If You Can Do Better, You Do It (continued)

Murong Qing really wanted to complain about the number, but considering that she wasn't that kind of person, she saved her breath and got back to business. "If we want to start with the matter of the Grandmaster, we need to first understand what kind of person the original Grandmaster, Mozi, was."

She went back to her room and brought out a stack of books, piled them on the table, and said to Si Ming, "These books record the life and deeds of Mozi. Among them, the 'Subtle Words and Mohist Meanings' series analyzes every single word Mozi said, and combines it with the background of the time to speculate on Mozi's feelings and thoughts. It is extremely detailed and contains a total of two million words."

"Um, I think I'll pick a thinner one, and it'll be best to learn gradually, from the basics to the advanced."

Si Ming picked out a very ordinary-looking book called "Anecdotes of Mozi" and quickly flipped through it.

What kind of person was Mozi?

Among the various schools of thought, Mozi was the most unique, because he was completely unlike a "scholar" or any other intellectual of his time. He neither wore a tall hat and wide belt nor a long robe with wide sleeves; he neither "was too particular about the finest food" nor "was too particular about the finest cut meat"; he neither "needed a carriage to travel" nor "needed fish to eat".

On the contrary, he wore "short and coarse clothes" and ate "simple food," meaning that he usually wore coarse clothes and ate simple meals; he worked "day and night without rest" and "suffered extreme hardship," working hard from morning till night without thinking about enjoying himself, enduring extreme hardship, comparable to a religious ascetic; he "went into fire and blades" and "did not turn back even in the face of death," willing to go through fire and water for his ideals, never looking back, truly dedicating himself to his ideals.

Mozi was not only a thinker but also a pragmatist. He did not merely "transmit without creating," but rather "transmit and create." He did not merely "talk about the world in vain," but rather "his words and deeds were in harmony." He was good at both speaking and doing.

He not only had the ideal of saving the world, but also acted to save the world. To use the words of Selected Works of Mao's Selected Works, he was a noble person, a pure person, a moral person, a person who had transcended vulgar interests, and a person who was beneficial to the people.

In Mozi's time, intellectuals traveled far and wide, all hoping to find a monarch who could realize their ideals. However, there were plenty of such people everywhere. Even Kongzi could only sigh, "I am waiting for a ruler to come to me." He waited and waited until he was almost dead, and only Zigong arrived belatedly.

Mozi was different. He refused to wait or place his hopes on others. If no one appreciated his efforts, he would do it himself.

Ban Gu of the Eastern Han Dynasty said, "Confucius's mat was not warm, and Mozi's chimney was not blackened." This means that Kongzi had not even warmed his seat before he went off to promote his political ideas, and Mozi had not even blackened his chimney before he went off to save the world.

Both of them are very busy, but the content and methods of their busyness are different.

The Huainanzi says that Mozi "went into boiling water and piercing blades, and died without turning back." "Heel" means the back of the foot, and "turn" means to turn around. "Turning back" means turning around, and "dying without turning back" means that he would not turn back even if he died, and his heart would not give up even if he reached the Yellow River.

Many great thinkers possess this spirit, but none of them were as resolute, as uncompromising, or as determined to fight to the death as Mozi.

Although Kongzi "knew it was impossible yet still did it," he also said, "If the Way is not practiced, I will take a raft and float on the sea." Mencius said, "Even if there are thousands of people against me, I will go," but he also said, "When you are successful, you should benefit all under heaven; when you are unsuccessful, you should cultivate your own virtue."

Although they worked very hard, following the principles of Confucianism ("to achieve benevolence") and Mencius ("to uphold righteousness"), they still left themselves a way out, an excuse to retreat in case of failure. This is the so-called Doctrine of the Mean: never going to extremes, never betting everything, and preserving oneself in the face of failure to wait for East Mountain.

Mozi was the only one without such a path. He had no way out, no excuses, he just went all out. He didn't talk about sacrificing himself for righteousness, because failure meant death anyway, and he didn't care about his reputation after death. Mozi used the concept of ghosts and gods to frighten the king from doing bad things, but he himself didn't believe in them at all, or perhaps he was confident that he could face ghosts and gods without fear.

Others would turn back after hitting a wall, but Mozi wouldn't. There were only two possible outcomes for him: either he would break through the wall or he would smash his head.

Therefore, although Mencius criticized Mozi, saying, "Mozi's universal love is tantamount to having no father and being a beast," he had to admit that Mozi "worked tirelessly for the benefit of the world," sparing no effort to save people and help them. He scratched his head and wore out his heels, truly acting for the people. There are many people in this world who have the people in their hearts, but they only keep it in their mouths and rarely put it into action.

Therefore, all the philosophers of the Hundred Schools of Thought were thinkers, but only Mozi was a pragmatist.

