“[t]here are three things of which the superior man stands in awe. He stands in awe of the ordinances of Heaven. He stands in awe of great men. He stands in awe of the words of sages. The mean man does not know the ordinances of Heaven, and consequently does not stand in awe of them [...]” (「君子有三畏：畏天命，畏大人，畏聖人之言。小人不知天命而不畏也，狎大人，侮聖人之言」) (Ji Shi 季氏, 8).

4. “If my principles are to work, it is destiny. If they are to fail, it is destiny” (道之將行也與？命也。道之將廢也與？命也) (Lunyu, Xian Wen, 36).

5. “When Yan Yuan died, the Master said, ‘Alas! Heaven is destroying me! Heaven is destroying me!’” (顏淵死。子曰：「噫！天喪予！天喪予！」) (Lunyu, Xian Jin 先進).

6. For riches, see Lunyu, Shu’er 述而, 12. In the following two sentences, Heaven is again equivalent of destiny in the sense of the historical circumstances, which frustrate the mission of Confucius himself: (1) “[m]y friends, why are you distressed by your master’s failure? The world has long been without the moral Way; Heaven is going to use your master as a bell with its wooden tongue” (「二三子，何患於喪乎？天下之無道也久矣，天將以夫子為木鐸」) (Lunyu, Ba Yi 八佾, 24); (2) the aforesaid “[d]eath and life have their predestined term; riches and honors depend upon Heaven” (死生有命，富貴在天) (Lunyu, Yan Yuan, 5).

7. “The Master replied: ‘I do not murmur against Heaven. I do not grumble against men. My studies lie low, and my penetration rises high. But there is Heaven that knows me!’” (子曰：「不怨天，不尤人。下學而上達。知我者，其天乎！」) (Lunyu, Xian Wen, 35); “Bo Niu being ill, the Master went to ask for him. He took hold of his hand through the window, and said: ‘It is killing him. It is the appointment of Heaven, alas! That such a man should have such a sickness! That such a man should have such a sickness!’” (伯牛有疾，子問之，自牖執其手，曰：「亡之，命矣夫！斯人也而有斯疾也！斯人也而有斯疾也！」) (Lunyu, Yong Ye, 10).

8. See the aforementioned study by Ding Weixiang (“Destiny and Heavenly Ordinances”) on the evolution of the concepts of tian and ming in ancient times. The Zhongyong confirms the connection of human nature with tianming as the foundation of morality: “[w]hat Heaven has conferred is called nature, and what guides this nature is called the Way” (天命之謂性，率性之謂道) (Zhongyong 中庸, 1). See Ding Weixiang, “Destiny and Heavenly Ordinances,” 27–29.