Dr Mieke Matthyssen explores the Chinese concept of ming (命) and its role in shaping human agency and wellbeing.
What does it mean to live a good life when so much lies beyond our control? In Chinese culture, the concept of ming – “command”, “fate”, and “life(span)” – offers a distinct answer to this timeless question. Far from promoting passive fatalism, ming blends cosmological order with personal responsibility, inviting individuals to work with, rather than against, the forces of the universe. Drawing on cosmology, philosophical and popular traditions, this article explores how Chinese thought frames “fate”1 not as a fixed script, but as a dynamic and negotiable process deeply entwined with self-cultivation and everyday practices of living well.2
The Chinese Worldview
In a Western context, discussions about human fate are typically framed either philosophically or religiously. Philosophical debates often contrast fate with free will and choice, while religious discussions associate fate with divine predestination or providence, seeing life as mapped out or determined by some (divine) creative power (Solomon, 2013). Regardless of whether one approaches fate from a religious or philosophical perspective, fate is always deeply rooted in a particular worldview and in how humans fit into it. This is not different in China, where thinking about fate is based on ideas about how the universe originated (cosmogony) and its nature and evolution (cosmology). Why is the world the way it is, and what role do humans play in it?
One Chinese creation myth, the story of the giant Pangu (盘古), nicely illustrates the foundation of Chinese thought on “fate”. In this myth, before the universe existed, there was a state of chaos, often described as a “cosmic egg”. All elements of the universe were contained in a formless, swirling mass within this cosmic egg—a mixture of yin (dark, passive energy) and yang (light, active energy). Pangu, a primordial giant—neither god nor man—was born within this cosmic egg. After sleeping and growing inside it for 18,000 years, he awoke and decided to break free. Using a massive axe, he split the egg in two. The lighter, pure elements rose to form the sky (yang), while the heavier, impure elements sank to create the earth (yin). To keep the sky and earth apart, Pangu stood between them, growing taller every day for another 18,000 years, pushing the sky higher and the earth deeper. Eventually, when he became exhausted and died, his body transformed into various elements of the world: his breath became the wind and clouds, his voice turned into thunder, his left eye became the sun, and his right eye the moon; his blood formed rivers and oceans; his hair became forests and plants; his bones became mountains, and his teeth minerals; his sweat fell as rain and nourished the land (Schipper, 2011). In some versions of the myth, humans were formed from the fleas or lice (parasites) on Pangu’s body (Wu, 2011). As we can see from this myth, humans were not explicitly “created” by Pangu. There was no cosmic or divine plan behind their existence; it was merely a natural consequence of his death.
The concept of the cosmic egg as a symbol of creation appears in various mythologies worldwide, such as Hindu, Finnish, and ancient Greek myths. What is distinctive about this Chinese creation myth is its connection to the dialectic of yin and yang, which embodies the balance and complementarity of opposing forces naturally present in the universe. This yin-yang dialectical thinking underlies both early Daoist and Confucian thought but later became especially associated with Daoism and its foundational text, the Daodejing (The Book of the Way and Its Power, 道德经). The Daodejing begins with the concept of dao (“path” but also “being”, 道). The dao is the formless, ineffable, infinite, and ultimate principle that precedes and permeates everything in the universe. The text states it very simple: first, there is the One; from the One come two forces, yin and yang; and from these two emerge the “ten thousand things” (a metaphor for all that exists). These complementary forces, yin and yang, arise from the dao and interact towards a (more) harmonious balance in the cosmos. Again, from this Daoist perspective, there is no creator, no overseeing or guiding god, no purposeful creation or cosmic plan, only a natural, creative “necessity”, the dao. As part of the universe (the macrocosm), humans are considered microcosms intimately connected to the sky (yang) and the earth (yin).
