Confucian ethics of war in the context of the ancient Chinese power transition myth

The paper analyzes ethical views on war held by the authors of the Lunyu and the Mengzi , in the context of their attitude towards the characters of the power transition myth. Despite several similarities (preference to «ethics of peace», rejection of aggression, emphasis on jus post bellum ), Mengzi differs from Lunyu in the following aspects: prioritization of justice over political order; emphasis on legitimacy, not legality; people-orientedness over norm-orientedness; development of the jus in bello discourse; permissibility of rebellion, which entails positive assessment of Wu-wang’s campaign, and critique of its objectors, Boyi and Shuqi.