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Mohism -> Mozi -> Book 4 -> Universal Love II -> 7

天下君子Nevertheless. the gentlemen in the empire think that,
though it would be an excellent thing if love can be universalized,
it is something quite impracticable.
。」It is like carrying Mt. Tai and leaping over the Ji River.
墨子:「Mozi said: The illustration is a faulty one.
Of course to be able to carry Mt. Tai and leap over the Ji River
would be an extreme feat of strength.
Such has never been performed from antiquity to the present time.
But universal love and mutual aid are quite different from this.
And the ancient sage-kings did practise it.
How do we know they did?
天下 When Yu was working to bring the Deluge under control,
西西he dug the West River and the Youdou River in the west
in order to let off the water from the Qu, Sun, and Huang Rivers.
In the north he built a dam across the Yuan and Gu Rivers
in order to fill the Houzhidi (a basin)
and the Huzhi River.
Mt. Dizhu was made use of as a water divide,
and a tunnel was dug through Mt. Lungmen.
西All these were done to benefit the peoples west of the (Yellow) River and various barbarian tribes, Yan, Dai, Hu, Ho, of the north.
In the east he drained the great Plain and built dykes along the Mengzhu River.
The watercourse was divided into nine canals
in order to regulate the water in the east
冀州 and in order to benefit the people of the District of Ji.
In the south he completed the Yangtze, Han, Huai, and Ru Rivers.
These ran eastward
and emptied themselves into the Five Lakes.
1This was done in order to benefit the peoples of Jing, Qi, Gan, Yue, and the barbarians of the south.
All these are the deeds of Yu.
We can, then, universalize love in conduct.
文王西 When King Wen was ruling the Western land,
he shone forth like the sun and the moon
西 all over the four quarters as well as in the Western land.
He did not allow the big state to oppress the small state,
he did not allow the multitude to oppress the singlehanded,
he did not allow the influential and strong to take away the grain and live stock from the farmers.
文王 Heaven visited him with blessing.
And, therefore, the old and childless
had the wherewithal to spend their old age,
the solitary and brotherless
had the opportunity to join in the social life of men,
and the orphans
had the support for their growth.
文王 This was what King Wen had accomplished.
We can, then, universalize love in conduct.
武王泰山When King Wu was about to do service to Mt. Tai
it was recorded thus:
泰山"Blessed is Mt. Tai. Duke of Zhou by a long descent is about to perform his duty.
As I have obtained the approval of Heaven,
the magnanimous arise
to save the people of Shang Xia
as well as the barbarians (from the tyranny of Emperor Zhou).
Though (Emperor Zhou) has many near relatives,
they cannot compare with the magnanimous.
If there is sin anywhere,
。』 I am solely responsible."
武王 This relates the deeds of King Wu.
。」We can, then, universalize love in conduct.

1. 荊、楚、干、 : Originally read: "楚荊". Corrected by 孫詒讓《墨子閒詁》


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