The reason why so much importance is attached to ming is this. If a man is convinced that all the desirable things in life are due to Destiny, he is more likely to see the futility of pursuing them and instead bend his efforts to the pursuit of morality. Morality is the only object a man ought to pursue because being moral lies in making just such an effort and not in the successful outcome of one’s action. This is the meaning of the saying, ‘A man has no way of becoming a gentleman unless he understands Destiny (chih ming)’ (XX.3).
