Heaven, Knowledge, and the People: Epistemic Competence and Political Status in Confucian and Mohist Thought

The role of common people within the ethical and socio-political framework of early Chinese thought remains largely underexplored, partly because they are often assumed to have been treated merely as passive subjects within a meritocratic order. Yet the two major early Chinese traditions, Confucianism and Mohism, propose markedly different forms of meritocratic governance. Mozi portrays ordinary people as participants in political life, arguing that the ruler should be a virtuous worthy whom everyone can recognize and endorse. By contrast, Confucian thinkers such as Xunzi emphasizes the ruler's duty to ensure the basic welfare of the common people instead of recognizing their political agency. Many scholars attribute this difference to their distinct ethical theories. I argue instead that the key divergence lies in their political epistemologies—specifically, whether ordinary people can understand the proper organization of socio-political life in accordance with Heaven’s processes.