From “Destiny” To “Heaven”:The Evolution Of The Concept Of Heaven In Zhou Dynasty

As early as in primitive society,people began to observe the sky to guide their production and life.With the development of primitive belief,people’s god system became more and more complex and systematic,and their cognition of gods was gradually deepened,which initially formed the core of ancient Chinese belief--the supreme God belief represented by "heaven" and " God ".Then,how did the belief system of the supreme god "heaven" come into being,and what changes did people experience in their cognition of heaven? The author concludes as followsFirst,the author finds that "heaven" comes from "God",and " God " should come from the combination of natural astrology,belief in natural god and worship of reproduction.At this time,the God ’s behavior does not have the moral concept and value orientation of human beings,its divinity is irrational,and the divine case is supreme.Since the God ’s behavior was unpredictable,people could only learn the God ’s orders through sacrificial offerings and divination,and must obey them absolutely.Then,the author examines the profit and loss of " God " and the formation of the belief system of "heaven".After the Western Zhou Dynasty,"heaven" gradually replaced " God " and became the supreme god affecting the life of Zhou people.Later,the theory of Manifest Destiny and morality were gradually connected,and the concept of Manifest destiny with the function of moral discipline was constructed.At the same time,in the Western Zhou Dynasty,the observation of natural phenomena became more frequent and more secular,and the interpretation of the laws of natural phenomena constituted the naturalistic theory of Heaven.The way of Heaven and the Mandate of Heaven once went hand in hand,then the way of nature and the mysterious mandate of Heaven began to converge with the center of morality,thus building the broader way of heaven.The concept of heaven in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty changed greatly.The author first reflected the concept of heaven in Zuo Zhuan and Guo Yu.Their cognition of heaven is clearly divided into three types: natural heaven,moral heaven and mysterious heaven.Heaven not only gives punishment or reward to people based on the moral destiny of heaven,but also influences people’s health and political life through natural laws such as "four times".As the Tao of Heaven integrated morality and gradually replaced the mandate of Heaven,the Tao of Heaven became the core of the Confucian concept of heaven.Taoism puts "Tao" above heaven and becomes a mysterious force dominating all things.At the same time,Taoism does not deny the existence of morality,but does not regard it as the inherent attribute of heaven.Although their heaven concept is not the same,but they do not exclude the divine case of personality God and admit the authority of "heaven way",so their heaven concept is homologous.Finally,the author examines the changes of Mohist heaven concept and Confucianism and Taoism heaven concept in the Warring States period.In addition to Mencius basically followed the Confucian concept of heaven in the Spring and Autumn,there was another school that merged with the Yin and Yang school to transform the Confucian concept of heaven with the concept of Yin and Yang and the five elements.In addition to Zhuangzi and Lietzi,Taoism deepened the concept of heaven of Laozi,and there also emerged the concept of heaven of Huang Lao guiding learning,which was integrated with Yin and Yang school.Mohism denied the mandate of heaven and acknowledged the influence of heavenly aspirations on human beings,but also believed that human beings were not in heaven.In short,the concept of heaven in the Warring States period generally recognized the authority of Heaven and the value and dignity of human beings.The concept of heaven in the pre-Qin period had a great influence on the later generations.The First Emperor of Qin still used the belief in the supreme God to deify the imperial power,and Dong Zhongshu further inherited the Confucianism transformed by the Yin and Yang family and used it to educate the public and maintain social order.The belief in heaven has further influenced the way of thinking of Chinese people until today.