-
重置
-
语音
-
放大
-
缩小
-
鼠标样式
-
辅助线
-
读屏字幕
-
退出
重置
语音
放大
缩小
鼠标样式
辅助线
读屏字幕
退出
Tian (天) is a sacred and fundamental concept in ancient Chinese philosophy. It has three different meanings. The first is the physical sky or the entirety of nature (not including human society), the operations of which manifest certain laws and order. The second refers to a spiritual being, which possesses an anthropomorphic will and governs everything in the universe. The third denotes the universal law, which is observed by all things and beings, and which is also the basis of human nature, morality, and social and political orders.
This term referred mainly to all the land under the name of the Son of Heaven and the right to rule on such land. The ancient Chinese held that the rule of senior officials was over their enfeoffed land, and that of dukes and princes was over feudal states. The rule of the Son of Heaven was over all the land. Literally, tianxia (天下) means “all under heaven.” It actually refers to all the territory embracing the enfeoffed land and feudal states under the rule or in the name of the Son of Heaven, as well as all the subjects and the right to rule. The term has later evolved to refer to the whole nation or the whole world.
The way of heaven refers to the basic rule governing the existence and changes of all things between heaven and earth （as opposed to the “way of man”）. Ancient Chinese interpreted the “way of heaven” in different ways. First, some believed that “the way of heaven,” especially the celestial phenomena relating to the movements of the sun, the moon, and the stars, foretell or dictate the success or failure of human affairs. In ancient times, designated officials predicted human affairs through observing celestial phenomena. Second, some believed that “the way of heaven” was the source or the basis of man’s moral conduct and of orderly human relations. One should comply with “the way of heaven,” in both words and deeds, so should human relations； and people should recognize and develop the moral nature bestowed upon by heaven so as to gain access to “the way of heaven.” Third, still others thought that there were no particular correlations between “the way of heaven” on the one hand, and moral conduct in the human world, human relations, as well as misfortune and fortune in human affairs on the other.
The term means the universal law observed by all things in heaven and on earth as well as by human society. Confucian scholars in the Song and Ming dynasties held that the essence of heaven was natural law, and they regarded natural law as the realm of ultimate significance. Natural law is the essence or the source of things, deciding the inherent nature of humans and things. It is the law of nature and the foundation of moral conduct in the human society. Natural law transcends visible, concrete things, but it also exists in each concrete thing. In terms of human nature, natural law expresses itself in the innate good nature one is bestowed upon by heaven, as opposed to “human desire.”
The term means order and bestowment from Heaven. “Mandate of heaven” mainly contains three different meanings: The first is the order of heaven over human affairs. Such order first of all focuses on a change of the supreme ruler’s authority: Heaven empowers the virtuous to attack and replace a ruler who has lost his virtue, and thus enjoy the highest and unsurpassed power and benefits. Secondly, mandate of heaven means fate, which is irresistible and imposes limit on human power. Thirdly, the term indicates the natural disposition bestowed by heaven upon human being. According to The Doctrine of the Mean, “Mandate of heaven endows one with his nature.” Song-dynasty Confucian scholars developed this idea, proposing that human nature was the “nature of mandate of heaven,” that is, the inherent pure and good nature one receives from heaven.
This term, which comes fromThe Book of Changes,refers to the laws governing the movements of constellations and the change of weather. The termtianwen(天文)means the constant laws that govern the movements of celestial bodies, the rotation of the four seasons, the succession of day and night, and the change of weather. The ancient Chinese believed that both human relationships and all things in the universe are governed by the same laws, and so by observing and following the laws of constellations and seasons, people can establish social order.
This term refers to sounds produced by all things in nature between heaven and earth. Zhuangzi (369?-286 BC) divided sounds into three categories: “human sounds,” “terrestrial sounds,” and “celestial sounds.” According to him, “human sounds” refer to sounds made by a vertical bamboo flute when a person blows air into its top end. “Terrestrial sounds” refer to sounds produced by the earth’s apertures when wind blows through them. “Celestial sounds” are not totally different from the above two. They refer to multifarious sounds made naturally by all things in the universe, which are not sounds created by external factors. By defining the “sounds of nature” this way, Zhuangzi meant to minimize the influence of the subjective mind so as to discover and respect the natural state of all things. People of later generations generally use this term to describe a literary work such as a poem or an essay that is written in a smooth way and has the appeal of natural charm. They also use the term “music of Nature” to refer to naturally produced sounds that are pleasant to the ear.
