# 天命
## Chinese
### Etymology

Attested earliest on Zhou dynasty's bronze inscriptions, 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). Goldin (2017) 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.
For the era name, see also Manchu ᠠᠪᡴᠠᡳ ᡶᡠᠯᡳᠩᡤᠠ (abkai fulingga).

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Standard)
       (Pinyin): tiānmìng
       (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄢ ㄇㄧㄥˋ
    (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): тянмин (ti͡anmin, I-III)
* Cantonese (Jyutping): tin$^1$ ming$^6$
* Hakka
    (Sixian, PFS): thiên-min
    (Hailu, HRS): tien$^ˋ$ min$^˖$
* Jin (Wiktionary): tie$^1$ ming$^3$
* Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): teng$^1$ ming$^5$
* Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): thian-bēng
* Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): $^1$thi-min
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: tiānmìng
*** Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢ ㄇㄧㄥˋ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: tianmìng
*** Wade–Giles: tʻien$^1$-ming$^4$
*** Yale: tyān-mìng
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tianminq
*** Palladius: тяньмин (tjanʹmin)
*** Sinological IPA : /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/
** (Dungan)
*** Cyrillic and Wiktionary: тянмин (ti͡anmin, I-III)
*** Sinological IPA : /tʰiæ̃²⁴ miŋ⁴⁴/
    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: tin$^1$ ming$^6$
*** Yale: tīn mihng
*** Cantonese Pinyin: tin$^1$ ming$^6$
*** Guangdong Romanization: tin$^1$ ming$^6$
*** Sinological IPA : /tʰiːn⁵⁵ mɪŋ²²/
* Hakka
** (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thiên-min
*** Hakka Romanization System: tien$^ˊ$ min
*** Hagfa Pinyim: tian$^1$ min$^4$
*** Sinological IPA: /tʰi̯en²⁴⁻¹¹ min⁵⁵/
** (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
*** Hakka Romanization System: tien$^ˋ$ min$^˖$
*** Sinological IPA: /tʰien⁵³ min³³/
* Jin
** (Taiyuan)
*** Wiktionary: tie$^1$ ming$^3$
*** Sinological IPA (old-style): /tʰie¹¹ miŋ⁴⁵/
* Puxian Min
** (Putian, Xianyou)
*** Pouseng Ping'ing: teng$^1$ ming$^5$ [Phonetic: teng$^2$ ming$^5$]
*** Sinological IPA : /tʰɛŋ⁵³³⁻¹³ miŋ²¹/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thian-bēng
*** Tâi-lô: thian-bīng
*** Phofsit Daibuun: tienbeng
*** IPA (Xiamen): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² biɪŋ²²/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰiɛn³³ biɪŋ⁴¹/
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² biɪŋ²²/
*** IPA (Taipei): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ biɪŋ³³/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ biɪŋ³³/
* Wu
** (Northern: Shanghai)
*** Wugniu: $^1$thi-min
*** MiniDict: thi$^平$ min
*** Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): $^1$thi-min
*** Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /tʰi⁵⁵ min²¹/
* Middle Chinese: then mjaengH
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 |
| Baxter | then | mjaengH |
| 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$^H$/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /tʰien/ | /mi̯ɐŋ$^H$/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | tiān | mìng |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | tin$^1$ | ming$^6$ |
* 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
    From: Late Western Zhou, 彔伯冬簋 "Lubo Dong gui" inscription, translated based on Shim (2012) and Grundmann (2022)
    Yòu pì sìfāng, huì hóng tiānmìng. [Pinyin]
    Assisting in expanding the four directions and helping to broaden the Mandate of Heaven.
    From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
    Jiǎ zāi tiānmìng! [Pinyin]
    Great is the appointment of Heaven!
    From: The Book of Documents, circa 7th – 4th 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

* → 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)

#### Coordinate terms

* (era names of Qing) 天命 (Later Jin), 天聰 / 天聪 (Tiāncōng) (Later Jin), 崇德 (Chóngdé), 順治 / 顺治 (Shùnzhì), 康熙 (Kāngxī), 雍正 (Yōngzhèng), 乾隆 (Qiánlóng), 嘉慶 / 嘉庆 (Jiāqìng), 道光 (Dàoguāng), 咸豐 (Xiánfēng), 祺祥 (qíxiáng) (cancelled), →同治 (Tóngzhì), 光緒 / 光绪 (Guāngxù), 宣統 / 宣统 (Xuāntǒng)

### 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, number 3
* ↑ 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, number 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, volume 71, number 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

## Japanese
### Pronunciation 1

Kanji in this term :
| 天 | 命 |
| てん Grade: 1 | めい Grade: 3 |
| on'yomi ||
* (Tokyo) てんめー [tèńméé] (Heiban – [0])
* (Tokyo) てんめー [téꜜǹmèè] (Atamadaka –)
* IPA: [tẽ̞mːe̞ː]

#### Noun

天(てん)命(めい) • (tenmei)
* mandate of heaven, will of heaven; divine decree; fate, destiny

##### Derived terms

* 天(てん)命(めい)を知(し)る (tenmei o shiru)
* 天(てん)命(めい)不知(しらず) (tenmei shirazu)
* 天(てん)命(めい)思(し)想(そう) (tenmei shisō)

### Pronunciation 2

Kanji in this term :
| 天 | 命 |
| いのちなり ||
| Grade: 1 | Grade: 3 |
| irregular ||
* IPA: [ino̞t͡ɕina̠ɾʲi]

#### Noun

天命(いのちなり) • (inochinari)
* (archaic) fate, destiny

### References

* 1 2 Yamada, Tadao et al., editors (2011), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Seventh edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* 1 2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* 1 2 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
* 1 2 “天命”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here

## Korean

Hanja in this term :
| 天 | 命 |

### Noun

天命 • (cheonmyeong) (hangeul 천명)
* hanja form of 천명

## Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term :
| 天 | 命 |

### Noun

天命
* chữ Hán form of thiên mệnh.