The Comparative Study On Differences Between Moxue Of China And Moxue Of Japan

Chinese academic circles have studied Mozi and Mohist school by multiple angle and multiple level, and made a lot of achievements. As Confucianism, Moxue, a very important part of Chinese traditional academic, is also a worldwide academic. Moxue had considerable influence on social ethics and religious philosophy of Japan and other countries. Without question, history on transmission and research about Moxue of Japan and other countries also belongs to research scope of Moxue. So only combining Moxue of China and Moxue of Japan to review comprehensively, we can position Mozi and Mohist school reasonably and evaluate the potential role of Moxue in the future construction of harmonious society and the formation of a harmonious world correctly. Chinese academic circles do not refer to research achievements about Moxue in Japan, which is a defect in study on Moxue.Moxue was spread to Japan in Tang Dynasty. As far as the document is concerned, Moxue of Japan can trace its history back to the 1750s. Throughout less than three hundred years of Moxue in Japan, we find that it has many research achievements. Compared with distinguished research achievements about Moxue in Japan, academic circles in China do not pay enough attention to it. With regard to something about acceptance and study of Moxue in Japan, Mr. Zheng jiewen' study is detailed and rich. What the author learned is not as good as Mr. Zheng jiewen' study. However, as for the subject The Comparative Study on Differences between Moxue of China and Moxue of Japan, so far, there has not been a monograph on it in Chinese academic circles. So in view of much imperfection in Chinese academic circles, in the paper I take Moxue of Japan as an example to find some mode or laws in international study on Moxue by the differences between Moxue of China and Moxue of Japan, which will make study on Moxue more comprehensive and deepgoing. As for the content, The Comparative Study on Differences between Moxue of China and Moxue of Japan is divided into two parts. The first part is about the comparative study on Mozi, Mozi and thoughts of Mozi, and the second part about the comparative study on Moxue and school of Mozi.Mozi, Mozi and thoughts of Mozi are important problems in Moxue of China and Japan, and main parts in the differences between Moxue of China and Moxue of Japan. Based on history books and other documents, Chinese scholars speculate and study Mozi's surname, time of birth and death, family background and deed abundantly. Because of lacking documents and other factors, Japanese scholars do not find anything new. For the time when Mozi lived, Chinese and Japanese scholars put forward different views:a contemporary of Confucius, after time of Confucius. Ancient Chinese classics thought Mozi's hometown was Lu, Song or Qi. For Mozi's family background, Chinese and Japanese scholars have relatively common understanding. Most of them think that Mozi came from lower classes. Study on something about Mozi made by Chinese and Japanese scholars have common characteristics. First of all, before analyzed the text of Mozi and studied its thoughts, Chinese and Japanese scholars discussed a few basic questions, such as Mozi's surname, time of birth and death, hometown, family background and deed. Though the documents about Mozi are scarce, Chinese and Japanese scholars analyzed and combed time of birth and death, hometown, family background and deed of Mozi based on existing documents. Second, Chinese and Japanese scholars resort to textual research, that is, they search concerned documents from some works in Pre-Qin period. But they have some differences in study on surname, time of birth and death, hometown, family background and deed of Mozi because of different academic environment and culture background.Academic circles have made various claims of the formation and spread about Mozi. Most of Japanese scholars think Mozi was compiled by many people in long time. Based on unearthed documents, Chinese scholars think Mozi, whose edition was bamboo slips, was spread during the period of Zhanguo. But as for the formation of Mozi, they do not have same views. In studying the authors of Mozi and the time of its formation, Chinese and Japanese scholars all noticed the formation, development and prosperity and decline of Mohist school, that is, the development of Mohist school during the period of Zhanguo had a few stages. Most of them conformed the authors of Mozi and the time of its formation by analyzing the thoughts in Mozi and the characteristics of Mohist school in all stages of Zhanguo. At the same time their ways and angles of study are a little different.However, the ways and angles of study of Chinese and Japanese scholars in study on history of Moxue are a little same. On one hand, as for religious problems in Moxue, though a few Chinese and Japanese scholars have different opinions, most of them think that there are religious thoughts and religious beliefs in Moxue, and Mohist school had become a paramilitary group with religious thoughts, religious forms and religious leaders. On the other hand, Chinese and Japanese scholars pay enough attention to not only some "facts" about Mozi and Mohist school but also something about spread and acceptance of thoughts from Mohist school by the Angle of "history". So the research horizon of Japanese scholars is wider than that of Chinese scholars in this respect. Their achievements are much richer.The second part mainly compares the study on Moxue and other schools in pre-qin period of Chinese scholars with that of Japanese scholars. Their study has some differences. Mohist school and other schools in pre-qin period had the same academic background. And the development of Mohism had a natural homologous relation with other schools in pre-qin period. Chinese and Japanese academic circles have paid enough attention to the study on the relations between Mohist school and Confucian school by the origin, the exclusion and the influence on each other of Confucianism and Mohism. They all think Mohist school came from Confucian school, and Mohist school was based on Confucian school. When Japanese scholars explored where Confucian school and Mohist school were from, they focused on Social status of members of Mohist school and the reason of the decline of Mohist school. While Chinese scholars analyzed further different origins led to some differences between Confucianism and Mohism. Chinese and Japanese academic circles analyzed in depth the focus and reason of the