The term represents a world outlook and a way of thinking which hold that heaven and earth and man are interconnected. This world outlook emphasizes the integration and inherent relationship between heaven, earth, and man. It highlights the fundamental significance of nature to man or human affairs, and describes the endeavor made by man to pursue life, order, and values through interaction with nature. The term has different ways of expression in history, such as heaven and man are of the same category, sharing the same vital energy, or sharing the same principles. Mencius（372？-289 BC）, for one, believed that through mental reflection one could gain understanding of human nature and heaven, emphasizing the unity of mind, human nature, and heaven. Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty sought to connect the principles of heaven, human nature, and the human mind. Laozi maintained that “man’s law is earthly, earth’s law is natural, and heaven’s law is dao.” Depending on a different understanding of heaven and man, the term may have different meanings.
This term refers to a world outlook and a way of thinking which hold that heaven and man are different. This explanation was first put forward by Xunzi（313？-238 BC）, who did not believe that human morality and the order of human society emanated from heaven. He argued that heaven and man each had a different role and that they should not be mixed. Temporal changes of heaven and earth as well as the occurrence of seasonal changes in temperature and rainfall all belonged to the domain of heaven. They had their normal path, unrelated to human affairs, and were beyond the reach of human power. On the other hand, man’s morality and order in the world belonged to the realm of man. People should be responsible for moral development and social order. Only by making a clear distinction between heaven and man could one develop his abilities on the basis established by heaven, without overstepping into a domain where man was unable to exert his power.
Humans and Nature respond to each other. This theory was put forward by Dong Zhongshu (179-104BC) , who had inherited his predecessors’ thinking and believed that things of similar nature could respond to each other. According to him, humans are a duplication of Nature, therefore they respond to each other. Changes of Nature will affect human beings and their activities. Human actions and words, as well as the order or disorder of human society are reflected in Nature by astronomical signs. If the ruler of a state has said or done something treacherous, calamity or unnatural phenomenon may occur to reflect this. Dong Zhongshu, with this theory as his basis, tried to persuade the ruler to govern virtuously by citing historical calamities or unnatural phenomena.
The ancient Chinese believed that virtuous men followed the will of heaven in establishing a political regime and becoming its sovereigns; hence their success came from the mandate of heaven. This thought is similar to the Western notion of the divine right of kings; but it also emphasizes the wishes and will of the people, or people-centered thinking. In ancient China, this phrase was often used in praise of the founding of a new dynasty, and the implementation of major social reforms to justify its legitimacy.
Rejoice in complying with the way of heaven and recognize the limitations set by the mandate of heaven. This concept originates from The Book of Changes. The way of heaven regulates human affairs and its mandate defines the limit of human power. This is beyond human capacity to change and must be faced with calm, which man must understand and face with calm. While people are subject to regulation and limitation by Heaven and its mandate, they can cultivate their virtue and make great achievements through continuous efforts. That’s why people should rejoice in complying with Heaven and its mandate.
Literally, this term means the rules and orderliness of heaven and earth. According to Zuo’s Commentary on The Spring and Autumn Annals, Zichan (?-522 BC) of the State of Zheng proposed the concept to explain the essence and justification of rites. Zichan believed that the movements of heaven and earth followed eternal rules that created a consistent and rational order. Man too should imitate this in word and deed in an orderly, rational, and proper way. The constraints that rites place on human behavior, and the resulting social ethics and harmony are all manifestations of these laws of nature. The expression later came to mean anything that is proper, or any reasoning that is justified.
People’s physical constitution, emotions and ethics should closely correspond with the structure and order of Nature. The theory that “Humanity should be aligned with Nature” was put forward by Dong Zhongshu(179-104BC). He believed that all things between heaven and earth and their operation had their own intrinsic structure and order. A person’s body, feelings, thinking, acts, and ethics are all in correspondence with the structure and order of Nature, particularly in numbers. According to this theory, humans are but a duplicate of Nature. Dong’s idea provided the basis for mutual interaction between people and Nature.
