Order Reconstruction and Discipline: The Internal Logic and Contemporary Interpretation of Mozi’s Communication Thought of “Shang Tong”

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, freedom of expression contributed to intellectual flourishing, but also gave rise to a crisis of meaning and social disorder. In response to this social phenomenon, Mozi proposed a communication theory centered on Exalting Unity, which aims to rebuild social consensus through an institutionalized communication order. Grounded in an analytical framework built around five core categories—Way, Virtue, Speech, Resonance, and Harmony—this paper systematically explicates the internal logic of Mohist communication thought from five dimensions: ontology, axiology, epistemology, mechanism, and teleology. By establishing Heaven’s Will as the authoritative discourse source, standardizing the ethical qualifications of communicators, formulating speech validation standards, and introducing a reward-punishment mechanism, Mozi’s system links communicative authority with the construction of social order. The analysis interprets these mechanisms as contributing to the construction of communicative order and the regulation of conduct. This intellectual system illustrates a shift in early Chinese communication thought toward a stronger emphasis on institutionalized normative coordination, and provides critical clues for understanding the formation mechanism of order orientation in indigenous Chinese communication thought.

Mozi; communication order; communicative discipline; social coordination

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