墨學的現代轉化是中外學界研治墨學的一個重要方向，一般認為這一研究大致發軔於梁啟超1904年發表的〈子墨子學說〉。但早在19世紀中葉，來華傳教士－漢學家即已開始了對墨學的現代重構，一直沒有得到關注。運用闡釋學之重構理論，分析傳教士－漢學家艾約瑟（Joseph Edkins）完成於1858年的〈墨子人格及其作品簡論〉，該文涉及到「儒墨關係」，「兼愛與基督宗教之愛」，「墨學是否是功利主義思想」等幾方面的內容，正是20世紀以後墨學現代思想研究中的幾個核心問題。通過與同時期士大夫對墨學認識的比較，結合艾約瑟的學術成長和實踐的經歷，可以鉤沉出艾約瑟墨學思想的生成動機。從全球史來看，艾約瑟的墨學研究其實是19世紀以降全球宗教與知識互動的一部分，從艾約瑟開始，墨學作為中國古代思想多元傳統之一種，被介紹到了歐洲知識界。

The modern transformation of Mohism is an important direction for the research and study of Mohism in Chinese and foreign academic circles. It is generally believed that this topic was taken up seriously in the Chinese academic community following publication in Liang Qichao’s “Mo Zi Xue Shuo” in 1904. In fact, as early as the middle of the 19th century, missionaries-sinologists who came to China in the late Qing Dynasty had already begun the modern reconstruction of Mohism, but they seldom received much attention. By analyzing“Notices of the Character and Writings of Meh Tsï”authored by Joseph Edkins in 1858 using the theory of reconstruction of hermeneutics, three topics extracted from the article, including the relationship between Confucianism and Mohism, Jian’ai and love in Christianity, and whether Mohism is Utilitarianism are discussed. The topics are believed to be the core issues in the research on the Modernization of Mohism since the onset of the 20th century. By comparing the viewpoints between Joseph Edkins and his contemporary intelligentsia in China, as well as analyzing his academic experience, understanding, and achievements, the progression of the scholar’s thoughts as well the structure of his reasoning, motivation, and conclusions can be better understood. From the perspective of global history, his research on Mohism exemplified the interaction between religion and knowledge around the world in the 19th century. Since Joseph Edkins, Mohism, as another aspect of the diversity of ancient Chinese thought, introduced to the European intelligentsia.