An analysis of the reasons why Mozi's biography hardly exists in historical records
Author: Wei Hui
"Guy Mo Zhai, a doctor in the Song Dynasty, is good at defense and is a thrifty person. (1) or with Confucius, or in the back. (2) In this case, Mozi is also the son of seventy. "
-all descriptions of Mozi in historical records
Confucianism and Mohism are both prominent schools in the pre-Qin period. "Mencius Teng Wengong": "Yang Zhu's words are all over the world, and the words of the world do not belong to Yang, but to Mo." "Han Feizi's Distinguished Learning" said: "The world is famous for learning, Confucianism and Mohism. Wherever Confucianism goes, Kong Qiu also; Wherever the ink goes, Mo Zhai also. " "Lu Chunqiu Youdu": "The disciples of Confucius are not disciples, and they are all over the world. They are all taught in the world with the skill of benevolence and righteousness. " Everything is wrong: "Confucianism and Mohism all say that the former king loved the world, so he regarded the people as his parents." Notes on Huainanzi: "Kong Qiu and Mo Zhai's Theory of Cultivating Sages and Mastering Six Arts. Say what you want to say and do what you want. Mu Yi has a smooth sailing, but only a few dozen people serve it. If you live in the position of the son of heaven, the world will be Confucian and Mohist. " On Salt and Iron: "In today's literature, words and deeds are called Yao and Shun, words and deeds are called Confucius' ink, and the politics granted are not up to standard." The preface to Mozi by Wang Zhong, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, said: "Among the nine streams, Confucianism is the only resistance. Since the rest of the philosophers, they are not comparable. There are more than 100 volumes of Zhou Han Zhi, compared with Confucius and Mohism. " Wait a minute. The "Confucianism and Mohism" mentioned above also proves the fact that Mohism was once prominent.
As the leading figures of Confucianism and Mohism respectively, the treatment given to Confucius and Mozi in Historical Records seems to be quite different: Confucius is listed as a "noble family" and his deeds and thoughts are described in great detail. In addition, Biography of Zhong Ni's Disciples, Mencius and Biography of Xun Qing also wrote many Confucian figures, which are magnificent. Mozi, on the other hand, was placed in an obscure corner-at the end of the biography of Mencius Xun Qing, there were only 24 words. Some famous scholars have briefly discussed why Historical Records describes Mozi's deeds so casually:
First, Sun Yirang in the Qing Dynasty mentioned in his "After Mozi Language":
The pre-Qin philosophers, including Lao, Zhuang, Han, Lu, Su, Zhang, Sun and Wu Zhilun, all spoke words and deeds, but Mozi attached his name to the end of The Biography of Meng Xun, so he could not determine his age, let alone his actions. However, no generation, old news scattered; Mozi's seventy-one articles were kept at that time, but they were not carefully investigated and sparse when they were given to the public. [ 1]
Secondly, Hou Wailu and others think that Sima Qian "does not write a pen and ink biography, which has its own hidden worries" [2]. They think that the ranger who was suppressed by the government in the early Han Dynasty was a Mohist school, so there is speculation of "hidden worries".
Third, Fang Shouchu, a scholar of the Republic of China, stated in the Introduction to the Origin of Mohism:
It was only in the Chu-Han period that its school was small, and it was not until Sima Qian wrote Historical Records that it was passed down ... A historian wrote a life story for a saint like Mozi, and only 24 words were hastily handed in. If there is no other reason, history will be moved. [3]
According to "Preface to Taishi Gong": "The pursuit of Confucianism and Mohism in Ming Dynasty, the unity of etiquette and discipline, will benefit the king, benefit the end, and rank first." The 14th Biography of Mencius and Xunqing. "Language such as Fang Chu said in The Origin of Mohism and The Decline of Mohism:
The preface of his biography is not as good as ink, but if he tells it alone, the attached biography will be more auspicious. There are many mistakes and omissions in this edition of Meng Xun's Biography, such as "Chu has a corpse, and it is often recorded ... Ah, Xu Zhiyanzi's" A Fei Chu ",among which there are some omissions. Suo Yin-yun said, "Meng Changjun handed down the 14th generation, and this generation will be handed down to the 15th generation." Today, the preface of this book is the same, which is different from Tang Ben's. Therefore, it is undoubtedly beneficial to future generations to transfer the 24 words at the end of the biography to Mozi Biography. Therefore, I took pains to elaborate on this matter. Those who had ink in Huainan and Wang An should not be so reluctant to move, in order to see that the decline of Mohism in the Western Han Dynasty was gradual, not sudden. Hanwu ousted a hundred schools and showed six arts with Dong Zhongshu's words, and its teaching began to be unique. "[4]
There are three main tendencies in the above viewpoints: First, Sima Qian did not study Mozi's deeds in detail and neglected to write history, such as Sun Yirang. The second is for the hidden worries of the text, such as Hou Wailu. Third, Sima Qian once wrote a biography of Mozi seriously, and later died. Those twenty-four words are attached to the benefit of future generations, such as Fang Fang giving Chu. What is the situation? First of all, we should look for clues from the historical records themselves.