exclusion and argument of Confucian school and Mohist school. For partisanship, Chinese traditional scholars thought that Mohism was in opposition to Confucianism. In modern times Chinese academic circles began to admit the rationality of Moxue and compared Confucianism with Mohism objectively. Comparatively speaking, Japanese academic circles objectively evaluated the differences between Confucianism and Mohism. Chinese and Japanese scholars pay more attention to the relations between Mohist school and Confucian school than that between Mohist school and other schools. The reason for it is the relations between Mohist school and Confucian school are the closest, and most of Chinese and Japanese scholars are scholars who study Confucianism.In study on the relations between Mohist school and Taoist school, Chinese and Japanese academic circles focused on the origins of Mohist school and Lao tze, Mohist school and Zhuangzhou school, Mohist school and Huai Nan Zi and Mohist school and Taoism. Chinese scholars paid more attention to the origins of Mohist school and Lao tze. They comprehensively analyzed the profound influence from Lao tze on Mozi, but at the same there was a tendency to exaggerate the influence. Japanese scholars attach more importance to the living background' influence on Mozi, and they placed particular emphasis on the differences between Mohist school and Lao tze. Chinese academic circles comprehensively studied Mohist school and Zhuangzhou school, but to some extent, Japanese academic circles ignored it. Although focal points Chinese and Japanese scholars emphasized, they all thought that Huai Nan Zi had produced an irreplaceable role on Mohism of initial stage of Han dynasty. Chinese scholars explained the continuation of Mohism in the Western Han Dynasty by Huai Nan Zi. Otherwise Japanese scholars studied the influence from Mohist school on Taoism by Huai Nan Zi. Chinese scholars exaggerated the influence from Mohism on Taoism, while Japanese scholars regarded theism and religious thought as main leading role.Chinese scholars in all previous dynasties attached less importance to Mohist school and Han Fei. And in modern times they began to notice the relations between Mohist school and Legalist school. Chinese scholars studied something about the spread of Moxue in later stage of the Warring States Period by the differencec between "Shang Tong" and centralized theory of Han Fei, the differencec between utilitarianism of Mozi and anti-utilitarianism of Han Fei as well as criticism from Han Fei on Mohist school. Works about the relations between Mohist school and Legalist school are rarely seen in Japanese academic circles, but Japanese scholars paid more attention to the relations between "Shang Tong" and despotism of the Son of Heaven, which went into research level. However, their study was not automatically, that is, they compared Mohist school and Legalist school Intentionally, which is a weak link in Moxue of Japan.Logical thought of Mohist school mainly reflects in Mo Bian. Chinese academic circles began to study on Mo Bian between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. They used Western logic to expound logical thought in Mo Bian and raised a climax of study on it. Japanese academic circles accepted technology thought and logic thought from western countries even earlier than Chinese academic circles, so they explained logic thought of Mohist school by western logic thought. Chinese scholars compared logic thought of Mohist school with that of Logician School by "Concept and Entity", "Differences and Similarities" and "Jian Bai". What Japanese scholars concerned is logical concept itself. And they did not compare logic thought of Mohist school with that of Logician School.Strategists in ancient China treasured attack, otherwise Mohist school treasured defense. The two schools are "two stars" in ancient Chinese strategics. The authors, time and thought about defense of pieces about protection against enemy in Mozi are concerned by Chinese and Japanese scholars. So are the differences and similarities between Mohist school and Strategists in ancient China. Japanese scholars lay particular stress on textual research and the comparative study, otherwise Chinese scholars committed themselves to diversified and comprehensive research. At the same time Japanese academic circles paid much less attention to unearthed documents than Chinese academic circles, which is also a weak link in their military research about Mohist school.By comparing Mohist school with other schools, Chinese and Japanese academic circles analyze the source of Mohism. Comparatively speaking, comprehensive research achievements of Chinese scholars are more than those of Japanese scholars, Japanese academic circles do some micro research. The reason for the differences is Chinese and Japanese academic circles have different academic backgrounds. Just because of the influence from Confucianism and Taoism, Chinese scholars often involuntarily exaggerate the influence from Confucius and Lao tze on Mozi in study on the relations between Confucianism and Mohism. Otherwise Japanese scholars show objective attitude towards the relations between Mohist school and other schools. Although Chinese and Japanese academic circles have different emphases on the relations between Mohist school and other schools, they all try to analyze the essence of mohism profoundly, which complements each other. We can understand homogeneity and heterogeneousness of Mohist school and other schools.The author regards the similarities and differences between Moxue of China and Moxue of Japan as a starting point and compares the study of Chinese academic circles on Mozi, Mozi and thoughts of Mozi with that of Japanese academic circles. The author also compares the study of Chinese scholars on the relations between Mohist school and other schools with that of Japanese scholars and tries to probe the laws of study in Moxue of China and Moxue of Japan. So the Comparative Study on Differences between Moxue of China and Moxue of Japan adopts comparative research methods mainly, that is, it contrasts similarities and differences between Moxue of China and Moxue of Japan, which is based on comprehensive mastery of study on Moxue of China and Moxue of Japan. This article is not for comparison and compared. And it also dose not stay in simple comparison level, but regards Moxue of China and Moxue of Japan as a entirety to probe the essence, the laws of development, the history of spread and acceptance of Moxue as well as general characteristics of Moxue.