The Mozi Way of War - Historum

HackneyedScribe · March 5th, 2012, 02:35 PM

The Mohist Way of War

Mohism was a philosophy that flowered from the early Warring States period. This school of thought was founded by Mozi (5th century BCE), who lived during a time of unending wars of attrition between rivaling states. Seeing the poverty that war could bring, Mozi introduced a novel concept that love between people and states should be mutually equal. By achieving this, the strong would not attack the weak, and the weak would not attack the weaker. After all, when every state views its neighbors as they view themselves, there would be no need for warfare. Although Mozi championed peace and mutual love between all nations, he and his disciples were quick to fly to the defense of weaker powers facing invasion. Directly challenging invaders was their way of dissuading aggressive warfare. Mohists were not simple soldiers, however, but focused in perfecting defensive siege techniques. In this sense they were military engineers as well as philosophers. The ancient Mohist text Mojing contains 20 chapters devoted to defensive techniques in an enemy siege, but 9 chapters are completely lost and not even the surviving chapters have all of its original passages intact. The chapters that remain to us, though not always completely, are “Fortification of the City Gate”, “Defense against Attack from an Elevation”, “Defense against Attack with Ladders”, “Preparation against Water”, “Preparation against a Sudden Attack”, “Preparation against Tunneling”, “Defense against an Ant Rush”, “Sacrifice for Meeting the Enemy”, “Flags and Pennants”, “Commands and Orders”, and “Miscellaneous Measures in Defense”. This essay means to give a general idea of what is left to us from Mohist defensive techniques in a siege.

Defensive Constructions

Mozi gave a very detailed overview about how a typical city should construct its defenses, yet it is highly doubtful if most cities would have the resources to adopt everything he prescribed. The following should be seen as the “best case scenario” for the defender, rather than the less than perfect situations of reality. The general defensive city gate would come with portcullises of overlapping leaves, a trench, as well as a sluice gate. Gates and doors have holes drilled through, and holes were also in the walls directly above the gate. In the case that the enemy resorts to flaming arrows, water would be poured through these holes so the doors would not burn down. The gate bar and lever must be made of metal such as iron, and gate bolts must be coated with iron. Built within the walls near the gate were furnaces with bellows and pipes. If the gate was breached the furnace would be used to pump fire and smoke through the pipes, followed by “hanging fires” to burn enemies coming through. “Hanging fires” were described as burning charcoals released by furnaces from above. Enemy troops would sometimes to be allowed within the gate only to fall victim to hanging fires, and such incendiary assaults would be followed immediately by an attack of crack troops from sally ports to scatter the enemy. The top of the city wall itself should have retractable walkways and suspended screens. At every corner of a wall was a two story tower. A city wall should be complemented by a moat with stakes planted at the bottom. Defenders could cross the moat by means of a suspension bridge, but the bridge could be easily lifted up when the enemy was close. The bridge could be covered with earth and brushwood, with its drawing mechanism concealed, so that it would look like a simple path to an enemy army. In this way when part of the enemy army crossed the bridge, the bridge would be raised to split the army in two. This was used to trap sections of the enemy army as easy pickings for the defenders. Parapets should be on both sides of the city wall, and a trench should be dug between the outer and inner parapets. The trench, like the moat, should be filled with stakes. Joining the parapet is a bamboo fence protected by crossbowmen. “Revolving shooting machines” should be placed in between parapets, and each machine was accompanied by two protective shields. Beyond the wall, anything within an arrow’s flight that could be used as a cover should be destroyed. Palisades should be fixed outside to impede enemy attack. Besides the palisades, five rows of sharpened stakes were also present. Within the wall, four alters for each cardinal direction were built to ask the spirits for blessings in battle and to give sacrificial thanks after victory. If a city was beside a river, the besieger had the capability to build dikes to inundate the besieged. The defenders could respond by digging holes deep enough to siphon off flood waters. Towers of various sizes, as according to their different functions, were places at specific intervals lining the inner wall of the city. Some were used for archery platforms, others were for observation, others were for communication, and yet others were specifically designed to counter enemy siege engines or techniques. Some towers such as the “moving parapets” were even mobile. Wells and latrines, like the towers, were also placed alongside the wall at specific intervals. Wells were not only used for water, but were also used to pinpoint enemy tunneling. Furnaces should be placed at specific intervals so defenders could pour boiling water, burning charcoal, or heated sand against attackers. Chimneys should be built high to prevent losing control of fire. At the four corners of each wall should be dwellings built for the four commandants in charge of city defense. The dwelling of the general himself should be surrounded by a very high wall. Walled dwellings must also be built to house prisoners, while separate walled dwellings were needed to house trusted spies and knights. All walled dwellings were complemented by towers and parapets. Dwellings in the vicinity of the city must be destroyed before the enemy army arrives, while nearby wells outside of the city must be filled. Around the countryside, anything that could not be brought into the city in time but could be made use by the enemy must be destroyed. In this way the enemy would have neither water nor shelter. During peacetime, the most dangerous sections of any road should have three forts built in a triangular arrangement. This way when one fort is under attack the other two can provide support.

