天命

Etymology
Attested earliest on Zhou dynasty's bronze inscriptions, though during the Western Zhou period, the concept was not exactly worded as but 大令 (dàlìng), 大命 (dàmìng), 魯令 (lǔlìng) & 天令 (tiānlìng) (however,  and  were indeed used interchangeably). Goldin (2017) links Zhou's concept to 's concept 帝令 (dìlìng) "the 's command" attested in the Shang's.

Noun

 * 1) the myriad of things in nature which make up the law of nature or natural law
 * 2) the will of heaven
 * 3) the Mandate of Heaven
 * 4) one's fate or destiny
 * 5) one's nature or natural instincts
 * 6) one's innate skills or gifts
 * 7) one's life span or life expectancy
 * 1) one's nature or natural instincts
 * 2) one's innate skills or gifts
 * 3) one's life span or life expectancy
 * 1) one's life span or life expectancy

Proper noun

 * 1)  the Tianming era