Mozi

Mozi argued that people should extend concern beyond their own families and states, a doctrine often translated as impartial care or universal love. This put Mohism in direct tension with Confucian emphasis on graded family obligations.

Mozi criticized aggressive warfare as wasteful and morally wrong, especially when rulers attacked other states for glory or profit. The Mohist texts also include practical defensive techniques, showing that the school opposed aggression without rejecting defense.

Mozi favored merit-based appointment, arguing that capable and morally upright people should serve in office regardless of birth. That made Mohism an important rival to hereditary aristocratic assumptions in China's Warring States period.

Confucius emphasized ritual, family hierarchy, and cultivated virtue, while Mozi criticized expensive rituals and promoted frugality. Both traditions were active in ancient China, but Mohism became a separate school with its own texts and organized followers.