The Mandate of Heaven

The

Mandate

of Heaven

How Chinese Emperors Justify Their Power

Poll

What quality do you want most in a leader?

• Professional Experience in Government

• Physical Strength

• Charming Personality

• Good Looks

Poll

What is the best way to choose a leader?

• Citizens vote for their leaders

• Leaders inherit power from their parents

• Wealthy people bid for the leadership position

• Strong leaders use armies to fight other leaders and the winner becomes the leader

The

Mandate

of Heaven

How Chinese Emperors Justify Their Power

Justify

• to give an acceptable explanation of something that other people think is unreasonable

PARTNER DISCUSSION

How do American Presidents justify their power?

​

Why do we find it reasonable to give all this power to our presidents?

The Mandate of Heaven

• The Mandate of Heaven is what the Chinese people believed gave their rulers the right to be king or emperor.

• It meant that the gods had blessed that person with the right to rule.

• A ruler had to be a good and just ruler to keep the Mandate of Heaven.

The Mandate of Heaven

• When a ruler or dynasty lost power and became weak, this meant that they must also have lost the Mandate of Heaven.  

• Poor crops, losses in battle, and natural disasters were considered indications that the ruler had lost the mandate.

PARTNER DISCUSSION

Try to explain The Mandate of Heaven using the terms: China, emperor, justify, rule, gods, and natural disasters.

The

Dynastic Cycle

Explains the Rise and Fall of Dynasties in China

Dynasty

• a family of rulers whose parents, grandparents, etc have ruled for many years

Cycle

• a number of related events that happen again and again in the same order

PARTNER DISCUSSION

Try to explain the Dynastic Cycle using the terms: new dynasty, old dynasty, corruption, and natural disasters.

Step 1

A new dynasty brings peace and provides land and protection to the people. They would also provide infrastructure

Infrastructure

• the basic systems and structures that a country or needs in order to work properly

• for example:

  roads, irrigation, crop storage, etc

Step 2

An old dynasty fails to do a good job. Maybe they tax people too heavily, treat people unfairly, or can't protect their people.

Step Three

The people start to question if the dynasty lost the Mandate of Heaven.

​​

​

Step Four

A new dynasty claims the Mandate of Heaven.

​

​Dynasties often ended with natural disasters, peasants' revolts, or invasions.

Drag and Drop

Chinese emperors used the ​

Placeholder

to justify their rule. They claimed that the ​

Placeholder

gave the mandate, and thus, the gods gave them the power to ​

Placeholder

. The gods could also take away the mandate from ​

Placeholder

rulers. The gods could send ​

Placeholder

as a sign that the dynasty lost its mandate.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Mandate of Heaven

gods

rule

corrupt

natural disasters

Drag and Drop

The Dynastic Cycle starts with a ​

Placeholder

that brings peace and provides infrastructure. However, as time goes on, the dynasty becomes ​

Placeholder

and the people are very unhappy. When this happens, people assume that ​

Placeholder

are a sign from the ​ gods that the dynasty has lost its mandate. The people will then rebel against what is now an ​

Placeholder

and replace it with a new dynasty. Then, the entire ​

Placeholder

starts over again.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

new dynasty

corrupted

natural disasters

old dynasty

cycle

Open Ended

What is the Mandate of Heaven?

Please write in complete sentences and include the terms:

China, emperor, justify rule, gods, natural disasters.

Open Ended

What is the Dynastic Cycle?

Please write in complete sentences and include the terms:

new dynasty, infrastructure, old dynasty, corruption, natural disasters