WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Under the Zhou Dynasty, China moved away from worship of Shangdi (“Celestial Lord”) in favor of worship of Tian (“heaven”), and they created the Mandate of Heaven.

Detailed explanation-2: -When the Zhou tribe overthrew the last Shang king, they had to convince the people, especially the nobles, that they had the right to rule. The Zhou told people that the gods in heaven had told them that they were to rule. This was called “The Mandate of Heaven", heaven’s orders.

Detailed explanation-3: -To legitimize their overthrow of Shang, they introduced the concept of Heaven (Tian), and the Mandate of Heaven. They believed that a king could rule only if he received heaven’s favor. This belief carried a sacred moral power and required that a king, the Son of Heaven, be a virtuous ruler.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Zhou used the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to justify their overthrow of the Shang Dynasty and to justify the rule of the Zhou Dynasty. Unlike the European concept of the “divine right” of kings, the Mandate of Heaven could be given to a person of common birth and could be lost.