Vol. 12 No. 2020/1 (2021)
Articles

Debate topics of Mohists and Confucians in Ancient China. Part 1.: Confucian and other criticism of Mohists

Gábor Kósa
MTA–ELTE–SZTE
Bio

Published 2021-02-25

Keywords

  • Mo Di,
  • Confucius,
  • Confucianists,
  • Mohists,
  • philosophical debate

How to Cite

Kósa, G. (2021). Debate topics of Mohists and Confucians in Ancient China. Part 1.: Confucian and other criticism of Mohists. Journal of East Asian Cultures, 12(2020/1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.38144/TKT.2020.1.1

Abstract

It is a well-known fact in the history of Chinese philosophy that the 5th–4th c. B.C. witnessed vigorous debates between Confucians and Mohists. We have three types of sources at our disposal reporting on the debates between the representatives of these two groups: 1. External sources, containing reports on the debates by external observers not belonging to either group; 2. Confucian sources, which predominantly contain Confucian criticism of Mohism; 3. Mohist sources, which in turn primarily detail the Mohist criticism of Confucian views. In the present study, I examine the first and the second categories.

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