-350 – -280
Yizi (夷之) was an ancient Chinese Mohist scholar and interlocutor of Mencius, appearing in the Mengzi text as a representative of the Mohist school. He is known primarily through his recorded debate with Mencius over funeral rites and the Mohist doctrine of universal, undifferentiated love (jian'ai) versus the Confucian model of graded affection. His views serve as a foil that illuminates the boundaries between Mohist universalism and early Confucian moral psychology.
Represented the Mohist position in a documented dialogue with Mencius on funeral practices and filial piety
Advanced the Mohist doctrine of jian'ai (universal, undifferentiated love) against Confucian graded love
Served as a key interlocutor through whom Mencius clarified the relationship between universal benevolence and particularist family obligations
Preserved in the Mengzi as a named intellectual adversary, granting rare textual visibility to a Mohist thinker