Chapter 40: Canons – Part I
Cause (Gu): That which is obtained before something is accomplished.
Rest (Zhi): Persistence over time.
Part (Ti): That which is divided from a whole (Jian).
Necessity (Bi): That which does not cease.
Cognition (Zhi): The innate material capacity to know.
Level (Ping): Having the same height.
Deliberation (Lv): The act of seeking.
Equal Length (Tong Chang): When measured by a standard, the ends perfectly coincide.
Knowledge (Zhi): The contact between senses and objects.
Center (Zhong): Equal length from the center.
Wisdom (Zhi): Clarity of understanding.
Thickness (Hou): Having spatial magnitude.
Benevolence (Ren): Loving others inherently.
Noon (Ri Zhong): The sun being exactly due south.
Righteousness (Yi): Benefiting others.
Straightness (Zhi): Three points aligning perfectly.
Ritual (Li): Expressing reverence.
Circle (Yuan): Having one center from which all radii are equal.
Action (Xing): Doing.
Square (Fang): Four sides meeting at right angles, with four corners perfectly joining.
Substance (Shi): The inner reality (as opposed to outward appearance).
Double (Bei): Being two times the original.
Loyalty (Zhong): Lowering oneself for the benefit of others.
Point (Duan): The indivisible, foremost unit of a body (geometric point).
Filial Piety (Xiao): Benefiting one’s parents.
Interval (You Jian): Having a gap in the middle.
Trustworthiness (Xin): Words matching one’s true intentions.
Gap (Jian): Not touching the adjacent sides.
Succession (Er): Natural progression or sequence.
Void (Lu): The emptiness within an interval.
Impetuosity (Juan): Acting with resentment.
Fullness (Ying): Having everything; leaving nothing out.
Integrity/Angle (Lian): Refusing or rejecting.
Hard-and-White (Jian Bai): Attributes coexisting without excluding each other.
Command (Ling): Issuing an order without needing others to act for you.
Contact (Ying): Two things meeting and fitting together.
Responsibility (Ren): A scholar sacrificing himself to benefit the cause he serves.
Similarity (Si): Having both overlapping and non-overlapping parts.
Courage (Yong): The will to dare.
Sequence (Ci): Adjacent without gaps, touching in order.
Force (Li): The exertion of physical form.
Law (Fa): That which, when followed, yields a specific result.
Life (Sheng): The coexistence of physical form and cognitive awareness.
Inevitability (Er): That which is naturally so.
Sleep (Wo): A state of knowing without awareness.
Explanation (Shuo): That which is used to clarify.
Dream (Meng): Considering something real while asleep.
Excluded Middle (You): Cannot be both false simultaneously.
Impartiality (Ping): Knowing without personal desire or aversion.
Disputation (Bian): Contending over a specific proposition.
Victory in Disputation (Bian Sheng): Corresponding to reality (being appropriate).
Benefit (Li): What brings joy upon acquisition.
Action (Wei): Exhausting one’s knowledge while being suspended by desire.
Harm (Hai): What brings aversion upon acquisition.
Completion/Cessation (Yi): Achievement or destruction.
Order (Zhi): Successfully achieving what is sought.
Command (Shi): Involving both verbal instruction and underlying cause.
Praise (Yu): Manifesting goodness.
Names (Ming): Universal (Da), Generic (Lei), and Private (Si).
Blame (Fei): Manifesting evil.
Predication (Wei): Transferring (Yi), Picking out (Ju), and Adding (Jia).
Reference (Ju): Matching words to actual entities.
Knowledge (Zhi): Derived from hearing (Wen), explanation (Shuo), and personal experience (Qin); encompassing names, realities, matching, and action.
Speech (Yan): Uttering references.
Hearing (Wen): Transmitted (Chuan) or personal (Qin).
Conjunction (Qie): Asserting a state of being.
Seeing (Jian): Partial (Ti) or complete (Jin).
Ruler (Jun): The mutual agreement binding ministers and people.
Harmony (He): Correctness (Zheng), Suitability (Yi), and Necessity (Bi).
Merit (Gong): Benefit and reputation.
Rectifying Desire (Yu Zheng): Weighing benefits; Rectifying Aversion (E Zheng): Weighing harms.
Reward (Shang): Superiors repaying the merits of subordinates.
Action (Wei): Preserving (Cun), Destroying (Wang), Exchanging (Yi), Sweeping away (Dang), Governing (Zhi), and Transforming (Hua).
Crime (Zui): Violating prohibitions.
Sameness (Tong): Reduplication (Zhong), Part-whole (Ti), Union (He), and Class (Lei).
Punishment (Fa): Superiors penalizing the crimes of subordinates.
Difference (Yi): Duality (Er), Disjointedness (Bu Ti), Separation (Bu He), and Unlikeness (Bu Lei).
Sameness and difference coexist in the same entity. The intersection of sameness and difference is like the relationship between existence and non-existence.
Duration (Jiu): Encompassing all different times.
