Exalting the Worthy
{"WorkMasterId":6860,"WpPageId":285747,"ParentWpPageId":193893,"Slug":"exalting-the-worthy","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/mozi-mo-di/exalting-the-worthy/","RelativeUrl":"theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/mozi-mo-di/exalting-the-worthy/","HasFullText":true,"RawHtmlLength":75519,"CleanHtmlLength":18178,"Kicker":"Philosophy Work","Title":"Exalting the Worthy","Deck":"The chapter group argues that states should elevate capable and morally worthy people rather than rely on inherited rank.","BackLink":{"Text":"Back to Mozi (Mo Di)","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/mozi-mo-di/"},"AuthorCard":{"Label":"Author","Title":"Mozi (Mo Di)","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/mozi-mo-di/","MediaHref":"","ImageSrc":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/mozi-mo-di-01-chinese-characters.png","ImageAlt":"Mozi in seal and regular script","FilterTerra":"China (East Asia)","ClickText":"Mozi (Mo Di)","ClickHref":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/mozi-mo-di/","Copies":["470 BCE – 391 BCE","State of Lu or State of Song, Warring States China","Warring States philosopher of Mohism, jian ai, impartial care, anti-aggression, meritocracy, frugality, Heaven, ghosts, standards, logic, optics, and siege defense."]},"ContextCards":[{"Label":"Period","Key":"Period:1","Title":"Ancient History","DateText":"3000 BCE – 499 CE","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/eras-of-thought/philosophers-of-ancient-history/"},{"Label":"Era","Key":"Era:2","Title":"Iron Age","DateText":"1200 BCE – 501 BCE","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/eras-of-thought/philosophers-of-ancient-history/philosophers-of-the-iron-age/"},{"Label":"Composition","Title":"400 BCE","Url":"","DateText":""}],"DateNote":"Displayed as 400 BCE as an approximate Warring States proxy for the received Mozi and Mohist chapter traditions, not a secure autograph composition year.","GeoCards":[{"Label":"Region","Key":"Region:2"},{"Label":"Terra Avita","Key":"TerraAvita:10"},{"Label":"Terra Avita Region","Key":"TerraAvitaRegion:41"},{"Label":"Modern Country","Key":"Country:CHN:10"}],"OriginalTitle":"尚贤","Language":"Classical Chinese","DisciplineCards":[{"Label":"Primary Discipline","Key":"Discipline:political-philosophy"},{"Label":"Secondary Discipline","Key":"Discipline:ethics"}],"Tradition":"Mohism, Warring States ethics, political philosophy, impartial care, anti-aggression, meritocratic order, practical benefit, Heaven, ghosts, Mohist logic, standards, optics, and siege defense","FullText":{"Title":"Full Text","Copy":"Full text from Chinese Text Project: Exalting the Worthy .","Url":"","Label":"","Kicker":"","Cards":[]},"CoreThesis":["The chapter group argues that states should elevate capable and morally worthy people rather than rely on inherited rank."],"Classification":{"AlternateTitles":"Shang xian","KeyConcepts":"Exalting the Worthy; Mozi; Mo Di; Mohism; jian ai; impartial care; universal love; li; benefit; yi; righteousness; anti-aggression; meritocracy; frugality; anti-fatalism; Heaven; ghosts; fa; standards; Mohist Canons; siege defense; Warring States","Methodology":"Argument by practical benefit, moral-political criticism, appeal to standards, historical exempla, dialogical refutation, analogical reasoning, administrative prescription, and technical Mohist analysis.","Structure":"Registered Mozi/Mohist transmitted work or chapter group; the page summarizes title, date proxy, language, tradition, disciplines, received status, and source evidence without importing full text."