• In early China, people had diverse understandings of the nature of gods, ghosts, ancestors, and the deity Heaven. Confucius strongly supported the practice of ritual, especially sacrifices to ancestors, but he avoided talk about gods or ghosts, preferring to focus on the human world. Mozi, in the next century, was concerned that skepticism about the gods would lead people to act in undesirable ways because they would not fear divine punishment. Xunzi, later still, approved of rituals for their social effects and drew a distinction between what the educated and the uneducated thought about the spirit world.

Mozi, from The Mozi

“Long ago, in the time of Lord Zhuang of Qi [794–731 B.C.E.], there were two ministers named Wangli Guo and Zhongli Jiao. These two men had been engaged in a lawsuit for three years, but no judgment had been handed down. Lord Zhuang thought of executing them both, but he was afraid of killing an innocent man. He also thought of acquitting them both, but he was afraid of setting free one who was guilty. He therefore ordered the two men to bring a lamb and take an oath on the Qi altar of the soil. The two men agreed to take the oath of blood. The throat of the lamb was cut, its blood sprinkled on the altar, and Wangli Guo’s version of the case read through to the end. Zhongli Jiao’s version was read, but before it had been read half through, the lamb rose up, butted Zhongli Jiao, broke his leg, and then struck him down on the altar. At that time there were none of the attendants of Qi who did not see what happened, and no one in distant regions who did not hear about it. It was recorded in the spring and autumn annals of Qi, and the feudal lords handed down the story, saying, “All those who take oaths in insincerity will incur the punishment of the ghosts and spirits with just such rapidity!” If we examine what is written in the book, how can we doubt that ghosts and spirits exist?

Therefore Mozi said: Even in the deep valleys, the broad forests, the dark and distant places where no one lives, you must not fail to act with sincerity, for the ghosts and spirits will see you even there!”

Xunzi, from The Xunzi

“You pray for rain and it rains. Why? For no particular reason, I say. It is just as though you had not prayed for rain and it rained anyway. The sun and moon undergo an eclipse and you try to save them; a drought occurs and you pray for rain; you consult the arts of divination before making a decision on some important matter. But it is not as though you could hope to accomplish anything by such ceremonies. They are done merely for ornament. Hence the gentleman regards them as ornaments, but the common people regard them as supernatural. He who considers them ornaments is fortunate; he who considers them supernatural is unfortunate.”

Source: Burton Watson, trans., The Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hsün Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu (New York: Columbia University Press, 1967), pp. 98–99, 85. Reproduced with permission of COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS in the format Book via Copyright Clearance Center.

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