This chapter holds Heaven’s will the absolute moral gauge. It criticizes people’s moral double standard: punishing petty crimes yet glorifying interstate wars, and stresses universal love as the only righteous path conforming to Heaven.
This chapter holds Heaven the supreme source of righteousness. It states Heaven favors universal mutual aid and punishes warmongering partiality, using sage kings and tyrants as examples, and treats Heaven’s will as the objective standard to judge all conduct.
This chapter introduces Heaven’s will as the universal moral yardstick. Heaven favors righteousness and universal love, punishes partiality and wars. Sage kings complied with it while tyrants defied it, bringing corresponding blessings and disasters.
This chapter expands Mohist utilitarian frugality, setting minimal functional standards for food, clothes, housing, weapons and burials. It cites Emperor Yao as a model ruler rejecting fancy rituals and unnecessary luxurious spending.
This chapter advocates cutting useless luxury spending to double national wealth. It sets utilitarian standards for daily goods and promotes early marriage to boost population, criticizing wars and heavy taxes that reduce residents.
This chapter distinguishes aggressive invasions from Heaven-sanctioned righteous punitive campaigns. It denounces offensive wars for harming heaven, spirits and civilians, and advocates benevolent governance to win vassals without bloodshed.
This chapter calculates war’s massive human and material losses. It refutes pro-war arguments with cases of Wu and Zhi Bo, showing conquest brings net loss, and urges rulers learn from historical failures to reject offensive wars.