Ming-fate as a Fundamental Life Force
Within this cosmic constellation, humans possess a ming-fate. The concept of ming – literally translated as “command”, “fate”, or “life(span)” – already existed during the Shang Dynasty (ca. 1600–1046 BCE) in practices such as oracle bone divination and further developed within the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism). In folk religion, ming has many interpretations and associated practices such as geomancy (fengshui 风水), fortune-telling or “counting one’s ming” (suanming 算命), and face and palm reading (mianxiang 面相; shouxiang手相) (Lupke, 2005). However, the various meanings of ming that emerged throughout Chinese history do not align with the concept of fate as commonly understood in the West. Cultural psychologist Michael Bond (1992) for instance, observes that Westerners see fate as a measure of their ignorance and their inability to control nature. At the same time, Westerners often assume that people from Chinese societies are more resigned and fatalistic, preferring conflict avoidance and harmony over actively striving for desired changes (Cheng, Lo and Chio, 2010). However, this perception only holds when fate is approached from Western paradigms. From the perspective of China’s spiritual heritage, ming-fate can be understood as a much more active concept – one that grants individuals a sense of both control through self-cultivation and surrender to the heavenly order or “natural principle”.
A culturally nuanced way to understand the different dimensions of ming-fate is to examine the Chinese terminology and how ming is used in philosophical and spiritual contexts. In ancient times, ming referred to an order or mandate from above and only later took on meanings such as “life(span)” and “fate”. This life force (ming) is more powerful than human forces and cannot be controlled. Consider, for example, the circumstances of a person’s birth (place, time, parents, innate health conditions…) or other uncontrollable external forces like an earthquake. The main dimensions of this ming-fate are reflected in two words that include the character ming: a more metaphysical, philosophical dimension called tianming (天命), and a more pragmatic, dynamic dimension called mingyun (命运).
Tianming or “Mandate of Heaven”
Tianming, often translated as the “Mandate of heaven” is associated with the overarching cosmic dynamics. The first part, tian – often conveniently translated as “heaven” but in fact closer to “universe” or “nature” – represents a kind of natural and (Confucian) moral order. Together, tianming means “mandate/command from heaven/the universe”. A well-known historical example is the “Mandate of heaven” that emperors – being regarded as the sons of heaven – were believed to receive to rule as morally upright and benevolent sovereigns. Later in history, tianming also came to mean an individual’s personal moral mandate. At this personal level, the universe has assigned a “mission” to each person, called tianming. However, this tianming should not be understood as a passive, absolute force beyond human control. In line with the Pangu creation myth, philosophers Hall and Ames (1998) suggest that tianming should be understood as the interconnection between heaven (tian 天), earth (di 地), and humans with all their natural, innate talents and shortcomings, and their surrounding environment. In ancient times, the wise person had the moral obligation to accept their tianming, and to act within the boundaries of their ming-fate to actively cultivate harmony between heaven, earth, and the self.
Now how can one best act in accordance with one’s tianming? In The Analects (Lunyu 论语) – a collection of conversations between Confucius and his disciples – wise persons are described as those who know and understand (zhi 知) both their natural, innate tendencies and the limitations of their tianming (zhi tianming 知天命). “Knowing tianming” – still a common idea in popular ming-related expressions – enables the wise to become deeply attuned to and in harmony with the world around them. This is, however, no easy task: Confucius himself admitted he only grasped his heavenly mandate at fifty (Analects II, 4). This admission does suggest that, through gradual moral growth and self-cultivation, individuals can reach a stage where their natural inclinations and desires align with the moral order of the universe, although it demands sustained effort and hardship. From a Confucian standpoint, experiences of hardship are beneficial because they strengthen willpower, resilience, and self-awareness (Cheng, Lo, & Chio, 2010). However, if people fail despite all their efforts, they are advised to accept their ming-fate without resentment toward others or themselves. So “knowing tianming” encourages individuals not to fight against the ultimately uncontrollable limitations of their existence, provided that they have done their utmost to improve the situation and themselves.
Mingyun, or “Malleable Fate”
A more everyday term that reflects how Chinese ming-fate functions as a powerful factor in life is mingyun. Unlike tianming, mingyun is considered somewhat controllable or influenceable. The term itself illustrates how every life journey is shaped both by inborn, natural, and unchangeable forces or conditions (ming) and remains moldable throughout life’s course (yun 运, meaning “movement” but also “luck”). This moldability depends on the good or bad configurations that arise when ming encounters changeable external circumstances (yun), such as time, physical environment, and social interactions. Taking (or not taking) the right actions and influencing or creating the right conditions can alter one’s mingyun. One way to influence this dynamic fate is through fate-management practices. Such practices aim at harmonizing the relationship between humans and their environment. Common examples include restoring or creating the proper energy flow of qi (气) in the space/environment. In daily life, these practices are complemented by the belief in lucky numbers and homophones, visits to temples for (often simultaneous) Buddhist, Daoist, Confucian, and local deities, and other rituals from folk belief. These fate-managing practices uphold the idea that life events are determined by external forces but that there are ways for people to predict and influence the negative impact of these forces. In other words, they enable individuals to become active agents of their own lives and – at least to some extent – take responsibility for their ming-fate.
