Chinese philosophy and culture is heavily influenced by Confucianism and Taoist/Daoist thinking, both of which emerged amidst political chaos and disorder, with the goal of achieving order and seeking the true meaning of life through two different perspectives.
Confucius, a defining figure in Chinese philosophy emphasised a way of living that held social harmony as the ultimate goal, which is achieved through each individual performing their role and duty well, through an established hierarchy/order, pursuit of education and understanding your “heavenly decree” (fate). The core concepts are benevolence, ritual propriety, filial piety, reciprocal obligations and self discipline. All of which state one is granted a specific role to play and must strive to align with their role through virtuous action or in simpler terms, work hard to achieve or change their fate.
Daoist thinking is the exact opposite, elevating simplicity and natural order as the way of life. Its core concepts of non action, Yin Yang, being satisfied with yourself and accepting natural order all result in self fulfillment and acceptance of one’s circumstances to achieve inner peace.
While Confucianism concerns itself with structure and order, Daoism believes yielding to the forces of nature and working alongside it to create a meaningful life. Often Daosim is represented by water as it is yielding but also strong enough to wear down stone over time.
So how do these two conflicting philosophical ideals shape Chinese thinking and the concept of Fate?
In Chinese, the character 命 (mìng) means life, fate or destiny, depending on the context of the conversation. It sits at the intersection of Confucian and Daoist thinking, where Confucianism insists that while your fate is given to you at birth, you can change it through moral effort and self cultivation. On the contrary, Daoist thinking believes one can never fully control or understand their fate and the best way to move forward is not to struggle against but rather work alongside the circumstances.
Over thousands of years, Chinese culture has fused together elements of Confucian ethics and Daoist cosmology with folk religion and Buddhist thinking (karma and cyclical causality) to form concepts that are accepted by both philosophical streams. Examples include Yin Yang and the Five Elements theory. This fusion of ideas produced a lot of metaphysical systems that are still used today such as 八字 (bā zì), 风水 (fēng shuǐ) and 易经 (yì jīng) which are all ways to explain the purpose of one’s life and/or navigate hardships through good decision-making, virtuous character and understanding oneself.