Si Ming spent the entire day in the room, barely eating lunch and dinner. He didn't even notice whether Yu Shuying ate with him or what her expression was like during the meal. He only vaguely remembered that Yao Bilian seemed to have complained, "How come our relationship has gotten worse after we went out?"

After reading a third of the book, he gave up on finishing it, rubbing his sore eyes. "I'm not reading anymore. Mozi left behind very few records, and a lot of the content overlaps. A bunch of people are analyzing it over and over again. If Mozi were alive, I'd probably beat them with a stick and urge them to do something practical, instead of just talking nonsense."

Sitting beside him, Murong Qing, who was reading with him, closed his textbook and asked, "What are your thoughts after reading this?"

"After understanding Mozi's character, I feel even more strongly that Yu Shuying cannot become the Grandmaster, at least not now. She is too confident in her own wisdom, thinking that she can be like those strategists and advisors in historical novels, planning and winning battles from afar, and destroying enemy ships with a few words. But there are no such intelligent, almost supernatural figures in reality, and even if there were, they shouldn't be the Grandmaster."

Grandmaster can be skilled with words, just as Mozi was also proficient in rhetoric; even Gongsun Long of the School of Names greatly admired his eloquence.

Who is Gongsun Long?

Many people may not recognize the name, but if you mention a very famous sophistry, everyone will immediately understand. "A white horse is not a horse."

This very famous example in logic was proposed by Gongsun Long.

Kong Chuan, a sixth-generation descendant of Kongzi, was famous and considered himself intelligent. In order to refute Gongsun Long 'Kong Chuan claims, he went to Gongsun Long to debate, but was left speechless and humiliated by Gongsun Long's rebuttal.

The proposition that "a white horse is not a horse" caused a sensation and impressed many famous debaters at the time. However, Mozi defeated this self-satisfied debater with impeccable logic.

He presented four inferences in a sweeping manner. "A white horse is a horse, so riding a white horse is riding a horse. A black horse is a horse, so riding a black horse is riding a horse."

A cart is made of wood; to ride in a cart is not to ride on wood. A boat is also made of wood; to enter a boat is not to enter wood.

And reading books is not just about reading; it's about enjoying reading and appreciating good books.

The fruit of a peach is a peach. The fruit of a thorn is not a thorn.

This reveals the logic behind "a white horse is not a horse".

In addition, Mozi first proposed logical concepts such as "debate", "category", and "cause", and pointed out the logical requirements and common logical errors of the four debate methods of "refutation", "comparison", "support", and "inference".

On Earth, Mozi's logic is comparable to Aristotle logic and ancient India logic, and is considered one of the three major sources of formal logic.

However, even with his exceptional eloquence, Mozi insisted on a down-to-earth approach to work, requiring the Grandmaster to be a pragmatist. This is why Grandmaster Candidate were required to travel to various countries for training.

To become a Grandmaster, besides ability, one must also possess exceptional moral character and willpower. He must be eloquent and articulate, lead by example, have broad knowledge, be multi-skilled, consistently stand on the side of the people, understand their sentiments, be morally impeccable, and have a spirit of hard work and perseverance. This is what is meant by "possessing profound virtue, eloquent speech, and broad knowledge of principles and skills."

Furthermore, Grandmaster must also know how to share. "Those with strength should quickly help others, those with wealth should strive to share with others, and those with virtue should encourage others to teach others." Even in the most difficult circumstances, one must persist in one's ideals and never give up.

Meeting even one of these requirements makes one an exceptional talent; meeting two requirements makes one a genius worthy of being recorded in history; and meeting all the requirements makes one a prodigy, a talent seen only once in a century.

Don't blame Mozi for being strict, because only such a person can shoulder the heavy responsibility of the Grandmaster and possess the virtue and prestige to make all Mohist willingly obey his command. As the saying goes, "Mozi had 180 servants, all of whom could be made to go through fire and blades without hesitation." With the Grandmaster as the leader, the followers' movements were all subject to his orders and could not be disobeyed.

In terms of organization, all the other schools of thought combined wouldn't be able to defeat the Mohist School with a single slap.

Mozi on Earth couldn't find a suitable successor, so he had to lower his standards and choose a relatively outstanding genius to succeed him, which ultimately led to the decline of the Mohist School.

Because of the existence of martial arts in the Sea Continent, Mozi himself was Spirit Transformation expert who lived for a full 150 years. After enduring so long, he finally found a suitable successor, allowing the Mohist School organization to continue.

"Yu Shuying must experience failure. If she fails before becoming Grandmaster, at most it will be a personal blow to her. But if she experiences failure after becoming Grandmaster, countless people will be implicated."

Si Ming disagrees with Yu Shuying's theory of "leadership success". He believes that Grandmaster can fail, but must have the drive to take action.

Just like Xiao Xuan, he himself probably isn't even sure if what he's doing now is right, but he still tried, worked hard, and was prepared to bear all the consequences, remaining steadfast in the face of sacrifice.