The Besiegers

The various ways that a city could be attacked was listed as “approachers, hooks, battering rams, ladders, mounds, water(inundation), tunnels, sudden attacks, empty cavern, ant approach, tank vessels, and high carts”. Approachers and tank vessels were ships made to carry soldiers, although the approacher was actually just a pair of ships joined together. Both the attacker and the defender used these vessels. Approachers were described as carrying thirty men, each armed with a crossbow. Four of them also had a “youfang” polearm. Tank vessels also carry thirty men. Twelve of them have armour and helmets and were armed with a youfang. The rest made do with a miao. It is questionable if the attackers were armed as thus, for the passage describing these ships were solely about what how defender should use them. For both the attacker and the defender, these ships were used should the city be flooded by the besieging army. City walls during the Warring States period were made of rammed earth. This mode of construction provides very sturdy walls immune to sapping, but was very weak against water. As such it was not uncommon for nearby rivers to be redirected by dikes to flood enemy cities. The defender would use approachers and tank vessels to sally out of the city against enemy dikes, and shooting machines on top of the walls would give them covering fire. The besiegers most likely used the same ships to beat back these sallies. When water was not used to attack the wall, armies could use make mounds beneath it, with the front covered by shields. This is called a “sheep’s bank ramp”. Once the mount became high enough, soldiers could be placed on top of it to attack the city walls with crossbows. Mozi scorned such tactics as wasteful of energy, labeling any attacker who resorted to it as stupid. Nevertheless, similar tactics were still being practiced long after the Warring States period. The mound tactic was categorized with the use of the “high cart” as the High Approach. The high cart does not actually attack the city. It is merely a mobile platform of adjustable height which allowed soldiers to look within the city at an elevation. This gave the besiegers an advantage in reconnaissance. “Sudden attacks” were just the attack of soldiers sent to pour through the city once the gate was breached. This would be similar to the ant approach, which was a massive infantry assault against the defending city. Hooks, battering rams, ladders, and tunnels seem obvious enough that they need not be described here. Mozi also described the cloud ladder, an implement that was said to be heavy and difficult to move. It was a cross between the siege tower and the ladder. Alas, because nearly half of the Mojing was lost, there is no information about what the “empty cavern” was. Rams and hooks did not have their own sections either, but they seem obvious enough to give the reader a general idea. Mention of the siege tower is also notably absent from what is left of the Mojing, though we know of its existence from other contemporary texts such as Wu ZiXu’s Manuel of Naval Tactics. If Mozi mentioned siege towers, then they would be categorized under rams much like how sheep ramps and high carts were categorized under “Attack from an Elevation”. Although the means of direct attack described by the Mojing were many, another contemporary work called “The Six Secret Teachings of Jiang Ziya” emphasize taking cities through passive means. The book advocates that the property of the conquered people were to be left alone, while prisoners and captives should not be slain. Cities should merely have their supply lines cut off. The invading army should stress that the grievance was with their ruler alone, so that cities would willingly submit without need for a fight.

Although Mohism withered away after the Warring States period, its defensive siege techniques were passed on.

