Shàngtóng 尚同

‘Alignment with Superiors’: a triad of chapters in the Mòzǐ notable for treating disagreement itself as a political problem. Its central claim is that social coordination depends on shared standards of judgement. Particularly striking is the emphasis on information flow: rulers govern effectively only when they can draw on the observations and reports of the population. Shàngtóng is of interest as early reflections on coordination, communication, and administrative knowledge.