天命

Chinese

		day; sky; heaven	life; fate
simp. and trad. (天命)		天	命

Etymology

Attested earliest on Zhou dynasty's bronze inscriptions,[1] though during the Western Zhou period, the concept was not exactly worded as 天命 (tiānmìng) but 大令 (dàlìng), 大命 (dàmìng), 魯令 (lǔlìng) & 天令 (tiānlìng) (however, 令 (lìng) and 命 (mìng) were indeed used interchangeably).[2] Goldin (2017)[3] links Zhou's concept 天命 (tiānmìng) to Shang's concept 帝令 (dìlìng) "the Deity's command" attested in the Shang's oracle bones.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): tiānmìng, Tiānmìng
(Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄢㄇㄧㄥˋ, ㄊㄧㄢㄇㄧㄥˋ
(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): тянмин (ti͡anmin, I-III) / Тянмин (Ti͡anmin, I-III)
Cantonese (Jyutping): tin¹ ming⁶
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): thiên-min / Thiên-min
Jin (Wiktionary): tie¹ ming³
Min Nan (POJ): thian-bēng / Thian-bēng
Wu (Wiktionary): thi min (T1)

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: tiānmìng
  - Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢㄇㄧㄥˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: tianmìng
  - Wade–Giles: tʻien¹-ming⁴
  - Yale: tyān-mìng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tianminq
  - Palladius: тяньмин (tjanʹmin)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰjɛn⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: Tiānmìng
  - Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢㄇㄧㄥˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: Tianmìng
  - Wade–Giles: Tʻien¹-ming⁴
  - Yale: Tyān-mìng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Tianminq
  - Palladius: Тяньмин (Tjanʹmin)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰjɛn⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: тянмин (ti͡anmin, I-III) / Тянмин (Ti͡anmin, I-III)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiæ̃²⁴ miŋ⁴⁴/, /tʰiæ̃²⁴ miŋ⁴⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: tin¹ ming⁶
  - Yale: tīn mihng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tin¹ ming⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: tin¹ ming⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiːn⁵⁵ mɪŋ²²/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thiên-min / Thiên-min
  - Hakka Romanization System: tien´ min / tien´ min
  - Hagfa Pinyim: tian¹ min⁴ / tian¹ min⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /tʰi̯en²⁴⁻¹¹ min⁵⁵/, /tʰi̯en²⁴⁻¹¹ min⁵⁵/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: tie¹ ming³
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /tʰxie¹¹ mĩŋ⁴⁵/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thian-bēng / Thian-bēng
  - Tâi-lô: thian-bīng / Thian-bīng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: tienbeng, tienbeng
  - IPA (Xiamen): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² biɪŋ²²/, /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² biɪŋ²²/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰiɛn³³ biɪŋ⁴¹/, /tʰiɛn³³ biɪŋ⁴¹/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² biɪŋ²²/, /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² biɪŋ²²/
  - IPA (Taipei): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ biɪŋ³³/, /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ biɪŋ³³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ biɪŋ³³/, /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ biɪŋ³³/
Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: thi min (T1)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰi⁵⁵ mɪɲ²¹/

Middle Chinese: /tʰen mˠiæŋ^H/

Rime
Character	天	命
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	透 (6)	明 (4)
Final (韻)	先 (85)	庚 (111)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	IV	III
Fanqie	他前切	眉病切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/tʰen/	/mˠiæŋ^H/
Pan Wuyun	/tʰen/	/mᵚiaŋ^H/
Shao Rongfen	/tʰɛn/	/miaŋ^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/tʰɛn/	/miajŋ^H/
Li Rong	/tʰen/	/miɐŋ^H/
Wang Li	/tʰien/	/mĭɐŋ^H/
Bernard Karlgren	/tʰien/	/mi̯ɐŋ^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	tiān	mìng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	tin¹	ming⁶

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*l̥ˤi[n]|l̥ˤi[n] m-riŋ-s/
(Zhengzhang): /*qʰl'iːn mreŋs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	天	天	命
Reading #	1/2	2/2	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	tiān	xiān	mìng
Middle Chinese	‹ then ›	‹ xen ›	‹ mjæng^H ›
Old Chinese	/*l̥ˁi[n]/	/l̥ˁi[n]/ (W dialect: l̥ˁ- > Hàn-time xˁ- > MC x-)	/m-riŋ-s/ (dialect: m-r- > mr-, -iŋ> *-eŋ)
English	heaven	heaven	command (n.)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	天	命
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	12387	8275
Phonetic component	天	令
Rime group	眞	耕
Rime subdivision	1	0
Corresponding MC rime	天	命
Old Chinese	/*qʰl'iːn/	/*mreŋs/
Notes		令轉註字

