Mozi

Born in what is now Tengzhou, Shandong during the Warring States period (c. 475-221 BCE), Mo Di founded Mohism, which stood alongside Confucianism as one of the two dominant schools among the Hundred Schools of Thought. He and his followers argued forcefully against both Confucian and Taoist doctrine, advancing instead a philosophy of universal love, social order, sharing, and honoring the worthy - what some consider the oldest indigenous monotheistic thought in Chinese history. The Mozi, an anthology of his and his followers' writings, spread across warring-era China. After the Qin dynasty formed in 221 BCE, Mohism fell sharply from favor; the burning of books in 213 BCE likely destroyed many texts, and by the middle of the Western Han (202 BCE-9 CE) living Mohists had disappeared entirely as Confucianism ascended. A 6th-century text preserves one image: Mozi saddened at the sight of pure white silk being dyed, an embodiment of his austere vision of simplicity and chastity.