Mozi

Mo Di
A line drawing of Mozi
Born	ca. 470 BC
Died	ca. 391 BC
Era	Ancient philosophy
Region	Chinese philosophy
School	Founder of Mohism
Main interests	moral philosophy and ethics, social and political philosophy, logic, epistemology
Notable ideas	Mohism
Influenced Logicians, philosophy, ancient natural science

Mozi
"Mozi" in seal script (top) and regular (bottom) Chinese characters
Chinese	墨子
Literal meaning	Master Mo
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Mòzǐ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Mohtzy Wade–Giles Mo4-tzu3 IPA [mwôtsɨ̀] Wu Romanization Meʔ tzy Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Mahk-jí Jyutping Mak6 zi2 Southern Min Tâi-lô Ba̍k-tzú Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Mok-tsí Old Chinese Baxter-Sagart *C.mˤak tseʔ
Mo Di
Chinese	墨翟
Literal meaning	(personal name)
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Mò Dí Wade–Giles Mo4 Ti2 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Mahk Dihk Jyutping Mak6 Dik6 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Ba̍k Ti̍k Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Mok Dek Old Chinese Baxter-Sagart *C.mˤak Lˤewk

Mozi (Chinese: ; pinyin: Mòzǐ; Wade–Giles: Mo Tzu, Lat. as Micius, ca. 468 – ca. 391 BC), original name Mo Di (墨翟), was a Chinese philosopher during the Hundred Schools of Thought period (early Warring States period). A book named after him, the Mozi, contains material ascribed to him and his followers.

Born in what is now Tengzhou, Shandong Province, he founded the school of Mohism that argued strongly against Confucianism and Taoism. His philosophy emphasized self-restraint, self-reflection and authenticity rather than obedience to ritual. During the Warring States period, Mohism was actively developed and practiced in many states but fell out of favour when the legalist Qin dynasty came to power. During that period, many Mohist classics are by many believed to have been ruined when the emperor Qin Shi Huang supposedly carried out the burning of books and burying of scholars. The importance of Mohism further declined when Confucianism became the dominant school of thought during the Han Dynasty, until mostly disappearing by the middle of the Western Han dynasty.

Mozi is known by children throughout Chinese culture by way of the Thousand Character Classic, which records that he was saddened when he saw dyeing of pure white silk, which embodied his conception of austerity (simplicity, chastity). For the modern juvenile audience of Chinese speakers, the image of his school and its founder were popularized by the animated TV series The Legend of Qin.