Space (Yu): Encompassing all different places.
Hearing (Wen): The acuity of the ear.
Exhaustion/Limit (Qiong): Having not even a foot of space ahead.
Following what is heard to grasp its meaning: The discernment of the mind.
Totality (Jin): There is nothing that is not so.
Speech (Yan): The eloquence of the mouth.
Beginning (Shi): The specific moment of occurrence.
Grasping words to reveal intent: The discrimination of the mind.
Transformation (Hua): Evident change.
Promise (Nuo): Not solely based on utilitarian advantage.
Diminution (Sun): Removing a part.
Compliance (Fu): Grasping the meaning of words; smooth articulation.
Clever Transformation (Qiao Zhuan): Seeking the cause of change; a great benefit.
Agility (Xuan): Possessing multiple abilities simultaneously.
When laws are the same, observe their commonalities.
Decay (Ku): Alteration and abandonment.
When laws differ, observe their respective suitability.
Motion (Dong): Moving from one place to another.
Rest (Zhi): Used to distinguish boundaries of motion.
Read this book horizontally; be upright and there will be no error.
Note
Unlike other chapters in the Mozi that feature historical kings or philosophers, the Canons (Jing) are purely theoretical and do not mention specific historical figures. They represent the collective intellectual output of the later Mohist school (often referred to as the “Mohist Logicians”).
Mohist Logic and Epistemology:
This chapter is one of the most remarkable texts in ancient Chinese philosophy. It represents a highly formalized, almost mathematical approach to language, logic, and science, contrasting sharply with the moral and metaphorical focus of Confucianism.
The Three Sources of Knowledge:
The text categorizes knowledge into Wen (hearsay/testimony), Shuo (deductive reasoning/inference), and Qin (direct sensory experience). This is an early empirical epistemology.
Geometry and Physics:
The Mozi provides some of the earliest definitions in Chinese history for geometric concepts like point (Duan), line, circle (Yuan), and square (Fang), as well as physical concepts like motion, rest, time (Jiu), and space (Yu).
Utilitarian Ethics:
Core moral concepts are redefined through a utilitarian lens. Yi (Righteousness) is explicitly defined as “Benefit” (Li), and Ren (Benevolence) is defined as “Loving others inherently.”
Reading Method (旁行):
The final sentence, “Read this book horizontally,” refers to the original formatting of the Mozi. The Canons were originally written in two parallel columns, with the short explanatory texts (Shuo) placed horizontally next to the corresponding vertical Jing (Canon) entries. This structural note is crucial for modern textual reconstruction.
Hard-and-White (坚白):
This refers to the famous ancient Chinese philosophical debate regarding whether the hardness and whiteness of a stone are inseparable or distinct properties. The Mohists argue they coexist without excluding each other (不相外), taking a stance against the Sophist Gongsun Long’s famous paradox.
故，所得而后成也。止，以久也。体，分于兼也。必，不已也。知，材也。平，同高也。虑，求也。同长，以正相尽也。知，接也。中，同长也。智，明也。厚，有所大也。仁，体爱也。日中，正南也。义，利也。直，参也。礼，敬也。圜，一中同长也。行，为也。方，柱隅四讙也。实，荣也。倍，为二也。忠，以为利而强低也。端，体之无序而最前者也。孝，利亲也。有间，中也。信，言合于意也。间，不及旁也。佴，自作也。纑，间虚也。狷，作嗛也。盈，莫不有也。廉，作非也。坚白，不相外也。令，不为所作也。撄，相得也。任，士损己而益所为也。似，有以相撄，有不相撄也。勇，志之所以敢也。次，无间而不撄撄也。力，形之所奋也。
法，所若而然也。生，刑与知处也。佴，所然也。卧，知无知也。说，所以明也。梦，卧而以为然也。攸，不可两不可也。平，知无欲恶也。辩，争彼也。辩胜，当也。利，所得而喜也。为，穷知而县于欲也。害，所得而恶也。已，成、亡。治，求得也。使，谓、故。誉，明美也。名，达、类、私。诽，明恶也。谓，移、举、加。举，拟实也。知，闻、说、亲、名、实、合、为。言，出举也。闻，传亲。且，言然也。见，体、尽。君，臣、萌通约也。合，正、宜、必。功，利名也。欲正，权利；且恶正，权害。赏，上报下之功也。为，存、亡、易、荡、治、化。罪，犯禁也。同，重、体、合、类。罚，上报下之罪也。异，二、不体、不合、不类。同、异而俱于之一也。同、异交得放有、无。久，弥异时也。宇，弥异所也。闻，耳之聪也。穷，或有前不容尺也。循所闻而得其意，心之察也。尽，莫不然也。言，口之利也。
始，当时也。执所言而意得见，心之辩也。化，征易也。诺，不一利用。损，偏去也。服，执誽、音利。巧转，则求其故。大益。儇，俱秪。法同，则观其同。库，易也。法异，则观其宜。动，或从也。止，因以别道。读此书旁行，正无非。
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