WORLD CIVILIZATION

Detailed explanation-1: -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-2: -The Mandate of Heaven was created in 1027 BCE and used by the Zhou Dynasty to overthrow the Shang empire and establish power. The Mandate was used for centuries to explain the rise and fall of dynasties in China.

Detailed explanation-3: -According to this theory, each dynasty of China rises to a political, cultural, and economic peak and then, because of moral corruption, declines, loses the Mandate of Heaven, and falls, only to be replaced by a new dynasty.

Detailed explanation-4: -When the Qin state emerged victorious from the Warring States period in 221 BCE, the state’s leader, King Zheng, claimed the Mandate of Heaven and established the Qin Dynasty. The Qin Dynasty was one of the shortest in all of Chinese history, lasting only about 15 years, but it was also one of the most important.

Detailed explanation-5: -The “Mandate of Heaven” is an ancient Chinese philosophical concept, which originated during the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE). The Mandate determines whether an emperor of China is sufficiently virtuous to rule; if he does not fulfil his obligations as emperor, then he loses the Mandate and thus the right to be emperor.