Mozi
Mozi (c. 468-376 B.C.) was a renowned thinker and educator in the pre-Qin period. He was the founder and a major representative of the School of Mohism. A major rival of Confucianism, Mohism advocated "inclusive love" (jianai) as opposed to the Confucian emphasis on an hierarchical social order. It reflected more what the people at the bottom of society had in mind. It was regarded as one of the two major philosophical schools of the time alongside – and often as an alternative to – Confucianism. The teachings and theories of Mozi were collected in the book Mozi.
Mozi's concept of "inclusive love" emphasized equality and universality, requiring monarchs, ministers, fathers and sons, and brothers to love each other on an equal basis, and urging people to love others just as they love themselves. Mohists criticized social ills such as oppression of the weak by the strong, exploitation of the poor by the rich, and discrimination of the lowly by the noble, which they believed resulted from the failure to embrace inclusive love. They also promoted a "non-aggression" principle in inter-state relations, believing that war was not an effective way to resolve conflicts and that rulers should seek to rule through virtue and inclusive love, rather than through military power.
Mozi was also keen on solving practical problems and contributed significantly to the development of China's traditional economy, technology, mathematics, physics, and logic, among others. He was the first to define force in mechanics, and believed that the movement of objects was caused by the application of force. He discovered that light traveled in straight lines; defined mathematical concepts of circle and square; and proposed systematic theories of formal logic, making him a pioneer in developing ancient China's system of logic.
墨子
墨子(約前468—前376),先秦時期著名思想家、教育家,墨家學派創始人和主要代表人物。墨家是儒家學派的主要理論對手,以“兼愛”反對儒家的社會等級制度,代表社會底層民眾思想,與儒家并稱“顯學”,有“非儒即墨”之稱。墨子的思想學說收錄于《墨子》。
墨子倡導的“兼愛”具有平等與博愛的意思,要求君臣、父子、兄弟都要在平等的基礎上相互友愛,愛別人就像愛自己。墨子認為,社會上出現強凌弱、富侮貧、貴傲賤的現象正是天下人不能兼愛所致。因此,國與國之間也應當兼愛,要堅持“非攻”的外交原則,戰爭不是治病的良方,要以德義服天下,以兼愛來消弭禍亂。
墨子有強烈的社會實踐精神,對中國傳統生產、科技、數學、物理、邏輯學等都有巨大的貢獻。墨子首先定義了力,認為物體運動是因為有力的作用;發現了光沿直線傳播;定義了“圓”“方”等數學概念;提出了系統的形式邏輯理論,成為中國古代邏輯思想體系的一位重要開拓者。