The same 天 in different genres
Xunzi argues that Heaven’s course is not altered for good or bad rulers; a Shijing hymn praises the enduring mandate. The shared graph opens a question about local sense and genre, not proof that one statement directly answers the other.
天行有常，不為堯存，不為桀亡天 occurs in an assertion of regularity independent of two rulers.
tls · CC BY-SA 4.0 · KR3a0002_017.txt, lines 14–27維天之命，於穆不已天 belongs to a hymn’s language of the enduring mandate.
tls · CC BY-SA 4.0 · KR1c0001_026.txt, lines 44–47Make the comparison explicit
Xunzi argues that Heaven’s course is not altered for good or bad rulers; a Shijing hymn praises the enduring mandate. The shared graph opens a question about local sense and genre, not proof that one statement directly answers the other.
荀子: 天 occurs in an assertion of regularity independent of two rulers.
詩經: 天 belongs to a hymn’s language of the enduring mandate.
What should be checked before assigning a single translation to 天 in both passages?
Its predicates, surrounding argument, and the difference between argumentative prose and ritual praise.
Shared words, images, or constructions do not by themselves establish common meaning, authorship, or origin. An explicit citation is identified only where the wording itself supports it.
zimai · AI-assisted editorial notes · Editorial pilot · not independently reviewed. Original learning material: CC BY-SA 4.0. Source text, scholarly reference, and editorial interpretation remain separately attributed.