},"Arguments":["Develops Mohist arguments about impartial care, public benefit, rejection of aggression, meritocratic administration, economy of use, ritual criticism, Heaven and ghosts, non-fatalism, standards of names and evidence, and practical defense."],"Influence":{"InfluencedBy":"Zhou political order, classical moral vocabulary, Confucian ritual debate, Warring States warfare, craft and artisan expertise, sage-king traditions, and practical administration.","InfluenceOn":""},"Significance":["Part of the received Mozi corpus or a major Mohist chapter group used to reconstruct the only major organized rival to early Confucianism in the Warring States period.","Used in debates about impartiality, consequentialism, pacifism and defensive war, meritocracy, public reason, standards of evidence, language, technology, optics, and non-Confucian Chinese ethics."],"EvidenceNote":["Accepted as a direct Mozi/Mohist work or named chapter group; the page must state that the received text is layered Mohist school transmission and has no verified full-text section here."],"MainSections":[{"Kind":"RawSection","Title":"Full Versions","BodyHtml":"\u003cdiv class=\"dz-philo__full-version-grid\"\u003e\n \u003carticle class=\"dz-philo__full-version-card\"\u003e\n \u003cp class=\"dz-philo__full-version-provider\"\u003eChinese Text Project\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003ch3 class=\"dz-philo__full-version-title\"\u003eExalting the Worthy\u003c/h3\u003e\n \u003cp class=\"dz-philo__full-version-meta\"\u003eSectionText · LinkOnlyReady\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003ca class=\"dz-philo__full-version-link\" href=\"https://ctext.org/mozi/shang-xian-shang\"\u003eOpen full version\u003c/a\u003e\n \u003c/article\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e"},{"Kind":"TextSection","Title":"Core Thesis","Paragraphs":["The chapter group argues that states should elevate capable and morally worthy people rather than rely on inherited rank."]},{"Kind":"FieldSection","Title":"Classification","Fields":[{"Label":"Alternate Titles","Value":"Shang xian"},{"Label":"Key Concepts","Value":"Exalting the Worthy; Mozi; Mo Di; Mohism; jian ai; impartial care; universal love; li; benefit; yi; righteousness; anti-aggression; meritocracy; frugality; anti-fatalism; Heaven; ghosts; fa; standards; Mohist Canons; siege defense; Warring States"},{"Label":"Methodology","Value":"Argument by practical benefit, moral-political criticism, appeal to standards, historical exempla, dialogical refutation, analogical reasoning, administrative prescription, and technical Mohist analysis."},{"Label":"Structure","Value":"Registered Mozi/Mohist transmitted work or chapter group; the page summarizes title, date proxy, language, tradition, disciplines, received status, and source evidence without importing full text."}]},{"Kind":"TextSection","Title":"Arguments","Paragraphs":["Develops Mohist arguments about impartial care, public benefit, rejection of aggression, meritocratic administration, economy of use, ritual criticism, Heaven and ghosts, non-fatalism, standards of names and evidence, and practical defense."]