China Social Science Review

No.2, 2022

 

The Significance of Retrieving a Lost Philosophy: The Mohist Canon as a Juexue

(Abstract)

 

Sun Zhongyuan

 

As a theoretical achievement of Mohism at an advanced phase of its development, the Mohist canon is a miniature encyclopedia of ancient Chinese science. Present-day research on the Mohist canon has three key points. Firstly, considered as a milestone, the Mohist canon occupied a prominent position in the discourse universe of ancient Chinese science: this is one of the fundamental attributes of these unique classical works. Secondly, as is a paradigm of ancient Chinese science, it is in a category defined by the canon’s Xiaoqu as knowing how to classify. These works have much that is worth drawing on in terms of deep scientific significance at the level of theory, history and the real world. Thirdly, it is clear that the Mohist canon has value, significance and functional roles both as the retrieval of a once lost classic and as innovative research.