What is the true origin of the Mandate of Heaven theory?

While the Mandate of Heaven probably was originally used to legitimize Zhou rule to some extent, the idea eventually became used as a centerpiece of Confucian political theory and subject to the definitions, assumptions, and ideals of that theory - e.g., what made a king “good,” and what it meant to be “just. read more

So the Mandate of Heaven was more or less the formal Confucian answer to these questions and, as in other systems, underpinned the rest of Confucian theory. In this sense, the Mandate of Heaven as we know it was heavily Confucian. read more

what does the theory of the mandate of heaven suggest about the nature of chinese society. read more

The Mandate of Heaven or Tian Ming (Chinese: 天命; pinyin: Tiānmìng; Wade–Giles: T'ien-ming) is a Chinese political and religious doctrine used since ancient times to justify the rule of the King or Emperor of China. read more