How was the term "Mandate of Heaven" used during the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties?
Upvote:2
A mandate is something that is granted but can be revoked. The Mandate of Heaven implies a sort of reciprocity. The people must obey their Emperor, but the Emperor must also be just or he may loose his "mandate". "The continuation of the mandate was believed to be conditioned by the personal behaviour of the ruler, who was expected to possess yi (“righteousness”) and ren (“benevolence”). If the emperor’s personal life became immoral or his rule tyrannical, Confucianists taught, he had not only lost his right to rule but should be removed by revolution, if necessary." (1)
According to professor of Chinese intellectual history at the University of British Columbia Josephine Chiu-Duke Official Confucianism, which emerged under the strong-willed Emperor Wu Ti in the second and first centuries BCE, claimed to be based on Confucian teaching. However it “absolutized” the relationship between the emperor and subjects, rulers and minister, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives. “The minister is bound by the ruler and so on and so forth,” she said. ”In other words the reciprocal relationship between ministers and rulers, sons and fathers, and wife and husband no longer exists.” (2)
I would guess that each time a dynasty was overthrown the new Emperor would refer to the old Emperor having lost his "mandate". Later he would downplay the "mandate" part and instead refer to himself as Son of Heaven.
(1) Tianming
More post
- 📝 Why do we study Mughals as part of medieval history of India and European conquest as modern India?
- 📝 What options India had other than getting its independence from Britain?
- 📝 What were the conditions of joining or leaving the Holy Roman Empire?
- 📝 What percent of Sparta's population were citizens in various centuries?
- 📝 How were heavier objects weighed in antiquity/middle ages?
- 📝 How long would it take to travel from England to the colonies in the early 1700s?
- 📝 Did B-17 crews run into difficulty releasing their bombs and does data exist on this?
- 📝 Was the Horo Cavalry "Balloon cloak" effective?
- 📝 Please identify this WW1 Italian Uniform
- 📝 When Hitler started WW2, did he realize that if he lost he would die?
- 📝 Did the defense of the Brest fortress make sense?
- 📝 Did the end of the British Raj in India create an economic loss for Britain?
- 📝 Why was the spread of Christianity scattered compared to other major religions?
- 📝 What happened to the french overseas colonies during the beginning of the french revolution?
- 📝 What is the origin of "Crévier's supplement" in William A McDevitte's 1850 translation of Livy's Ab Urbe Condita Libri?
- 📝 Can historiography be thought of as "fractal"?
- 📝 Was h*m*sexuality rarer in ancient Sparta than in any other Greek state?
- 📝 In WWII, how were all pilots/soldiers able to identify enemy vehicles?
- 📝 Why did Hitler declare war on the USA?
- 📝 Communication lag during the Age of Sail: what if enemy claimed that peace agreement was signed?
- 📝 Did the Nazi Army have a telephone conversation pattern?
- 📝 Did Soviet Union really consider using atomic bomb against US aircraft battlegroup?
- 📝 Did ninjas ever use a costume like the one we usually see in films?
- 📝 What was the UK Constitution in 1776, regarding taxation and representation?
- 📝 Was payment on Louisiana Bonds suspended during the War of 1812?
- 📝 What was the reason for the Dutch attack on Venezuela in 1908?
- 📝 What is known about the origins of the "western given-name-first-surname-last system"?
- 📝 When was the weekend changed in Jordan?
- 📝 When did "&" stop being taught alongside the alphabet?
- 📝 Was the Flakpanzer IV used against infantry? If not, what was?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How was the term "Mandate of Heaven" used during the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties?
- 📝 How was the relation between the Ottoman Empire and Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro during the Second Balkan War?
- 📝 How common was drug abuse and related deaths in the USA during the conservative 1950s?
- 📝 How and why did the Cavalry lance temporarily fall out of favour during the 16-18th centuries?
- 📝 How was Enguerrand VII de Coucy able to keep his allegiance to both king of England and France during the Hundred Years War?
- 📝 Did Viet Nam suffer a famine any time during the 1980s? And if not, how close was it to famine?
- 📝 Was the term 'renaissance' used during said period?
- 📝 During internment, how effective was the US at identifying and detaining Japanese-Americans?
- 📝 During the Chola dynasty how extensive was the use of Sanskrit in government and by the people?
- 📝 When and where was the term "nigra" used and what was its relation to "nigger"?
- 📝 When was the term "Dravida" first used and what is the context with which it was presented?
- 📝 How is the term "medieval" used to describe non-European civilizations and cultures?
- 📝 When was the term for WW2 first used and was it more popular in, say, US before Europe?
- 📝 How was the sea route to Asia and the discovery of the New World prompted by the fall of Constantinople? And who discovered the new world?
- 📝 Was the term connoisseur used during the 1400s?
- 📝 How and when was the modern company ownership structure invented?
- 📝 How difficult was to escape from a naval battle after engaging into one during the Age of Sail?
- 📝 How significant was the Fall of Constantinople as an event leading to the Age of Exploration?
- 📝 How and why was the boundary between West and East Berlin decided to be where it was?
- 📝 How was the modern geographic boundary between Europe and Asia decided?
- 📝 How advanced was the satellite technology during the Yom Kippur War?
- 📝 How close was the Soviet Union to collapsing during WW2?
- 📝 How was beer production affected by the war during WW2?
- 📝 How common was marriage between nobles and peasants in the Middle Ages?
- 📝 What was used instead of toilet paper in the US and the UK prior to 1900?
- 📝 How wide-spread was antisemitism in the USA during WWII?
- 📝 How was security on the Silk Road between China and the West maintained?
- 📝 If salt was scarce and expensive, how did people "salt the earth" to ensure their enemies would stay defeated?
- 📝 After the fall of the Roman Empire, where did their armor go? Was it used by any dark ages forces?
- 📝 How much oil was spilled by the naval combatants during WW2?