Ian Johnston, The Mozi: A Complete Translation: New York: Columbia University Press/HongKong: Chinese University Press, 2010, lxxxvii+944 Pages

Dao (2011) 10:551556

DOI 10.1007/s11712-011-9238-x

Published online: 8 October 2011# Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Despite their importance in early Chinese philosophy, the Mohists are often discussed with astonishing superficiality and carelessness. Times are changing, however, and perhaps we are nearing the day when it is normal for scholars to read the Mohists with the same sensitivity and generosity that they routinely afford other early Chinese philosophers.

A sign of the times is Ian Johnstons ambitious recent edition of the Mz. Johnston translates the whole text, including the notoriously difficult dialectical and military chapters, and he accompanies it all with an annotated Chinese text. Such an edition promises to be a useful resource for those interested in rehabilitating the Mohists and for students wanting more than a cursory introduction to one of early Chinas most important intellectual movements. Unfortunately, it does not live up to this promise. The translation suffers throughout from carelessness and clumsiness. Many errors are minor, but Johnston also mishandles some of the most important passages in the Mz, making it hard for readers to gain a genuine appreciation of Mohist philosophy.

In chapters 11 to 13, the Mohists argue that without a unifying political hierarchy, people will be driven into conflict by normative disagreement. Because of its importance for Mohist philosophy and because of the obvious analogy with European state of nature arguments, many readers will pay this argument close attention.

In chapter 11, the Mohists make their key move by saying,, .Johnston translates, It is quite clear that what is taken as disorder in the world arises from lack of effective rule (91). This misconstrues the grammar of

(that by which the world is disordered). It also introduces a contrast between effective and ineffective rule, thoughjust means lack of government leaders. Also,

Dan Robins (*)

Department of Philosophy, School of Arts and Humanities,The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Pomona, NJ 08240, USA e-mail: [email protected]

Ian Johnston, The Mozi: A Complete Translation

New York: Columbia University Press/HongKong: Chinese University Press, 2010, lxxxvii+944 Pages

Dan Robins

552 Dan Robins

does not mean it is clear that but rather [they] understood: the Mohists are not saying that the issue is clear but that the people living before government understood it, a...