Chapter 6: The All-Round View of Semantic Rupture: From Celestial Mandate to Innate Nature and Fate, to Mission

Section 1: The Historical Development of Three Meanings

Let us now stand at a higher vantage point and review the entire process of semantic rupture of "ming" in the pre-Qin period:

First Level: Celestial Mandate (殷周, Yin-Zhou)

"Ming" was initially Heaven's command to humanity. Heaven mandated someone to be king, or a lineage to rise. This was a "ming" in the sense of political theology. Its core questions were: To whom does Heaven's mandate belong$50 Why is Heaven's mandate not constant$51 How can humans match Heaven with virtue$52

Representative texts: Book of Documents, Book of Songs (Hymns of Zhou).

Representative propositions: "Heaven's mandate is not constant" (天命靡常, tian ming mi chang), "Great Heaven has no favorites; it sides with virtue alone" (皇天无亲，惟德是辅, huang tian wu qin, wei de shi fu), "Though Zhou is an old state, its mandate is new" (周虽旧邦，其命维新, zhou sui jiu bang, qi ming wei xin).

At this stage, although "ming" was an active bestowal from Heaven, it was not fatalistic—because "Heaven's mandate is not constant," it could be replaced, and the basis for replacement was "virtue." Humans could obtain Heaven's mandate by cultivating virtue, and lose it by losing virtue.

Second Level: Innate Nature and Fate (春秋战国, Spring and Autumn and Warring States)

"Ming" began to descend from the political realm to the existential existence of every person. Heaven not only mandated kings but also bestowed "innate nature" (性, xing). Every person has a Heaven-bestowed innate nature, which is both a bestowal from Heaven ("ming") and the person's interiority ("xing"). "Ming" and "xing" converge here.

Representative texts: Doctrine of the Mean, Mencius, Book of Changes (Commentary on the Decision).

Representative propositions: "What Heaven bestows is called innate nature" (天命之谓性, tian ming zhi wei xing), "To exhaust one's mind is to know one's innate nature" (尽其心者，知其性也, jin qi xin zhe, zhi qi xing ye), "Each corrects its innate nature and fate" (各正性命, ge zheng xing ming).

At this stage, "ming" completed its transformation from external to internal. Celestial mandate was no longer suspended high above but was internalized as human innate nature. To know Heaven's mandate was to know one's innate nature. From then on, "ming" was closely linked to the meaning of existence for each individual.

Third Level: Mission (孔孟荀的实践哲学, Practical Philosophy of Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi)

"Ming" ultimately elevated to an active undertaking. Humans no longer passively received Heaven's mandate (受命), nor merely inwardly perceived Heaven's mandate (知性), but established, responded to, and even controlled Heaven's mandate through their own life practice.

Representative texts: Analects of Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi.

Representative propositions: "At fifty, I knew Heaven's mandate" (五十而知天命, wu shi er zhi tian ming), "To cultivate oneself to await it—this is the way to establish one's fate" (修身以俟之，所以立命也, xiu shen yi si zhi, suo yi li ming ye), "Control Heaven's mandate and use it" (制天命而用之, zhi tian ming er yong zhi).

At this stage, "ming" had completely transformed from a passively accepted object into an actively undertaken action. "Knowing fate" (知命) was not accepting fate, "establishing fate" (立命) was not submitting to Heaven's will, and "controlling Heaven's mandate" (制天命) was even a positive mastery of fate.

Section 2: Why Pre-Qin Could Not Have Been Fatalistic$53

After completing this review, we can answer a fundamental question: Why could the "ming" of the pre-Qin period not have been fatalistic$54

There are at least three reasons:

First, the fundamental situation faced by the pre-Qin era was change, not adherence. The Yin-Zhou transition and the violent upheavals of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods—this was an era when all old orders were collapsing. In such a historical context, fatalism was not only theoretically untenable (the Yin people believed Heaven's mandate was eternal, yet they fell), but also practically harmful—if everything is fated, then why change the laws$55 Why compete for dominance$56 Why have a hundred schools of thought contend$57 The vitality of the pre-Qin era precisely stemmed from the profound belief that "fate can be changed."

Second, the core concern of the pre-Qin era was "what should humans do," not "what humans cannot do." Whether it is the Confucians' "restrain oneself and return to propriety" (克己复礼, ke ji fu li) and "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom" (仁义礼智, ren yi li zhi), the Daoists' "attain emptiness and hold stillness" (致虚守静, zhi xu shou jing) and "follow the middle way as a constant" (缘督以为经, yuan du yi wei jing), or the Mohists' "universal love and non-aggression" (兼爱非攻, jian ai fei gong) and "esteem the worthy, esteem the capable" (尚贤尚同, shang xian shang tong)—all pre-Qin schools focused on guidelines for action, not acceptance of fate. A intellectual tradition whose core concern is action cannot simultaneously be fatalistic.

Third, the "Heaven's Mandate" of the pre-Qin period is inextricably linked to human agency. Whether it is "virtue alone is assisted by Heaven" (惟德是辅, wei de shi fu), "knowing Heaven's mandate" (知天命, zhi tian ming), "establishing fate" (立命, li ming), or "controlling Heaven's mandate and using it" (制天命而用之, zhi tian ming er yong zhi)—all these concepts emphasize the role of human action, moral cultivation, and active response. If human agency is a crucial component, then it cannot be pure fatalism, which negates human agency.