mandate of heaven
Celestial right rule
A mandate of heaven, used generically, refers to any claimed divine right to rule or any situation where legitimacy depends on virtuous governance.
The phrase echoes the Chinese political concept but applies more broadly: Every regime eventually faces its own mandate of heaven problem. (Capitalized Mandate of Heaven is the specific Chinese doctrine.)
- divineOf or from gods
- emperorMale ruler of empire
- dynastySuccessive family rulers
- throneCeremonial chair for sovereigns
- legitimacyLawful or rightful status
rebellion · Zhou · virtue · moral order · rule · sovereignty · celestial · jade · dragon · cosmic · cosmic order · authority · succession · blessing · oracle · decree · Shang dynasty · righteous
- East Asian Culturechopsticks, yin and yang, tea ceremony, origami, qi
- Ancient ChinaShang dynasty, Han dynasty, Confucius, Warring States period, oracle bones
- Asian historyancient China, China, empresses, shoguns, Chinese civilization
- Imperial ChinaHan dynasty, emperor, dynasties, emperors, Three Kingdoms
- Ancient AsiaTang Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, Confucius, Great Wall, ancient China
- Asian RoyaltyJapanese emperor, empress, dowager empress, Kangxi, Hirohito
mandate of heavenusurpation
Wrongful seizure of power
popular sovereignty · consent of the governed · brute force · tyranny · social contract
mandate of heavendivine right of kings
Monarchs rule by celestial mandate
mandate, mandates, mandated, mandating, mandatory, heaven, heavens, heavenly, heavenward