周秦之际天命观具有鬼神之天命、规律之天命和心性之天命等多重内涵。西周时期天命观是一种以鬼神之天命为核心内涵同时侧重于国家治理层面的天命观，但也含有后世规律之天命和心性之天命等天命观念之因子。在西周天命观的基础上，春秋战国时期鬼神之天命在国家宗教领域仍广有影响，但随着东周权力结构由王政走向霸政进而再度走向统一，社会思想领域里规律之天命、心性之天命则日益发展成主流。不惟如此，东周诸子还对上古天命观多重内涵进行了哲理化的理论建构，对中国古代政治哲学产生了深远的影响。

During the periods of Zhou and Qin, the concept of the mandate of Heaven had multiple connotations such as the mandate of ghosts and gods, the mandate of law and the mandate of the heart-mind and nature. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the concept of the mandate of Heaven was based on the mandate of ghosts and gods and meanwhile emphasized the governance of the state. However, it also contained some elements of the mandate of law and the mandate of the heart-mind and nature. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the mandate of ghosts and gods continued its influence in the sphere of national region. However, as the power structure of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty moved from royal government to hegemony and then to unification, the mandate of law and the mandate of the heart-mind and nature in the sphere of social ideology gradually became dominant. Moreover, philosophers in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty conducted theoretical construction to interpret the pluralistic connotations of the concept of the mandate of Heaven inherited from previous times, which had made a profound impact on ancient Chinese political philosophy.