First, Sima Qian's emphasis on Mohism
Although we should pay attention to how future generations comment, the attitude of Sima's father and son towards Mohism is the most important and has the greatest relationship with the writing details of Mozi's biography.
Historical Records Biography of Taishigong contains:
Taishi Gongshi was between Jianyuan and Yuanfeng, but the scholar failed to reach his intention and rebelled. This is the key point of the six schools:
Yi Zhuan: "The world is unanimous and worried, and the same goal leads to different paths". Yin and Yang, Confucianism, Mohism, fame, France and Germany, this matter is also the ruler, ... Also for surgery, because of the harmony of Yin and Yang, the goodness of Confucianism and Mohism is adopted ...
Mohism is still preaching the Tao of Yao and Shun, saying that his virtue is: "The hall is three feet high and the earth steps are third-class. Mautz doesn't shave, but he doesn't shave the rafters. ..... The strengths of this Mohist school, though a hundred can be abolished.
The above is mainly when Sima Qian's father Sima talked about the six theories of Yin and Yang, Confucianism, Mohism, Famous Scholars, Legalists and Taoists. Regardless of Confucianism, Sima Tan's writings on Mohism in the Six Classics are second only to Taoism. Again, in Biography of My Father Hou:
The last days of the Qin dynasty. Chen She has no honor ... He is not a sage with holes, ink and Ceng Zi ... He prefers shouting, and the world moves with the wind. What is the reason? ……
Tai Shigong said: ... In the prosperous period of the Han Dynasty for more than 80 years, Fangshang Township literature was full of charm, and profound Confucianism and Mohism were the first to bear the brunt.
Sima Qian mentioned Confucianism and Mohism in his article, and it was indeed praised. On the whole, Sima Qian paid great attention to Mohism when he wrote Historical Records.
Let's look at the summary of Taishi Gongxu again, and it is mentioned: "The escape of hunting Confucianism and Mohism, the unity of Ming etiquette, the king's absolute benefit, the rise and fall of the previous dynasty. Make "The Fourteenth Biography of Mencius and Xunqing". " The mention of "Confucianism and Mohism" here clearly shows that the focus of this biography should be Confucianism and Mohism. In the Biography of Mencius and Xunqing, in order to highlight the Confucian figures, the main biographies are the Confucian masters Mencius and Xunzi. The biography also involves 10 many thinkers of the Warring States, such as Yin and Yang thinkers, Legalists, famous scholars and people who know nothing about learning. The biographies of Meng, Xun, Zou Yan and Chunyu Kun are more detailed. Mozi, the master of Mohism, only got 24 words such as "Gai Mo Zhai, Doctor Song"; And use uncertain words such as "Gai" and "Or Yue". Fang Shouchu's textual research thinks: "When the last twenty-four words are passed on, they will be transferred to Mozi, which is undoubtedly beneficial to future generations." [5] Then, the brevity of Mozi's biography is contradictory to the emphasis on Mohism by Sima and his son, unlike the author's original intention.
Second, the possibility of Sima Qian's textual research on Mozi's deeds and his biography
First of all, Historical Records takes "preface to hundreds of miscellaneous words" as its thinking method, which is embodied in six main points in Taishi Gongxu. Sima Qian inherited his father's legacy, treated a hundred schools of thought contending in the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties with a tolerant, flexible and integrated way of thinking, and analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of various theories fairly and objectively, so as to "express their opinions". Historical Records can absorb hundred schools of thought's beneficial components into its own academic thought system to the greatest extent with its great verve. Since Sima Qian can give biographies to all the philosophers of the Warring States except Confucianism, such as Lao Zi, Zhuangzi, Han Feizi, Lv Buwei, Su Qin, Zhang Yi, Sun Zi and Wu Qi. Of course, he won't ignore the existence of Mohist master Mozi.