Tools, Equipments, and Machinery

Implements were surprisingly itemized to specific functions. “Thunder stones” were piled on top of the wall, along with piles of heavy stones with a specified weight for each pile. Mozi mentions that if heavy stones were not available, tiles or caltrops could be used as an alternative. Large stones and tiles from the people’s houses were recorded, in case they were needed to be thrown at the enemy. Wood had a broader use than stones. It was essential for heat and lighting, but it could also be used as an incendiary. The wood from district officials and non-essential government buildings would the first to be collected in a siege. Next would be wood collected from common houses. Firewood must be piled neatly facing city roads. Aligning next to the inner wall were trebuchets buried deeply into the ground, each with an iron pivot and iron bands. The pivots were controlled by large cart wheels. For ammunition, each trebuchet came with stones stacked as according to its size. Besides stones, covered earthenware jars of burning charcoal or bags of caltrops were also launched by the throwing machines. Trebuchets were also placed upon the city wall at specified intervals, along with other implements such as shovels, hoes, torches, firewood, long hammers, giant pavises, crossbows, linked flails, halberds, swords, spears, javelins, iron arrows, and movable furnaces. Not all implements were placed with the same specified interval. In general longer weapons were used in open spaces while shorter weapons (as in the case of tunnels) would be used in constrained spaces. In both cases large shields were used. Shields could be used to protect defenders from enemy fire aboveground, but belowground large shields could be used to temporarily block off enemy tunnelers. The potters of the city would be directed to make earthenware containers for holding sand and small pieces of iron, bound together with rope. Iron containers for holding water also existed alongside them. These were to be heated in the “movable furnace”. Once thoroughly heated, they were to be poured upon any enemy scaling the walls in the form of boiling water, molten iron, or scalding sand. Beneath the inner wall were carts used for resupply. Crossbowmen were stationed with a bundle of brushwood and stakes to be used as a barrier, while the most skilled archers were designated on top of towers. The “joined crossbow carriages” were placed alongside the wall as well as on towers. These were powerful ballistae that could only be armed with a windlass. Each had bundles of short and long arrows. The longer arrows had ropes attached to their ends, so that they could be pulled back after being fired. A joined crossbow carriage was operated by 10 men, and any carriage placed on top of the wall would be complemented by a protective screen. Should the enemy have cloud ladders, the defenders were to construct “moving platforms”. These platforms must be higher than the city wall itself, fully equipped with giant battering rams and parapets at the top. The battering rams, as long as the platform was high, could be used to knock away enemy siege engines. “Moving parapets” were made to be fired downward to destroy the rams of the enemy. To counter enemy tunneling, geophones were buried into the ground. These could be used to detect the location of enemy tunnels through means of echolocation. Once detected, a system of pipes and bellows could be used to pump poisonous gas or smoke into them. Counter-tunnels could also be dug to hinder the enemy or to meet them in underground close combat. When the walls become scaled by the enemy, “fire-throwers” in the shape of a burning spiked axle were released right before a defender’s sally. A system of flags and pennants were provided for each division. These were used for soldiers to communicate with the commander. For example, when the division required many soldiers as reinforcement, the hare flag was raised. In response reinforcements would be sent to their section. When they need crossbows, the dog flag was raised. In response crossbows would be sent to their section. Drums were placed to be used for commanders to signal soldiers, but it could also be used for soldiers to notify commanders. Beacons were used mainly to detect or communicate enemy movement.

Human Roles

Every man, woman, or child had their designated roles based on their physicality, experience, and personality. Before a siege, if the city was small in area but large in population, it was preferable to move the elderly and frail to nearby cities or the capital itself. If they were not moved, then they must take part in transporting supplies. Resupply missions were also generally undertaken by children or men falling beneath a standard height requirement. Men and women worked alongside each other in heavier labor, such as the digging of wells. Sons of important houses were liable for defense like those of any other. On top of the wall, women could be seen fighting alongside the men. For every ten adult men six were armed with crossbows and four with a variety of other weapons. The women were uniformly armed with standardized spears. The males and females were dressed differently in order to differentiate the sexes. In addition the military men and officers all have varying insignias. Where the insignia was worn depended on the individual placement and rank. People were also assigned tasks based on their individual qualities. Mozi stressed that positions should be given based on what people were good at and what they liked, but it was doubtful if such optimum situations could be accomplished for everyone. Soldiers who were brave were handpicked as crack troops; to be used in well-timed sallies against the enemy. In certain instances the families of crack troops were held as hostage, perhaps as a means to insure their “bravery”. Those with sharp ears were designated to use the geophones. Even the dogs of the city were employed in the purpose of detecting tunnels. Especially strong men were handpicked to operate battering rams on mobile platform walls, to be used for knocking away cloud ladders. Those who were reliable and warlike were chosen to be guards. The most trusted and honorable people were used as scouts, but they were not to know any strategic planning as insurance against the unfortunate circumstance of capture. Scouts were to be sent out of the city under the cover of night. By day they track enemy movements and relay them to the city with a system of flags. The families of scouts must be well treated with meat and wine. This treatment also applies to wealthy or powerful families, but subsections of each powerful family must be held as hostages. Officers must be picked on his honesty, loyalty, dependability, and impartiality. It was the duty of the officer to address complaints toward his own person or between squad-mates. Superiors must have his food and drink tasted by others before consumption. Troops were trained in rotation so that not everyone would be uniformly tired should the enemy decide to attack. Each city must have a Defender and a Director. The Defender was in charge of everything within the city, while the Director was in charge of everything outside the city. Every district must report its heroes, officials, wealthy families, and military advisors. In order to check the people’s movement, tallies were used during the day and passwords were used at night. When families willingly contribute resources, a fair price must be repaid in kind and the leader must document the contract. It was the duty of family relatives to bury anyone who died, and it was the duty of the officer to make sure this was done quickly. Families were not to mourn too long while the dead remain unburied. The wounded were sent back to their families, and such families were given wine and meat on a daily basis until the wound had healed. Once a siege was lifted, it was the duty of the Defender to send officers to each family who had members killed or wounded in action. The officers were to offer their condolences and to express sympathy for their plight. It was also the Defender’s duty to reward those who had displayed merit in battle or died in action.

