WORLD RELIGIONS

Detailed explanation-1: -The Mandate of Heaven was the belief that the Chinese emperor had a divine right to rule given him by the god or divine force known as Heaven or Sky. The emperor had absolute power but also a responsibility to rule for the good of his people.

Detailed explanation-2: -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.

Detailed explanation-3: -The ‘Mandate of Heaven’ established the idea that a ruler must be just to keep the approval of the gods. It was believed that natural disasters, famines, and astrological signs were signals that the emperor and the dynasty were losing the Mandate of Heaven.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Mandate of Heaven in Action The Zhou Dynasty used the idea of the Mandate of Heaven to justify the overthrow of the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 B.C.E.). Zhou leaders claimed that the Shang emperors had become corrupt and unfit, so Heaven demanded their removal.

Detailed explanation-5: -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.