Noun

天命

the myriad of things in nature which make up the law of nature or natural law
the will of heaven
the Mandate of Heaven
- 佑闢四方，惠弘天命。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
  佑辟四方，惠弘天命。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Late Western Zhou, 彔伯冬簋 "Lubo Dong gui" inscription, translated based on Shim (2012)[4] and Grundmann (2022)[5]
  Yòu pì sìfāng, huì hóng tiānmìng. [Pinyin]
  Assisting in expanding the four directions and helping to broaden the Mandate of Heaven.
- 假哉天命！ [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]
  From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
  Jiǎ zāi tiānmìng! [Pinyin]
  Great is the appointment of Heaven!
- 非予罪，時惟天命。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  非予罪，时惟天命。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Book of Documents, circa 7^th – 4^th centuries BCE
  Fēi yǔ zuì, shí wéi tiānmìng. [Pinyin]
  It is not my fault. It is Heaven's just decree.
one's fate or destiny
盡人事而聽天命／尽人事而听天命 ― jìn rénshì ér tīng tiānmìng ― to do one's best and leave the rest to fate
one's nature or natural instincts
one's innate skills or gifts
one's life span or life expectancy

Synonyms

(the Mandate of Heaven): (literary) 大命 (dàmìng), (literary) 景命 (jǐngmìng)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (天命):

→ Japanese: 天命(てんめい) (tenmei)
→ Korean: 천명(天命) (cheonmyeong)
→ Vietnamese: thiên mệnh (天命)

Proper noun

天命

(historical) the Tianming era (a Chinese era name; the era of Nurhaci as khan of the Later Jin, from the proclamation of the dynasty in 1616 until 1627)

References

Chen, Sanping (2002), “Son of Heaven and Son of God: Interactions among Ancient Asiatic Cultures regarding Sacral Kingship and Theophoric Names”, in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, volume 12
Valmisa, Mercedes (2018). "Is the ideology of the 'Mandate of Heaven' already present in Western Zhou bronze inscriptions?", presented at International Consortium for Research in the Humanities. Erlagen. 2012 version
Goldin, Paul Rakita (2017), “Some Shang Antecedents of Later Chinese Ideology and Culture”, in Journal of the American Oriental Society‎, volume 137, issue 1
Shim, Jae-hong (2012), “An Ever-contested Poem: The "Classic of Poetry"'s "Hanyi" and the Sino-Korean History Debate”, in The Journal of Asian Studies‎, issue 2, pages 475-497
Grundmann, Joern Peter, transl.,(2022), “Moral Speculation and the Conception of a Sky God”, in Space, Time, Myth, and Morals: A Selection of Jao Tsung-i’s Studies on Cosmological Thought in Early China and Beyond (Collected Works of Jao Tsung-i, Volume: 3), pages 220-277

天命 on the Chinese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^zh
Mandate of Heaven on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Vietnamese

Hán tự in this term
天	命

Noun

天命

chữ Hán form of thiên mệnh.

[1] Chen, Sanping (2002), “Son of Heaven and Son of God: Interactions among Ancient Asiatic Cultures regarding Sacral Kingship and Theophoric Names”, in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, volume 12

[2] Valmisa, Mercedes (2018). "Is the ideology of the 'Mandate of Heaven' already present in Western Zhou bronze inscriptions?", presented at International Consortium for Research in the Humanities. Erlagen. 2012 version

[3] Goldin, Paul Rakita (2017), “Some Shang Antecedents of Later Chinese Ideology and Culture”, in Journal of the American Oriental Society‎, volume 137, issue 1

[4] Shim, Jae-hong (2012), “An Ever-contested Poem: The "Classic of Poetry"'s "Hanyi" and the Sino-Korean History Debate”, in The Journal of Asian Studies‎, issue 2, pages 475-497

[5] Grundmann, Joern Peter, transl.,(2022), “Moral Speculation and the Conception of a Sky God”, in Space, Time, Myth, and Morals: A Selection of Jao Tsung-i’s Studies on Cosmological Thought in Early China and Beyond (Collected Works of Jao Tsung-i, Volume: 3), pages 220-277