1. Each with a different kind of ming
1.1. Correct and non-correct ming
By the 2nd century CE, the idea that there are three different kinds of ming seems to have been fairly widespread. This shared belief can be seen in Han dynasty scholars’ interpretations of Mencius 7A:2, in which Mencius claims that there is a difference between correct and non-correct ming.
亦 伊
393
There is nothing that is not ming, [but] one should compliantly receive the correct one. Therefore, one who understands ming does not stand underneath precipitous walls. Dying in fulfillment of one’s way is the correct ming; [but] dying in shackles is not the correct ming. (7A:2)
As discussed in the previous chapter, Mencius’ intent in this passage was not
392 I will often refer to these two understandings of ming as “theories,” but I use this term not in the
sense that they are verifiable, but only in the sense that they are attempts to explain the world we live in. We often use the term theory in this sense. For instance, Aristotle’s observations about categories of beings and causality are also incapable of making verifiable predictions, but they are nevertheless often referred to as “theories.” E.g. Gracia and Newton, “Medieval Theories of the Categories.”
to imply that some people were born with correct ming whereas others are born with non-correct ming. The emphasis is on making efforts to live up to the correct one. Thus, correct ming for Mencius is a kind of goal in our life, “the exalted state that we are expected to attain through our own diligent effort.”394
Some Han dynasty scholars, however, interpreted Mencius’ distinction between correct and non-correct ming differently, thinking that the distinction depended upon social success and material well-being during one’s lifetime rather than in one’s attitude. For example, this is how the Later Han scholar Wang Chong
(c. 27 – 97) criticized Mencius:
ō 华 事助 [ ]
ō 回 ō
再 ō具 ō 几
ō具 395
These words by Mencius state that there is no encountered fate (in which one is faced with unfitting consequences for one’s deeds). Those who are compliant in their deeds attain correct ming, and those who behave in absurd and careless ways attain non-correct ming. This is [to say] that one’s fate depends on one’s deeds. [However,] Confucius never became a king; Yan Yuan met an early death; Zixia lost his sight; and Boniu was infected by a plague. Were the deeds of these four people not compliant? Why did they not receive correct ming? [Furthermore,] Bigan had his [heart] extracted; Zixu was boiled to death; and Zilu’s body was [chopped into pieces] and pickled. In extreme cases of death, [misfortunes] are not limited to shackles. [But] if non-correct ming is necessarily proved
394 Goldin, Confucianism, 55. See also section 2.2. of the previous chapter. 395 “Cimeng,” Lunheng jiaoshi, 467–68.
through shackles, then the actions of Bigan and Zixu were not compliant. The people mentioned in this passage are all famous figures in Chinese history who were much praised for their virtue yet were not rewarded for their deeds in their lives. Some of them were even punished despite their virtue. In Wang Chong’s view, these cases disprove Mencius’ claim about correct and non-correct
ming.
Wang Chong’ criticism reveals that he has a fundamentally different understanding of ming. Ming is not a kind of goal in our life, as Mencius intended. Rather, it refers to a determined course of life that concerns not just life and death but also whether one will become a king or be incarcerated.
About a century later, Zhao Qi (d. 201) commented on Mencius 7A:2 as
follows.
事
396
There is no death that is not [due to] ming. There are three kinds of ming. When one’s deeds are good and the consequences are good, this is called ‘received ming’; when one’s deeds are good but the consequences are bad, this is called ‘encountered ming’; when one’s deeds are bad and the consequences are bad, this is called ‘ensuing ming.’ To compliantly receive [one’s] ming is to receive the correct ming.
According to Zhao Qi, there are three different kinds of ming: received ming,
encountered ming, and ensuing ming.397What distinguishes the three are, along
396Mengzi zhengyi, 879.
with one’s moral deeds, the uncontrollable consequences of those deeds. Zhao Qi's interpretation seems to be more faithful to Mencius' original argument, since he at least acknowledges one's deeds as an important criterion for the distinction among various kinds of ming. Nevertheless, the fact that he also regards worldly rewards as relevant to the distinction puts him in a similar position with Wang Chong.
In the chapter titled “Mingyi” 兆 (Meaning of ming), Wang Chong shows
that, just like Zhao Qi, he also subscribes to the three-way distinction of ming, but his definitions are slightly different from those of Zhao Qi.
“ 位
华 ） [ ] 呈 398
Those who have correct ming live up to a hundred years, and those who have ensuing ming live [only] up to fifty and die. Those who have
encountered ming are those who have encountered evil when they were
first receiving qi, [i.e. during birth]. It means that [their] mothers encountered evil things during pregnancy, maybe something like a disastrous thunderstorm. [These babies] will meet an early death after attaining adulthood.
Wang Chong chooses to explain the differences between the three kinds of
ming solely in terms of longevity, without referring to the quality of one’s deeds. This is because he believes that a person’s ming is decided long before one has a
deeds were bad, but it should be noted that no one ever suggested a four-way distinction of ming. It is always
three. See p.191 below to see another version of this theory that can explain all four types of life. “Mingyi,”
Lunheng jiaoshi, 49–50. Also, it may be the case that Zhao Qi was simply quoting this explanation from another text. This exact explanation also appears in Xiaojing Yuanshenqi. Yasui Kōzan and Nakamura Shōhachi
令 , Weishu jicheng, 990–91. But we cannot rule out the possibility that Zhao Qi’s remark got mixed into this text later.
chance to make any actions. For Wang Chong, everyone’s ming is irreversibly fixed at birth. When the scope of ming is strictly limited to one’s lifespan, Wang Chong’s argument can begin to look more sensible.
事 位 久 地
呈 呈 位 友 (地)先余 先
余 到 域 399
There are no signs for life and death in Heaven. They are subject to one’s nature. The qi of those who are endowed with a hard and strong nature is thick, and their bodies are hard and strong. If [their bodies are] hard and strong, their lifespan is long, and they will not die early. The qi of those who are endowed with a soft and weak natureis thin, and their bodies are feeble and inferior. If [their bodies are] feeble and inferior, their lifespan is short, and they will die early. Therefore, it is said that “there is
ming [in life and death].” (Analects 12:5) Ming refers to one’s nature.
He argues that those who are born with thick qi are naturally healthier and thus able to live a long life, while those who are born with thin qi are naturally weak and can only live a short life. If by thick and thin qi Wang Chong means something analogous to DNA in today’s world, he has a point. After all, there really are children who are born healthier than others, while some are born with genetic disorders that lead to premature death.
If we go back to the previous passage, however, Wang Chong seems to argue that what is decided at birth is not just one’s physical constitution, but also whether one will face death by accidents. Correct ming and ensuing ming refer to the lives of
the people who die naturally at the age predetermined by one’s qi at birth. But there are also people who die at an early age even though they were born with healthy bodies. These are people with encountered ming. Thus, Wang Chong’s explanation of three kinds of ming covers all possible potential human lives. Every human being is born with one of these three kinds of ming.