《禮記》一書，歷來與《呂氏春秋》、《淮南子》、《易傳》等被視為先秦末期至漢初思想揉合期之產物。而後世儒家將禮記列為十三經之一，其歸屬儒家殆無疑義。記為解經之書，《禮記》本為七十子親聆夫子講禮之筆記，或孔門後學及後世經師傳授《儀禮》之講解劄記，其重要性既不能與記載周代官制的《周官》（周禮）相提並論，也無法與條析禮儀制度的《儀禮》相抗衡，是以最初並不受學者注目。然而經過東周、秦以至於漢，周代的官制與禮制在經過數百年的世移俗變，對當前社會型態的契合度已然大大消褪，故《周官》與《儀禮》的重要性也隨之遞減。而禮記反因其解釋體的本質與意義，超越了禮儀規範條文的時代限制，遂一越而成三禮之首。先秦儒家中，孔、孟、荀對「命」各有發揮，此外在《書經》、《詩經〉以及後起的《易傳》也多有著墨。作為儒家在秦漢之際思想揉合時期代表的《禮記》，其對於「命」的界定與闡述，既有融合孟荀的折衷看法，也有超越性的獨創見解，成為研究秦漢之際儒家思想遞嬗的重要佐證。《禮記》中提及「命」字之處甚多， 但較有哲學意涵的則以〈禮運〉、〈樂記〉、〈中庸〉、〈表記〉、〈大學〉等幾篇較為重要。本文擬就以下幾個部份進行撰寫：一、先秦儒家對命的闡述二、《禮記》中的命三、《禮記》論命的時代意義祈盼藉由此一理路之爬梳剔抉，能將禮記一書中對於命的探討及其時代性演變有所釐清，則亦不無小得矣！

"The Book of Rites" 禮記 has often been considered along side with "Lüshi Chunqiu/Mister Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals" 呂氏春秋, "Huainanzi" 淮南子, and "Yi Zhuan/The Book of Yi" 易傳, as one of the masterpieces which expresses the thoughts during late Qing and early Hang dynasties. Scholars usually enlist The Book of Rites as one of the thirteen classcis of Confucianism and view it as a book of annotations.Indeed, "The Book of Rites" contains of notes of Confucius's disciples attending the lecture of their master, or annotations of Confucianists especially on issues related to rituals. It cannot compete with "Rites of zhou" 周禮 or Yili 儀禮 in significance because it does not address the bureaucratic system nor the liturgical practice, therefore has not been valued by early scholars.With the social changes during the East Zhou, Qing and Han dynasties, the government systems and rites have both considerably transformed; with them, the value of "Rites of Zhou" and "Yili" faded out. On the contrary, as The Book of Rites addresses the general nature and meaning of the rituals which go beyond the specific norms of certain historical periods, it is later considered to possess transcendental value.Among the Confucianists in pre-Qing Dynasty, Confucius, Mencius andXunzi have all expressed their understanding about "ming"/destiny 命. Besides, the issue is widely discussed in Classic of History 書經, "Classic of Poetry" 詩經, and later, "Yi Zhuan" 易傳. As "The Book of Rites" amalgamates the philosophy of different Confucian thinkers during Qing and Han dynasties, the treatises on the concept of destiny also vary; whereas some try to find a balance between Mencius and Xunzi, others offer transcendent views. These documents are pivotal in the studies of the evolution of Confucianism.There are many passages in "The Book of Rites", where destiny is mentioned. However, chapters of "Liyun" 禮運, “Yueji" 樂記, "Zhongyo ng" 中庸, "Biaoji" 表記, "Da-Xue" 大學 contain more significant discussions. The article plans to illustrate the following: 1.The statements concerning destiny among pre-Qing Confucianists.2.Destiny in "The Book of Rites", including the heritage of the Confucianism in early Qing Dynasty and its definition and explications.3.The historical developments of the concept of destiny as expressed in "The Book of Rites", especially those combining Confucianism of Han dynasty and the new interpretations in time.By tracing the historical evolution, the author investigates the concept of destiny and illuminates its significance in one of the most important classics.