},{"Kind":"FieldSection","Title":"Influence","Fields":[{"Label":"Influenced By","Value":"Zhou political order, classical moral vocabulary, Confucian ritual debate, Warring States warfare, craft and artisan expertise, sage-king traditions, and practical administration."},{"Label":"Influence On","Value":"Later Mohists, early Chinese logic, Warring States disputation, Xunzi, Han Feizi, debates over utilitarian or consequentialist ethics, Chinese philosophy of language, and histories of optics and defensive engineering."}]},{"Kind":"TextSection","Title":"Significance","Paragraphs":["Part of the received Mozi corpus or a major Mohist chapter group used to reconstruct the only major organized rival to early Confucianism in the Warring States period.","Used in debates about impartiality, consequentialism, pacifism and defensive war, meritocracy, public reason, standards of evidence, language, technology, optics, and non-Confucian Chinese ethics."]},{"Kind":"TextSection","Title":"Evidence Note","Paragraphs":["Accepted as a direct Mozi/Mohist work or named chapter group; the page must state that the received text is layered Mohist school transmission and has no verified full-text section here."]},{"Kind":"RawSection","Title":"Full Text","BodyHtml":"\u003cp class=\"dz-philo__section-copy dz-philo__full-text-source\"\u003eFull text from \u003ca href=\"https://ctext.org/mozi/shang-xian-shang\"\u003eChinese Text Project: Exalting the Worthy\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003carticle class=\"dz-philo__full-text-body\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e尚賢上\u003c/h3\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e子墨子言曰：「古者王公大人為政於國家者，皆欲國家之富，人民之眾，刑政之治，然而不得富而得貧，不得眾而得寡，不得治而得亂，則是本失其所欲，得其所惡，是其故何也？」\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e子墨子言曰：「是在王公大人為政於國家者，不能以尚賢事能為政也。是故國有賢良之士眾，則國家之治厚，賢良之士寡，則國家之治薄。故大人之務，將在於眾賢而己。」\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e曰：「然則眾賢之術將柰何哉？」\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e子墨子言曰：「譬若欲眾其國之善射御之士者，必將富之，貴之，敬之，譽之，然后國之善射御之士，將可得而眾也。況又有賢良之士厚乎德行，辯乎言談，博乎道術者乎，此固國家之珍，而社稷之佐也，亦必且富之，貴之，敬之，譽之，然后國之良士，亦將可得而眾也。\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e是故古者聖王之為政，言曰：「不義不富，不義不貴，不義不親，不義不近。」是以國之富貴人聞之，皆退而謀曰：『始我所恃者，富貴也，今上舉義不辟貧賤，然則我不可不為義。』親者聞之，亦退而謀曰：『始我所恃者親也，今上舉義不辟親疏，然則我不可不為義。』近者聞之，亦退而謀曰：『始我所恃者近也，今上舉義不避遠，然則我不可不為義。』遠者聞之，亦退而謀曰：『我始以遠為無恃，今上舉義不辟遠，然則我不可不為義。』逮至遠鄙郊外之臣，門庭庶子，國中之眾、四鄙之萌人聞之，皆競為義。是其故何也？曰：上之所以使下者，一物也，下之所以事上者，一術也。譬之富者有高牆深宮，牆立既，謹上為鑿一門，有盜人入，闔其自入而求之，盜其無自出。是其故何也？則上得要也。\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e故古者聖王之為政，列德而尚賢，雖在農與工肆之人，有能則舉之，高予之爵，重予之祿，任之以事，斷予之令，曰：「爵位不高則民弗敬，蓄祿不厚則民不信，政令不斷則民不畏」，舉三者授之賢者，非為賢賜也，欲其事之成。故當是時，以德就列，以官服事，以勞殿賞，量功而分祿。故官無常貴，而民無終賤，有能則舉之，無能則下之，舉公義，辟私怨，此若言之謂也。故古者堯舉舜於服澤之陽，授之政，天下平；禹舉益於陰方之中，授之政，九州成；湯舉伊尹於庖廚之中，授之政，其謀得；文王舉閎夭泰顛於罝罔之中，授之政，西土服。故當是時，雖在於厚祿尊位之臣，莫不敬懼而施，雖在農與工肆之人，莫不競勸而尚意。故士者所以為輔相承嗣也。故得士則謀不困，體不勞，名立而功業彰而惡不生，則由得士也。」\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e是故子墨子言曰：「得意賢士不可不舉，不得意賢士不可不舉，尚欲祖述堯舜禹湯之道，將不可以不尚賢。夫尚賢者，政之本也。」\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/article\u003e"}],"SectionSequence":["Back Link","Work Title","Deck","Author","Period","Era","Composition","Date Note","Region","Terra Avita","Terra Avita Region","Modern Country","Original Title","Language","Primary Discipline","Secondary Discipline","Tradition","Full Versions","Core Thesis","Classification","Arguments","Influence","Significance","Evidence Note","Full Text"],"Counts":{"ContextCards":3,"GeoCards":4,"DisciplineCards":2,"Links":11,"Sections":25,"Styles":3,"Scripts":1}}