Secondly, Sima Qian should collect historical materials of Mozi. Some people think that Mozi was left out because of incomplete information. Actually, it is not. "On Salt and Iron" Chao Cuo said: "Japanese scholars in Hengshan, Huainan, widely accepted scholars from all directions, and Shandong Confucianism and Mohism gathered in Jianghuai, with dozens of books." Fang Shouchu thought in The Origin and Decline of Mohism: "It was during the period of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty that Mohism was able to carry on the family line, which was not perfect." "Mohism was in the Western Han Dynasty, and its decline was gradual rather than sudden", indicating that Mohism still existed in the early Western Han Dynasty. In the book Biography of Mozi, Sun Yirang, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, further explained the record of "seventy-one pieces of Mozi" in Ban Gu's Han Shu Yi Wen Zhi:
However, no generation, old news scattered; Mozi's seventy-one articles were kept at that time, but they were not carefully investigated and sparse when they were given to the public. ..... But we can get a glimpse of the fifty-three Mozi books today: Gai was born in Shandong, and as far as his life footprint is concerned, he tasted the Northern Qi and kept it in the West; I have been to Chu many times, from the front to Ying and from the back to Luyang. I can't forget it if I want to. [6]
Based on fifty-three articles of Mozi, he made a detailed textual research on Mozi's life experience and listed a chronology of Mozi's major events. Wang Zhong, another scholar in the Qing Dynasty, also made a similar textual research in the preface to the Book Internal Chapter Mozi. [7] Ban Gu, a historian much later than Sima Qian's time, can still see seventy-one articles of Mozi, and his father Sima Tan is quite familiar with Mohism. Therefore, it should not be a problem for Sima Qian to collect information on Mozi. Sun Yirang criticized Sima Qian for "not examining carefully and not paying attention", but only made his own speculation about Mo Chuan's 24 words. Sima Qian is the most outstanding talent in good history, and later generations can generally introduce Mozi's life in the absence of information. Why not Sima Qian?
Third, Mozi's biography may be missing or missing. Historical Records has been published for more than two thousand years. As early as the Eastern Han Dynasty historian Ban Gu claimed that there were ten dead books in Historical Records. Later, Zhang Qian, Chen, etc. made in-depth textual research on the incompleteness of Historical Records, especially the textual research on the book Taishi Gongsi Year, which is more than 100,000 words long and has extremely high data value. As for the continuation, supplement and increase of Historical Records by later generations, the number is even more. Continuation mainly refers to the continuation of the history of Shao and others; Fill, refers to the person who fills the vacancy; Increased channeling refers to remarks that have no intention of being added. According to statistics, Shao et al. continued their history, with 25,055 words; The number of history readers increased, 4839 words; Good people make up for death, word count 16878. [8] According to the note in the word "beggar" in Historical Records, Wang Xiaolian said that the word "beggar" was suspicious, or the word "if" was wrong. [9] According to the end of this biography: "There is also a debate between Gong Sunlong and Zhao, and the words of the play; Wei you, teach as much as you can; Chu has a body and Lu Along; Azhi urged Yan Zi. As for Xu Zi, Mencius has many books in the world, so he doesn't care whether he spreads the cloud. Guy Mo Zhai, a doctor in Song Dynasty, was good at defending himself and saving money. Or when Confucius merged, or later. "Historical Records, Root-seeking Notes:
As far as "Free Mencius" is concerned, Mencius is a native of Qi, while Gong Sunlong and Li Kui are human. The Corpse Whisperer is Wei Yang's guest, and the plays Long Lu and Mo Zhai can all be compared. Does Tai Shigong have a reason to "close the hole"? These two sentences must have been wrongly written by later generations and should be deleted. There are some shortcomings in the debate between "ambition" and "regular record" The sentence "Juzi" has nothing to do with the above. "A Zhi Xu Zi" inherits the words "Chu has a long corpse" and seems to urge his son to be a Chu man. Solution: "A Zhe, today's East." It is the name of the city of Qi, which is not the same as that of Zhao, Wei, Chu and Song. At that time, there was a saying "someone in a city in Qi State", but it's all lost today. Three sentences from Mo Zhai are listed at the end. [ 10]
It is not difficult to see from the notes that the annotator thinks that three articles are missing in just a few words, and the last two sentences "or Confucius is timely" are obviously mistaken by later generations, which shows that the end of this biography is incomplete and the exact facts are added; And I learned from the note: "The sentence' Mo Zhai' is listed at the end." From the outside to the inside, the position of writing Mozi in the biography is not necessarily at the end! Mr Fang Shouchu also made it very clear: "Today's current version is a sequence, not the old version of Tang Ben. Therefore, it will undoubtedly benefit future generations to transfer the twenty-four words at the end of the biography to Mozi Biography. " [1 1] From this point of view, there are so many problems in the circulation of historical records, so the Biography of Mozi written by Sima Qian has been lost, and it is very likely that the 24-character system we see today was added by later generations.