The people consider food to be of the utmost importance. Shi (食 food) is a general term for the basic resources or material conditions essential to human life; tian (天 heaven) refers to the most important things or the basic elements which determine everything. Ancient Chinese believed that rulers not only had to understand that the ordinary people were the ruler’s “heaven” and the “foundation” of the state, they also had to understand what the ordinary people’s “heaven” was. Food is an indispensable basic material condition for the people to feed themselves, support their families, live peacefully, and fulfill stable jobs; of course it is also an indispensable basic material condition for a ruling group to mollify the people and ensure their livelihood. The bottom line for governing a country and helping its people is to guarantee the people food to eat and enough of it, and to guarantee the supply of basic resources needed for survival. This is an extremely pragmatic political concept.
“Opportune time,” which originally referred to the favorable weather at the time of war, now generally refers to various temporal advantages, including weather, timing, opportunity, and so on. “Geographic advantage,” which originally referred to advantageous positions in battle, now refers to generally various favorable spacial conditions, including terrain, position, location, and such. “Unity of the people,” which originally referred to popular support, unity of all ranks, and societal solidarity, now refers in general to advantages in personnel. Ancient Chinese believed that these three were the most important factors for success. Among them, “unity of the people” is decisive because “opportune time is not as valuable as geographic advantage, and geographic advantage is not as valuable as unity of the people.” The saying reflects the three fundamental dimensions of a problem the Chinese people take into consideration: time (opportunity), space (environment), and people. It reflects the basic notion of putting people at the center of everything.
Xing (性) mainly referred to human nature in ancient times. The concept of xing has two essential points. First, it refers to the inherent nature of all things, not as a result of nurture. Second, it refers to the common nature of certain kind of things, not the nature of individual things of that kind. Similarly, human nature, too, has two meanings. First, it refers to inherent attributes all people share, including physical features, desires, and consciousness. Second, it is the essential and distinct attribute that distinguishes people from birds and beasts, in other words, human’s moral nature. Scholars throughout history held varied views over the question whether human nature was good or evil. Some believed it was good. Some thought it was evil. Some held that it was neither good nor evil. Some held that human nature could be both good and evil in the same person. Some thought that human nature was good in some people, but evil in others.
The term has four meanings. First, it indicates a deity in a personified sense, possessing superhuman capabilities. Natural things, such as heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, sun and moon, and stars, have their deity. A human soul may also become a deity after death. Second, it indicates the human spirit and mind. Daoism considers “spirit” to be the dominating factor in human life. Therefore, maintaining and refining the spirit is most important to prolong life. Third, it indicates the subtle and unfathomable changing of all things as well as heaven and earth occurring under the interaction of yin and yang. In this sense the term is often used together with hua (化 change), the combination being called “divine change.” Fourth, it indicates a marvelous and unfathomable realm in life attained by a person.
The term has two meanings. One is the supreme ruler of the universe, also known as the Ruler of Heaven. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, wizards were the intermediaries between humans and the supreme ruler. They asked for his orders by means of divination and conveyed them to humans. The other meaning is the supreme ruler of an empire or dynasty, that is, the emperor or monarch, including those of remote antiquity and those who had died; each was referred to as Son of Heaven. After Christianity was introduced to China, missionaries used this term as a translation of the word “God.”
The term refers to the primordial state of things, unaffected by the various meanings imposed on it by man. The concept of naturalness in philosophy is different from that of nature in the ordinary sense. In daily language, the term refers to the physical world, which is independent of human interference, as opposed to human society. In philosophy, there is also a natural state of man and society. In political philosophy, “naturalness” specifically applies to the natural state enjoyed by ordinary people free from the intervention of government supervision and moral edification. Daoism holds that in governance a monarch should conform to the natural state of the people.
中华思想文化术语传播工程 秘书处
电话：010-88819132
邮箱：shuyu@fltrp.com
中华思想文化术语微信公众号
指导单位：教育部语言文字信息管理司 主办单位：国家语言监测与研究网络媒体中心
京公网安备 11010802039713号