Rewards and Punishments

Although Mozi preached love and virtue, the bitter reality of war caused him to embrace the harsh Legalist system of Rewards and Punishments. War has a knack for making realists out of the most fervent idealists. One will notice that the last two books of Mohist texts have a very different tone from the other sections. Light punishments such as cleaning the latrines were described, but cruel punishments such as the killing of an entire family solely for the crime of one member was frequently advised. The harshest punishments include the pulling apart by chariots, kinship extermination, and displaying bodies in the marketplace. Contrary to his previous preaching about loving all nations and people equally, the chapters on military techniques show Mozi favoring a nation in harmony on all levels, but harboring deep enmity against the enemy. People were made responsible for the actions of their neighbors. If they failed to report criminal activity of their neighbors, then they too would be implicated. Likewise soldiers on the wall were responsible in protecting those on their left and right. Yet they were also responsible in locating crimes committed by their left and right comrades. The basic unit of the army was a five-man squad, and each squad-member was in some way responsible for the actions of every other squad-member. Officers were responsible for the actions of his squad and Commanders were responsible for the actions of his Officers.

Crimes that warrant latrine cleaning, ear being pierced by an arrow, or the like, includes: Displaying arrogance by blocking roads, having musical instruments or weiqi (a board game) within the army, running on foot without appropriate reason, drinking and eating at inappropriate times, singing or wailing in the army

Crimes that warrant execution include: Failure to prevent collaborators from escaping, failure to prevent fellow squad-mates from defecting to the enemy, failure to prevent direct subordinates from defecting to the enemy, reducing morale, disobeying orders, abandoning duties in face of the enemy, addressing matters outside of one’s responsibility, failing to address matters within one’s responsibility, failing to deliver messages within an appropriate amount of time, starting an uncontrolled fire, raping other men’s wives or daughters, failing to stop people without tallies, stealing weapons or implements over 1 cash in value, concealing prohibited items, failing to report a crime despite having full knowledge of it (for officers), letting a perpetrator escape (for officers), intentionally wounding oneself to escape his duties, showering the enemy with untruthful praises, frightening the populace, leaving one’s post without permission, condemning superiors without remonstrating with them, unrestrainedly indulge in evil words, using the many and strong to oppress the weak and few, fighting with ordinary people in disregard to laws (for generals and leaders), failing to send appropriate witnesses(knights, soldiers, officers, and people) to hear the oath of command (for supervisors).

Crimes that warrant kinship extermination, pulling apart by chariots, or both, include: collaborating with the enemy, defection to the enemy, reading letters shot by the enemy, shooting letters towards the enemy, colluding with the enemy, purposely starting an uncontrolled fire

Actions that warrant rewards (in terms of goods, land, increased salaries, promotion, or honorary titles) include: Catching collaborators, driving enemies from the wall, beating back three advances of the enemy, taking part in defense of walls as a woman (in 5000 cash), taking part in defense of walls as a man(in promotion by rank), winning the siege (in which all inhabitants have a complete tax remittance of three years), seizing or reporting people who plan to rebel, seizing or reporting criminals, dying in battle, becoming wounded in battle, displaying bravery or merit in battle

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Note: I did not mention units of measurement as what we have for present conversions seems to be off, perhaps because measurements during the Warring States were not standardized. Mozi could be using a standard of measurement that is yet unknown to us. At present we usually use Qin’s standard of measurement for those of all states, yet during Mozi’s time Qin Shihuang’s standardization of unit measures did not yet take place. If we rely on current conversions, then the heights of people, buildings, walls, spacing, etc… seem to be unrealistically small, and the same could be said for weights. Some units of measurement used by Mozi have no equivalent for that of the Qin.

