MOHISM

also spelled Moism, school of Chinese philosophy founded by Mo-tzu (q.v.) in the 5th century BC. This philosophy challenged the dominant Confucian ideology until about the 3rd century BC. Mo-tzu taught the necessity for individual piety and submission to the will of heaven, or Shang-ti (the Lord on High), and deplored the Confucian emphasis on rites and ceremonies as a waste of government funds. In contrast to the Confucian moral ideal of jen (humanity, or benevolence), which differentiated the special love for one's parents and family from the general love shown to fellowmen, the Mohists advocated the practice of universal love, that is, a love without distinctions. The Confucianists, in particular Mencius, bitterly attacked the Mohist concept of universal love because it challenged the basis of Confucian family harmony, which was in fact and theory the foundation for the social harmony of the Confucian state.