Divine Bestowal or Moral Guidance
The Interpretations of Tian You Qi Zhong 天誘其衷 and the Heaven-Human Relationship in Early Confucian Thought
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4313456 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cheng Wang (0000-0002-4693-6424, Zhejiang University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 822 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-23 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel16070822 |
| OpenAlex | W4411606540 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 13 |
This paper explores how the interpretations of the phrase "tian you qi zhong 天誘其衷" in the Zuozhuan 左傳 (The Zuo Commentary) have changed over time. These changes reflect early Confucian perspectives on the relationship between Heaven and humanity. By examining the polysemous terms (you 誘 and zhong 衷) and by comparing transmitted texts with excavated manuscripts (e.g., Guodian 郭店, Shangbo 上博, and Tsinghua corpora), the paper demonstrates a vital dilemma in early Chinese philosophy: whether Heaven endows moral qualities or simply awakens the innate dispositions of human beings. The paper traces the moralization of tian 天 (Heaven) from the Shang 商 dynasty's theocentric worldview to the Zhou's 周 focus on ethical responsibility, showing how the Zuozhuan bridges archaic religious beliefs and emerging Confucian humanism. Traditional commentaries read tian you qi zhong as Heaven "bestowing goodness" or "guiding moral intention," while the manuscript evidence suggests that the phrase actually meant Heaven "descending its heart or will" to attune human affairs to the cosmos. Han exegetes redefined the term you as pedagogical guidance due to Confucianism's growing emphasis on self-cultivation. By contextualizing the phrase at a larger backdrop of discussions of the Mandate of Heaven (tianming 天命) and moral cultivation, the study contends that early Confucians transformed tian from a deity figure to a moral principle dwelling in the human capacity, integrating religious reverence and ethical emancipation. This interdisciplinary approach studies ongoing scholarly discussions on the interrelationship between religion, ethics, and philosophy in early China
Art · Epistemology · Heaven · Literature · Theology · Tian · Chinese history and philosophy · Philosophy
Heaven as a Source for Ethical Warrant in Early Confucianism
Confucian Heaven
Li (Ritual/Rite) and Tian (Heaven/Nature) in the Xunzi
On the Identity of Shang Di and the Origin of the Concept of a Celestial Mandate ( Tian Ming )
Dao Companion to the Excavated Guodian Bamboo Manuscripts
The Conception of Ming in Early Confucian Thought
From Divinity to Humanity
Rethinking the Mengzi's Concept of Tian 天
The classical Confucian conception of Heaven's Mandate
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |