MS Ancient History-The Rise of Civilization: Ancient & Imperial China

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By Kallie Szczepanski
Kallie Szczepanski
History Expert

• Ph.D., History, Boston University
• J.D., University of Washington School of Law
• B.A., History, Western Washington University

Dr. Kallie Szczepanski is a history teacher specializing in Asian history and culture. She has taught at the high school and university levels in the U.S. and South Korea.

The "Mandate of Heaven" is an ancient Chinese philosophical concept, which originated during the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 B.C.E.). The Mandate determines whether an emperor of China is sufficiently virtuous to rule. If he does not fulfill his obligations as emperor, then he loses the Mandate and thus, the right to be emperor.

There are four principles to the Mandate:

1. Heaven grants the emperor the right to rule,
2. Since there is only one Heaven, there can only be one emperor at any given time,
3. The emperor's virtue determines his right to rule, and,
4. No one dynasty has a permanent right to rule.

Signs that a particular ruler had lost the Mandate of Heaven included peasant uprisings, invasions by foreign troops, drought, famine, floods, and earthquakes. Of course, drought or floods often led to famine, which in turn caused peasant uprisings, so these factors were often interrelated.

Although the Mandate of Heaven sounds superficially similar to the European concept of the "Divine Right of Kings," in fact it operated quite differently. In the European model, God granted a particular family the right to rule a country for all time, regardless of the rulers' behavior. The Divine Right was an assertion that God essentially forbade rebellions, as it was a sin to oppose the king.

In contrast, the Mandate of Heaven justified rebellion against an unjust, tyrannical, or incompetent ruler. If a rebellion was successful in overthrowing the emperor, then it was a sign that he had lost the Mandate of Heaven and the rebel leader had gained it. In addition, unlike the hereditary Divine Right of Kings, the Mandate of Heaven did not depend upon royal or even noble birth. Any successful rebel leader could become emperor with Heaven's approval, even if he was born a peasant. To read more, click HERE. 

Bronze Age China
     Xia dynasty (c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC)
     Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BC)
     Zhou dynasty (c. 1046 – 256 BC|BCE)
          Western Zhou (1046–771 BC)

Iron Age China
     Zhou dynasty (continued)
          Eastern Zhou
               Spring and Autumn period (771 – 476 BC)
               Warring States period (475 – 221 BC)
Ancient Chinese history, by region
     Ancient history of Beijing
     Ancient history of Shanghai
     Ye

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_ancient_China 

Click HERE to enjoy Ms. Jeremie, document.

To see all four pages of this lesson, click HERE.