Abstract:
Under the influence of Confucius's literary view, Mo Zi took a similar view of literature to the former. Nevertheless, the two masters differed greatly in their understanding of nature and function of literature because their differences in standpoint, key ideology, understanding of social reality and expectation of an ideal social order. Although Mo Zi reserved the concept of literature introduced by Confucius, he removed the system and culture of ceremony and music, the key content of the concept. By greatly reducing the connotation of Confucius's view of literature, he turned literature into a means and instrument to “expressing the mind” and added production of personal speech as part of literature, greatly extending the domain of development of literature.