The two dialectical and complementary dimensions of ming – passive and active – continue to shape lived experience in Chinese societies today, as reflected in many popular sayings about ming-fate. For instance, sayings like “Life and death are a matter of ming; wealth and honor depend on tian 死生有命,富贵在天”, “Tianming is unpredictable 天命无常”, “Three parts are destined by tian, seven parts depend on hard work 三分天注定,七分靠打拼” and “Personality determines fate 性格决定命运” express that ming is at once the path one must follow, the mandate one is bound to, and a force that remains, to some extent, open to influence and transformation. Some scholars describe this dual conception of fate as “negotiable fate”. In their research on the relationship between wellbeing and dealings with fate, Au et al. (2012) suggest that belief in such a “negotiable fate” significantly increases resilience, offering comfort and framing unavoidable life events as part of a larger cosmic flow of things with its own logic, thereby reducing anxiety about life’s uncontrollable aspects, including illness. A nice example of this attitude was given by one of my interlocutors, Mr. Liu, a 57-year-old divorced engineer. He explained that he beliefs health management is a way of actively preparing for his (tian)ming, emphasizing continuous learning and a healthy lifestyle to stay mentally and physically fit. At the same time, he acknowledged the comfort of practices like temple visits, which, though not believed to alter outcomes, offer some emotional relief in facing uncontrollable aspects of life, such as his parents’ health. Still, the great challenge remains to distinguish which parts of fate are influenceable and which are fixed—and within this framework, to engage in self-development.
Notes
1. I put fate in between quotation marks to remind the reader that the fate this article deals with is not to be confused with fate as it is commonly used in English. At other times, I will use the word ming-fate to emphasize the same distinction.
2. This article is in part a translation of a longer article in Dutch. See Matthyssen, M. (2024). “Omgaan met het lot in China : Ming 命 als levensbepalende kracht en als kneedbaar lot”. Filosofie Tijdschrift, 34(6), 34-38. The research for this project has been generously supported by the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO) (Project no. G013320N).
About the Author
Dr. Mieke Matthyssen is a lecturer at the Department of Chinese Studies, Ghent University. Her research focuses on Chinese health strategies and wisdoms of life with a cross-disciplinary approach in linguistic and medical anthropology, Chinese folk psychology, Chinese indigenous psychology, Chinese philosophy and intellectual history.
References
Au, Evelyn, Chi-Yue Chiu, Zhi-Xue Zhang, Lee-Ann Mallorie, Avinish Chaturvedi, Madhu Viswanathan, and Krishna Savani. 2012. “Negotiable Fate: Social Ecological Foundation and Psychological Functions.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology (43): 931-942.
Cheng, C., Lo, B., and Chio, J. 2010. “The Tao (Way) of Chinese Coping.” In The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Psychology, edited by Michael Harris Bond, 399-419.
Bond, Michael Harris. 1992. Beyond the Chinese Face: Insights from Psychology. Oxford University Press.
Hall, David, and Roger Ames. 1998. Thinking from the Han. Self, Truth and Transcendence in Chinese and Western Culture. SUNY.
Lupke, C. E. 2005. The Magnitude of Ming. Command, Allotment, and Fate in Chinese Culture. University of Hawai’i Press.
Schipper, Kristofer. 2011. “The Wholeness of Chaos: Laozi on the Beginning”. In China’s Creation and Origin Myths: Cross-cultural Explorations in Oral and Written Traditions, edited by Mineke Schipper, Shuxian Ye and Hubin Yin, 135-142. Brill.
Solomon, Robert C. 2003. “On Fate and Fatalism”. Philosophy East & West 53 (4): 35-454.
Wu, Xiaodong. 2011. “Pangu and the Origin of the Universe”. In China’s Creation and Origin Myths: Cross-cultural Explorations in Oral and Written Traditions, edited by Mineke Schipper, Shuxian Ye and Hubin Yin, 163-176. Brill.
