Against Extravagance非乐

The 乐 in 非乐 (feiyue) meant, in Mozi's time, the grand musical spectacles of kings and nobles: bronze bell sets, drums, hundreds of dancers, all paid for by taxing the people. Mozi says outright that he knows bells and drums sound beautiful, carvings look beautiful, delicacies taste good, and towers are pleasant to live in. He objects for one reason only: "Measured against the sage kings above, it does not fit their conduct; measured against the people below, it does not fit their benefit."

He lists the three hardships: the hungry get no food, the cold get no clothing, the weary get no rest. Then he asks: do bells, drums, and dancing feed the hungry? Clothe the cold? Let the weary rest? No. So while the three hardships remain, pouring resources into spectacle means trading the people's food, clothing, and rest for the nobles' enjoyment.

墨门 wants to be clear. Mozi was not against music, and neither are we. Music today needs no tax levy; a song reaches every ear for free. What Mozi opposed was extravagant display funded from the common purse while people went cold and hungry. That judgment has not aged at all. Replace "music" with any form of conspicuous spending and Mozi's question still stands: which of the three hardships does this solve?

The spirit of 非乐 is a matter of priority: first the three hardships, then enjoyment. It is not asceticism. It is ordering.

In practice at 墨门

• Plain events. Chapters rent no grand venues, hold no banquets, hand out no souvenirs. The weekly reading happens in a living room, a library, or a park. Venue costs for monthly meetings and the 兼爱大会 are published and held to "enough."
• What display would have cost goes to the hardships. Every event budget carries a line: "saved compared with the plain option." That money goes to the care fund, earmarked for food, clothing, and help for people who need to catch their breath.
• The three hardships set the fund's priorities. The care fund spends in Mozi's order: first those who cannot eat, then those who cannot stay warm, then those worn down past the point of rest (for instance, a family member caring for someone ill and nearing collapse).
• Music yes, spectacle no. Anyone who wants to play or sing at a chapter meeting is welcome, and so are children's performances. What we oppose has never been music. It is using display to prove status.
• Outward-facing events too. 墨门 holds no grand celebrations, builds no monuments, runs no large publicity campaigns. We believe a community's weight is measured by how many people it has helped, not by the size of its occasions.

Mozi asked the musicians and the nobles: whom have your bells and drums ever fed? Before we spend on any event, we ask ourselves the same question.