本文希望對《孟子》的「命」觀念作一觀念史視角的考察，一方面爬梳《詩》、《書》之「命」概念的始源結構，作為討論《孟子》多層「命」論的歷史參照脈絡，孟子對「命」概念的複雜使用能夠由此得到深入理解；另一方面，透過具體考察，本文意在揭示「命」的特定用語所關涉的更廣泛的時代背景和問題關懷，如天與人、德行與福祿、信仰與自主以及道德的生活方式等問題。我們的結論是，在《孟子》中並不存在單一的「命」觀念，而是至少有三個層面的意義區分：正命、俟命與立命，分別意味著理性的天、人立界，對「差遣」的積極等待，以及根本的生存決斷。三個層面也可分別看作一位普通人、一位「士」、一位想要道德地生活的「士」等三種存在考量。

This article examines the concept of ming 命 in the context of the history of ideas. It first elaborates the original conceptual framework of ming in the classical texts of the Shijing 詩經 and the Shujing 書經. The formulation of ming in these works made it plausible for Mengzi 孟子to use the term in a complex and somewhat puzzling way. Second, this article addresses the broad social changes and philosophical considerations behind the concept, such as the connections between heaven and man, the self and others, virtue and happiness, belief and autonomy, and ideal existence. It draws the conclusion that there is no one simple idea of ming in the Mengzi and that it is necessary to distinguish between at least three aspects in the concept: zhengming 正命, siming 俟命, and liming 立命, which respectively denote the rational demarcation between heaven and man, the positive expectation of a “calling,” and the resolved self-commitment to a moral existence. These three aspects can be understood from three different perspectives – that of an ordinary person, that of an intellectual, and that of an intellectual who aims at a moral life.