In his book Fortune and Fate, Professor Wang Pang-hsiung of National Central University's Chinese Literature Department points out that Confucius's dictum about "knowing fate" is an admission that heaven's decree is unavoidable and nothing can be attained by force.
中央大學中文系教授王邦雄在「緣與命」一書中指出，孔子的「知命」，頗有承認天命難違，凡事不要強求的意味。