On The Discrimination Of Xing And Ming In Mencius' Philosophy

Xing(性) and Ming(命) are the most important concepts in Mencius'philosophy; it's fundamental to understand these two concepts and their relationships correctly for grasping the spirit of Mencius'philosophy. This thesis tries to inquiry the discrimination of Xing and Ming on the basis of analyzing the concepts of Xin(心), Xing, Tian(天)and Ming. The author thinks Xing, in Mencius'thoughts, is the essence of human being, its material meaning is the heart of benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom. So many scholars think Mencius talk about Xing in the sense of Xin, and they thought moral subjectivity is based on this. The concept of Ming, in Mencius'philosophy, has two aspects of meaning: fate and moral mission. What the former expresses is the finite of human being, and the later is the transcendental ground of moral practice, it also express the moral state of human being's existence. The conflict between moral subjectivity and fate and identification of Xing and Ming are the two aspects of the discrimination of Xing and Ming.