Sources:
The Mozi, a Complete Translation by Ian Johnston
Chinese Siege Warfare, by Liang JieMing
Mozi - Chinese Text Project <---- Mozi English translations

**Jake10** · March 5th, 2012, 03:58 PM

Good stuff as usual, Hack.

Just a bit of proofreading:

Quote:

In the case that the enemy resorts to flaming arrows, water would be poured through these holes so the doors won’t burn down.

I would suggest wouldn't . Actually, I don't know the purpose of your essay, but if it's an academic assignment that you're going to hand in would not is better to use.

Quote:

Defenders can cross the moat by means of a suspension bridge, but the bridge could be easily lifted up when the enemy is close.

I would suggest more uniform tense: Defenders could cross the moat by means of a suspension bridge, but the bridge could be easily lifted up when the enemy was close.

Quote:

This traps (woud trap / was used to trap) sections of the enemy army as easy pickings for the defenders.

Quote:

Four of them also have (had) a “youfang” polearm.

Actually, going through Besiegers, there is a contradiction between present and past tense. I think you need to stick to one or the other.

Quote:

Drums were placed to be used for commanders to signal soldiers, but it (they) or nothing could also be used for soldiers to notify commanders

Quote:

If they were not moved, then they must (had to) take part in transporting supplies. Resupply missions were also generally undertaken by children or men falling

Quote:

The males and females were dressed differently in order to differentiate the sexes. In addition the military men and officers all have (had) varying insignias

Quote:

It was also the Defender’s (defenders') duty to reward those who had displayed merit in battle or died in action.

Unless you're using this as a title?

HackneyedScribe · March 5th, 2012, 04:20 PM

Thanks for the grammar corrections, Jake. You noticed a lot of things I didn't. It is not for the purpose of an academic paper, so I didn't pay much attention to it. The entire thing took me about a month, so there may be inconsistencies.

Quote:

Unless you're using this as a title?

Defender was a title certain people had back then.

**DreamWeaver** · March 5th, 2012, 04:28 PM

good stuff there, thanks

**Jake10** · March 5th, 2012, 04:56 PM

So, with regards to those punishments, how were people found guilty? Were there hearings? Were people guilty until proven innocent? What about low ranking soldiers reporting officers?

Couple more things I noticed:

Quote:

Officers were responsible for the actions of his (their) squad(s) and Commanders were responsible for the actions of his(their) Officers.

Crimes that warrant latrine cleaning, ear being pierced by an arrow, or the like, includes: Displaying

HackneyedScribe · March 5th, 2012, 08:21 PM

Quote:

So, with regards to those punishments, how were people found guilty? Were there hearings? Were people guilty until proven innocent?

The passages assume the cases involved were crystal clear. The chapters only say the punishments befitting the crime, but make no mention of the legal processes involved or how the cases were solved. Putting the last two books of the Mojing under context of the situation involved (a city under siege), I highly doubt there would be sophisticated trials. Of course, there must be some type of method to prevent the entire population from being prosecuted eventually, considering the rich incentive for turning people in.

If you want information about legal cases, then the Mojing would be the wrong source to read. I advise looking for detailed records of Qin legal slips. However, these documents were recorded during peacetime. The laws you read there would not be as stringent as those under a more hostile atmosphere, as in the case of the Mojing.

Quote:

What about low ranking soldiers reporting officers?

Just about anyone could report anyone.

DeliciousTomatoesYay · March 6th, 2012, 11:13 AM

Very great! I love the way you included pictures. Sorry about the off-topic question, but what type of art is that in the first picture? Concept art?

**Naomasa298** · March 6th, 2012, 12:53 PM

A little while back, I watched "A Battle of Wits", which was all about Mozism. It's based on a Japanese novel though.

HackneyedScribe · March 6th, 2012, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Very great! I love the way you included pictures. Sorry about the off-topic question, but what type of art is that in the first picture? Concept art?

The art came from Gary Todd's website, in which he took it from a painting at Beijing's Military History Museum: https://picasaweb.google.com/1165124...04141351540978

His website has a lot of good pictures on history, although most of it is Chinese history.

Fox · March 6th, 2012, 10:37 PM

This is exactly the kind of post I enjoy reading, and Mohism is an excellent choice of topic.

Out of curiosity, did you rely on the original literary Chinese and just provide the English for casually interested parties, or do you primarily utilize the translations yourself?