• An Introduction which provides a clear, concise overview of Mohist thought and guidelines for getting started with the text.
• Informed by recent philosophical research, the translation is compact and accessible while accurately reflecting the meaning, terminology, and style of the original.
• An extensive glossary explicating key philosophical and historical terms.
• A timeline of the rise and fall of the Mohist movement and maps illustrating the world of Warring States China in which the Mohists lived.

   
'The task of the benevolent person is surely to diligently seek to promote the benefit of the world and eliminate harm to the world'
            
The Mòzǐ is among the founding texts of the Chinese philosophical tradition, presenting China's earliest ethical, political, and logical theories. The collected works introduce concepts, assumptions, and issues that had a profound, lasting influence throughout the classical and early imperial eras. Mòzǐ and his followers developed the world's first ethical theory, and presented China's first account of the origin of political authority. They were prominent social activists whose moral and political reform movement sought to improve the welfare of the common people and eliminate elite extravagance and misuse of power.
            
In this new translation, Chris Fraser focuses on the philosophical aspects of the writing and allows readers to truly enter the Mohists' world of thought. This abridged edition includes the essential political and social topics of concern to this vital movement. Informed by traditional and recent scholarship, the translation presents the Mohists' ideas and arguments clearly, precisely, and coherently, while accurately reflecting the meaning, terminology, and style of the original.