命

The core meaning is "a spoken command" or "allotment," operating on a spectrum from human commanding to cosmic decreeing. As a noun, it refers to:

1. A directive or instruction; the word of a superior.

2. Destiny or fate: a predetermined boundary or scripted life-path (distinct from random chance). This includes //Tianming// (天命), the "Mandate of Heaven," which serves as the mechanism of political legitimacy for dynasties.

As a transitive verb, it means to order, instruct, or appoint. In administrative or courtly contexts, this often refers to the formal appointment of an official to a post (命職) and denotes a formal directive rather than a casual request. When functioning as a modifier (e.g., "fated"), it typically appears within compound phrases rather than as a standalone adjective.

• 命 (//mìng//) vs. 生 (//shēng//): While both can be rendered as "life," //shēng// refers to biological life, vitality, and growth; //mìng// refers to the "allotted life" or life-span—the teleological aspect of existence (beginning and end) as decreed by a higher power.
• 命 (//mìng//) vs. 令 (//lìng//): Both involve commands, but 命 typically emphasizes the act of delivery or the resulting allotment/fate, whereas 令 often refers to the rule, the standing order, or the instrument of authority itself.

Tang-period reading: *miæ̀ng; Fanqie reading: 眉病 (mí-bìng).

In early texts, the distinction between a royal decree and a divine mandate is often porous, as the king's word may be treated as the cosmic mandate. To determine if the sense is administrative or metaphysical, identify the "speaker" (even if implicit).