knowable phenomena and guide our actions accordingly.

Between the monism of Lao Tzu and the positivism of Confucius on
the one hand, and the landmark of the Taoistic transcendentalism of
Chuang Tzu (fourth and third centuries B.C.) on the other, we find
several "guesses at the riddle of existence" which must be briefly
noted as links in the chain of Chinese speculative thought on this
important subject.


Mo Tzu and Creation

In the philosophy of Mo Ti (fifth and fourth centuries B.C.),
generally known as Mo Tzu or Mu Tzu, the philosopher of humanism and
utilitarianism, we find the idea of creation. It was, he says, Heaven
(which was anthropomorphically regarded by him as a personal Supreme
Being) who "created the sun, moon, and innumerable stars." His system
closely resembles Christianity, but the great power of Confucianism as
a weapon wielded against all opponents by its doughty defender Mencius
(372-289 B.C.) is shown by the complete suppression of the influence
of Mo Tzuism at his hands. He even went so far as to describe Mo Tzu
and those who thought with him as "wild animals."


Mencius and the First Cause

Mencius himself regarded Heaven as the First Cause, or Cause of Causes,
but it was not the same personal Heaven as that of Mo Tzu. Nor does
he hang any cosmogony upon it. His chief concern was to eulogize the
doctrines of the great Confucius, and like him he preferred to let