GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Detailed explanation-1: -Intrinsic to the concept of the Mandate of Heaven was the right of rebellion against an unjust ruler. The Mandate of Heaven was often invoked by philosophers and scholars in China as a way to curtail the abuse of power by the ruler, in a system that had few other checks.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Zhou created the Mandate of Heaven: the idea that there could be only one legitimate ruler of China at a time, and that this ruler had the blessing of the gods. They used this Mandate to justify their overthrow of the Shang, and their subsequent rule.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Mandate of Heaven was understood as justifying the right to rule, with the corollary right to rebel against a ruler who did not fulfill his duties to the people. The state played a major role in determining water rights, famine control and relief, and insuring social stability.

Detailed explanation-4: -All of this came together in the central idea of Han rule-known as the Mandate of Heaven. It said that the emperors ruled because they had fulfilled their ren, meaning “benevolent duty, ‘’ to the community. But it also said that if they ruled badly, heaven would let them know it with crop failures or natural disasters.