Introduction to a Translation of the Mozi

University of Sydney's Jeffrey Riegel will introduce a translation of Mozi at UC Berkeley.

The text of the Mozi is one of the most important early Chinese philosophical sources, particularly for its influential formulation of arguments in favor of altruism, frugality, and government by the worthy and qualified. Riegel’s work translating the Mozi led to a consideration not only of the basic problems that the text presents—such as the dates, native place, and historical activities of its purported “author” Mo Di—but also of the complex relationships among the book’s chapters—particularly the so-called “core chapters”—and the assessment of Mo Di and the teachings of the Mojia or “Mohist School” by later thinkers and scholars.