Mandate of Heaven
Celestial ruling legitimacy
The Mandate of Heaven is a Chinese political doctrine holding that heaven grants rulers the right to govern based on their virtue and ability.
A ruler who becomes corrupt or incompetent loses this divine sanction, legitimizing rebellion and dynastic change.
The concept shaped Chinese imperial history for millennia, explaining both the rise and fall of dynasties: The floods and famines suggested the emperor had lost the Mandate of Heaven. (Lowercase mandate of heaven may refer to the concept generically.)
- throneCeremonial chair for sovereigns
- imperial authorityEmperor's governing power
- political theologyReligion's role in politics
- emperorMale ruler of empire
- dynastySuccessive family rulers
divine · celestial signs · Confucianism · oracle bones · moral authority · cosmic order · reign · Mencius · legitimacy · rebellion · peasant revolt · celestial order · omens · usurper · succession · Zhou · jade · virtue
- Ancient ChinaShang dynasty, Han dynasty, Confucius, Warring States period, oracle bones
- Imperial ChinaHan dynasty, emperor, dynasties, emperors, Three Kingdoms
- Chinese DynastiesMing Dynasty, Qing Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, imperial rule
- Eastern ReligionBuddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Daoism, Shinto
- Asian classicsI Ching, Analects, Laozi, Monkey King, Sun Tzu
- Chinese Mythologycreation story, Jade Emperor, white snake, celestial beings, fox spirits
Mandate of Heavensocial contract
Agreement exchanging freedom for order
popular sovereignty · consent of the governed · divine right of kings · electoral mandate · secular authority
Mandate of Heaventyranny
Oppressive, absolute governance
misrule · anarchy · interregnum · civil war
Mandate of Heavenpopular sovereignty
Populace holds ultimate authority
consent of the governed · birthright · divine right of kings · social contract · primogeniture
heaven, command, demand, mandate, demanding, commander, demanded, mandatory, recommendation