經(上)

The Canon, Part 1

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因果與知識之定義

Definitions of Cause and Knowledge

故，所得而後成也。止，以久也。體，分於兼也。必，不已也。知，材也。平，同高也。慮，求也。同長，以正相盡也。知，接也。中，同長也。■，明也。厚，有所大也。仁，體愛也。日中，正南也。義，利也。直，參也。禮，敬也。圜，一中同長也。行，為也。方，柱隅四讙也。實，榮也。倍，為二也。端，體之無序而最前者也。

Cause: that which must be obtained before something can come about. Stopping: by means of duration. Part: a division of the whole. Necessity: that which does not cease. Knowledge: capacity. Level: of equal height. Deliberation: seeking. Equal length: that which, when correctly measured, exhausts the other. Knowing: making contact. Center: equidistant. Clarity: brightness. Thickness: having that which is great. Benevolence: embodying love. Midday: due south. Righteousness: benefit. Straightness: verified by three points. Ritual propriety: reverence. Circle: a single center with equal lengths. Action: doing. Square: four equal corners meeting at pillars. Substance: flourishing. Double: making two. Point: the front of a body that has no sequence and is foremost.

Notes

1context

Chapters 40-45 form the 'Mohist Canons' (墨經), one of the most remarkable intellectual achievements of ancient China. They contain systematic definitions of logical, mathematical, physical, and ethical concepts -- constituting the earliest known Chinese work on formal logic and proto-science. The terse, definition-based format makes these chapters extremely difficult to interpret.

2context

The text is severely corrupted in places, with many characters lost (indicated by ■). Modern scholars such as A.C. Graham and Tan Jiefu have proposed numerous reconstructions. This translation follows standard interpretations but many passages remain disputed.

倫理與辯論之定義

Definitions of Ethics and Argumentation

忠，以為利而強低也。孝，利親也。信，言合於意也。佴，自作也。■，作嗛也。廉，作非也。令，不為所作也。任，士損己而益所為也。勇，志之所以敢也。力，刑之所以奮也。

Loyalty: acting for the benefit of one's lord with vigorous effort. Filial devotion: benefiting one's parents. Trustworthiness: when words match one's intention. Initiative: acting on one's own. [Corrupted]: making something deficient. Integrity: making corrections. Command: not acting as directed by another. Duty: a man diminishing himself to benefit what he serves. Courage: that by which the will dares. Strength: that by which the body exerts itself.

辯學之基礎

Foundations of Logic

法，所若而然也。佴，所然也。說，所以明也。攸，不可兩不可也。辯，爭彼也。辯勝，當也。為，窮知而縣於欲也。已，成、亡。使，謂、故。名，達、類、私。謂，移、舉、加。知，聞、說、親、名、實、合、為。聞，傳親。見，體、盡。合，正、宜、必。

Standard: that which, when conformed to, produces a given result. Model: that which produces the result. Explanation: the means of making clear. Dilemma: when both alternatives are unacceptable. Disputation: contending over alternatives. Winning a disputation: being correct. Action: exhausting one's knowledge yet being suspended by desire. Completion: finishing, or ceasing to exist. Causing: naming, and the reason. Names: general, classifying, and private. Predication: transferring, citing, and attributing. Knowledge: by hearing, by inference, by direct experience; names and actualities matching; putting into practice. Hearing: by transmission, or directly. Seeing: partially, or completely. Correctness: right, appropriate, necessary.

Notes

1context

These definitions constitute a formal epistemology. The distinction between knowledge by hearing (聞), inference (說), and direct experience (親) anticipates much later epistemological discussions in both Chinese and Western philosophy.

時空與數學概念

Concepts of Space, Time, and Mathematics

同，重、體、合、類。異，二、不體、不合、不類。同、異而俱於之一也。同、異交得放有、無。久，彌異時也。宇，彌異所也。窮，或有前不容尺也。盡，莫不然也。始，當時也。化，征易也。損，偏去也。動，或從也。

Sameness: identical, part-whole, co-present, or of the same kind. Difference: being two, not part-whole, not co-present, not of the same kind. Sameness and difference may both apply to one thing. Sameness and difference interact through having and not-having. Duration: that which fills different times. Space: that which fills different locations. Limit: when what is ahead cannot accommodate even a foot. Completeness: when nothing is not so. Beginning: at the present time. Transformation: the signs of change. Diminution: partial removal. Motion: when something follows.

Notes

1context

The definitions of 久 (duration/time) and 宇 (space) as that which 'fills different times/locations' represent a remarkably abstract understanding of spacetime. The four types of sameness (重同 identical, 體同 part-whole, 合同 co-present, 類同 kind) form a sophisticated taxonomy of identity relations.

Edition & Source

Text: 《墨子》 Mozi
Edition: 中華古詩文古書籍網 transcription, 《四部叢刊》本
Commentary: Mo Di (墨翟) et al., Warring States period