕，虛而不用。 wanted to send Zhou Buyi to study under him. Liu Ba replied: "In my travels north of the Jing region I did visit teachers now and then, but rote cramming hardly earns one a reputation. I have neither Yang Zhu’s inward quiet nor Mozi’s zeal for practical affairs—I am the Nanji constellation in the sky, bright yet useless.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 48House of Chen She · 1 passage

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材能不及中人，非有仲尼、墨翟之賢，陶朱、猗頓之富也。 His talents did not surpass those of an ordinary man. He possessed neither the wisdom of Confucius or Mozi, nor the wealth of Tao Zhu or Yi Dun.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 74Biographies of Mengzi and Xun Qing · 1 passage

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蓋墨翟，宋之大夫，善守御，為節用。 As for Mo Di, he was a grand master of Song, skilled in defense and fortification, and he advocated frugal use.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 83Biographies of Lu Zhonglian and Zou Yang · 4 passages

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今公又以敝聊之民距全齊之兵，是墨翟之守也。 Now you seek to resist the full might of Qi with the exhausted people of Liaocheng—your defense rivals that of Mozi himself.

昔者魯聽季孫之說而逐孔子，宋信子罕之計而囚墨翟。 In former times, Lu heeded the words of the Jisun clan and drove out Confucius; Song trusted the schemes of Zi Han and imprisoned Mozi.

夫以孔、墨之辯，不能自免於讒諛，而二國以危。 Even with the eloquence of Confucius and Mozi, they could not save themselves from slander and flattery, and both states were brought to the brink of ruin.

臣聞盛飾入朝者不以利汙義，砥厲名號者不以欲傷行，故縣名勝母而曾子不入，邑號朝歌而墨子回車。 Your servant has heard that those who enter court in splendid attire do not let profit stain their righteousness, and those who sharpen their reputations do not let desire corrupt their conduct. This is why Zengzi refused to enter a county called Shengmu, and Mozi turned his chariot away from a town named Zhaoge.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 112Biographies of the Marquis of Pingjin and Zhufu · 1 passage

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陳涉無千乘之尊，尺土之地，身非王公大人名族之后，無鄉曲之譽，非有孔、墨、曾子之賢，陶朱、猗頓之富也，然起窮巷，奮棘矜，偏袒大呼而天下從風，此其故何也？ Chen She commanded neither the authority of a lord of a thousand chariots nor a single foot of territory. He was no descendant of kings or dukes or men of noble lineage. He had no reputation in his home village, nor the wisdom of Confucius, Mozi, or Master Zeng, nor the wealth of Tao Zhu or Yi Dun. Yet he rose from a wretched alleyway, seized a thorny staff, bared his shoulder, let out a great shout, and the entire empire followed him like wind bending the grass. What was the reason?

Book of Zhou, Chapter 46Volume 46 Biographies 38: Filial Piety · 1 passage

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孔墨荀孟稟聖賢之資，弘正道以勵其俗。 while Confucius, Mozi, Xunzi, and Mencius bore the endowment of sages and spread the true Way to stir their contemporaries.