The Reasons and Defects of Mo Tzu’s Criticism of Rituals and Music

Abstract：Different from Confucian admiration of Li （rituals） and Yüeh （music），the Mohist school advocates cost saving and non-music，representing a different view and spirit from Confucianism.The debate between the Confucian school and the Mohist School opened the prelude to the “hundred schools of thought contend” in the Qin dynasty（221—207BC）.However，a set of forms of rituals and music is an important way to regulate emotions and maintain social order through human senses.This is one of a significant reason the Mohism has not become the mainstream of Chinese philosophy in thousands of years.

Key words：Mo Ztu；ritual；music；social order

Mohism developed from Confucianism，it is recorded that Mo Ztu has learned knowledge and method form Confucianism.However，Mo Ztu were dissatisfied with the Confucians advocacy of ritual，he adored Yu （the first emperor of Xia dynasty），because Dayu was hardworking at the same time leading a simple and frugal life.Therefore Mo Tzu established a new school of thought by himself.

Mo-tzus opposition to the Li and Yüeh

The culture of Li （music） and Yüeh （ritual） matured in Zhou Dynasty （1046—771BC）.At that time，the function of music was to coordinate the relationship between the Superior and subordinate，which makes people are close to each other.On the other hand，the function of rituals was to distinguish different classes，which makes people respect each other.The rituals and music existed side by side and played a part together.To maintain the social order and peoples conscious recognition of this order are their common goals.

However，Mohist is dissatisfied with this set of harassment rituals.One of the four ways that the principles of the Confucianism ruined the whole world is their stress on the practice of music.Mo Ztu said： “the people worry about three things： that the hungry cannot be clothed，and the tired cannot get rest.These are the biggest worries of the people...He queried that how can people get food，clothing and property through music.He also stress point out that the time they live in is disordered，large state attacking smaller ones，the strong captives the weak，the many people bully the less，the treacherous deceits the stupid，the noble despises the low，outside and inside thieves develope together.These phenomenon can not be prohibited”.All these problems were not able to be solved by the practice of music.

Non-music and Frugality

Mo Ztu tried to realize order and prosperity of the country with his pragmatism when he saw the chaos of the Spring and Autumn Period，they laid stress on “non-music”，because it is an important way to frugality.Mo Ztu hold that “frugality and economy bring prosperity，while indulgence and excess lead to demise”.He believed that it is a extravagance and waste as long as the consumption beyond actual needs.A country will be at risk situation once the event of war or disaster occurred if a country do this at the same time its production does not increase.Mo Ztu describe his country in this way：“the rich and the high in rank are wasteful and extravagant，while the solitary and miserable are hungry and cold”.Therefore，he set a series of specific rules to constraint the way of life of the rich.These rules are concerned with the code of meal，clothing，travel and funeral，which is regarded as a the standard to check whether the life of the rich are extravagant.

The Defect of Non-music and Frugality

Looking at the two views historically，Xun Zi thought that total equality run the risk of making the country to be chaos.The controversy between Mohism and Confucianism soon ended.Mohism no longer entered the mainstream of Chinese knowledge and keep silence thousands of years.Mo Ztu is not good at making civilized elephant.His egalitarianism，asceticism，and pragmatism may be applied to Xia Dynasty （about 2070—1600BC） rather than the feudal states of the Zhou dynasty.Because what Mo Ztu lays stress on is against the concentration of wealth and resource，the division of the class and the establishment of the authority.All those are important forces in the development of civilization.

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作者简介

赵一平（1993—），女，山东淄博人，硕士研究生，齐鲁工业大学，视觉传达设计。