Third, the above views are insufficient for Mozi's biography.
First of all, Sima Qian's view on the negligence of Mozi's data research is mainly based on the 24 words of the biography, without considering the possibility that the original biography may have been lost. The bias of this view has been discussed above, so I won't repeat it here.
Secondly, it is about hidden worries. Critics believe that the rangers suppressed by the government in the early Han Dynasty were Mohists, and it is really impossible to persuade people not to spread Mohism. What if the ranger in the early Han Dynasty was a Mohist? Sima Qian even dared to expose Qin Shihuang Liu Che. What is he afraid of? Moreover, Sima Qian also wrote a biography for the Mohist school, the colored ranger. In "The Legend of the Ranger", he praised Jia Zhu, Guo Jie and other chivalrous men: "Although his actions are not correct, his words must be true and his actions will bear fruit. He has promised to be sincere, not to love his body, and has gone to the plight of scholars. He has survived and died, but he is not ashamed of his ability. He has covered up many things. " Therefore, it is inevitable to speculate on the "hidden worry".
Thirdly, Sima Qian wrote a biography of Mozi seriously, and later he died. Those twenty-four words are just the opinions of more and more readers. Judging from the writing purpose of Biography of Mencius and Xunqing emphasized by Sima Qian, the author thinks that Fang Zhuchu's analysis in the above-mentioned Origin of Mohism is reasonable.
In a word, it is said that Confucianism and Mohism are historical inheritance, and some Mohist teachers are recorded in historical books such as Confucius and Mohism born out of Confucianism. Therefore, it is reasonable for Sima Qian to integrate Confucianism and Mohism in the Biography of Mencius and Xunqing. The title of this biography is Mencius Xun Qing, which reflects Sima Qian's admiration for Confucianism. The Preface to Taishi also suggests that the biography of Mencius Xunqing should be written by "hunting the legacy of Confucianism and Mohism", which does not erase the historical fact that Mohism was an outstanding scholar in the pre-Qin period. So, isn't it natural for Sima Qian to write a detailed biography of Mozi? The complementarity of transmission and sequence should also be a manifestation of "mutual understanding"! The 24-word Mozi note in Historical Records can only lead us to regret and cherish Sima Qian's Original Biography of Mozi!
Precautions:
[1][6] Sun Yirang: The Final Edition of Mozi, a photocopy of No.8 Hanfen Building, Shanghai, p. 1, Commercial Press.
[2] Hou Wailu, etc. : A General History of China Thought, Volume II, Page 156, People's Publishing House, August 1958.
[3] The Complete Works of Mozi, Volume 43, Page 73, was taught by Fang Chu, An Introduction to the Origin of Mohism, Beijing Library First Edition, 1998.
[4] [5] [1/kloc-0] The Complete Works of Mozi, Vol.43, pp.273-274, Chu Fang's Origin and Decline of Mohism, Beijing Library Catering Club, 1998.
[7] Wang Zhong: "Chapter III Mozi Preface of Shu Studies", a block-printed version of Chengdu Zhigutang in five years of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty.
[8] Zhang: "Literary Studies", the first 20 1 page, Beijing: Ethnic Publishing House,199965438+February.
[9] Liang Yu Suo: Historical Records p. 1 1273, Zhonghua Book Company, 198 1 year in April.
[10] Cui Shi: Origin of Historical Records, p. 184, Zhonghua Book Company, September 1986.
Wei Hui, lecturer of Hechi University in Guangxi, is a master's student majoring in ancient literature in Shaanxi Normal University. The main research direction is the literature of pre-Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.