Ancient Nations and Their Understanding of Leadership

In China during 406-221 BCE, the battling states between the Zhou and the Han Dynasties? were in a state of governmental disorder. Although the era was in a disruptive state, it ushered in a cultural opening that left a long lasting imprint on the Chinese history. As a result, three major belief systems surfaced Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism in an attempt to achieve a sense of political order in a disorder period. There are distinctions in the way each of the belief systems approached the many problems that plagued the Chinese society. First, all of the founders were contemporaries in China. As well as considered philosophies, who studied the future, and sat out to focus on the present rather than the past. In contrast, Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism established various paths in search of an optimistic future for the success of China. Second, both Legalism and Confucianism developed a social belief system, but are considered a religion. However, both Legalism and Confucianism purpose was to create an orderly society in the hopes of prosperity. In contrast, Daoism does

Throughout pre-unification China, the Mandate of Heaven was used as a justification in the acquisition and eradication of dynasties. The Mandate of Heaven, the idea that a ruler reigned only with the blessing of the heavens, was seen as a way to legitimize a dynasty and its ruler. Although it may seem as if a heavenly mandate gives a ruler absolute power, this is actually not the case. Instead, Mencius, a philosopher who emphasizes benevolent governance, asserts that a ruler can both acquire and lose the heavenly mandate based on his behavior and the treatment of his subjects. If a ruler is not equitable, in other words, the Mandate of Heaven can be withdrawn and bestowed upon a more qualified ruler. Thus, although the mandate sounds

The Mandate of Heaven transfered its amndate to rule China. This is wht the Zhou rulers claimed direct links to the Shang rule. It was an imperial rulefrom the Zhou onward. As a result, emperors lived in a world full of awe inspiring pomp and ceremony. This connect to simularities today because instead of the Mndate og Heaven, we now have elections to choose ouir next "ruler". In addition to another develpoment, the Zhou Dynasty discouraged religions, human sacrafices, and ceremonies to worship gods. Thay all did this because it provided a greater cultural unoty in their empire. In that eveny, the larest speaking group of peoplr poke that same launguage and all wrote the saem. There is no direct continuity fom that. One more additon from the Zhou Dynasty is that it promothed linguistoc unity. They began a process of everyone speaking the same laugage and everyone writing the same. This writibng system was known as the Mandrid. In consequence, increasimg cultursl unty, the Zhou empire began to fail due to political confusion. The relationship from tis concept relates to modern day because English is the 1st known writing system and language ther

From 600 BCE to 600 CE, China experienced changes in its political system in terms of the dissimilar ruling styles of different leaders, the rule under Legalism, and the influence of philosophical thinking like Daoism. These changes, influenced by aspects of the world and its own region, shaped China into its Classical state. In contrast, the concept of the Mandate of Heaven, the civil service system, and the significance of unity through a strong central government remained constant throughout China’s Classical period. These continuities followed through, staying essentially the same as an important part of China’s identity.

What is leadership, and how do we attain the best and most effective leaders? These are questions that are as old as civilization itself. Bass (1974) wrote that, “from its infancy, the study of history has been the study of leaders” (as cited in Wren, 1995, p. 50). Since the study of history in the West is commonly held to begin with Herodotus of ancient Athens, it is not surprising that we should examine the historical views of leadership through the eyes of two titans of Greek thought: Plato and Aristotle.

Prior to 600 CE, the unique civilizations discussed exerted their power in many different ways. Some of them, like India and the Chinese Qin Dynasty, enforced their rule using religion, while others, like Rome, Chinese Han Dynasty, and Greece sought to rule using more legal or philosophical methods.

Mandate of Heaven is an ancient Chinese belief and philosophical that heaven granted emperors the right to rule based on their ability to govern well and fairly.

Deity, there is thus perhaps no real Deity with the capital letter to be equated with the God of Western religion. We have seen that Heaven eventually becomes the term customarily used for the Supreme Ruler, but we now know that behind or beyond heaven, there are the workings of yang and yin which have their source in tao (Thompson, 6). There is nothing distinctively Chinese in the way whereby the forces of nature were personified or the heavenly bodies were believed to exercise a direct influence in human affairs, or the way in which otherwise inexplicable occurrences of disease and other misfortunes were attributed to malignant spirits. The deification of human beings characteristic of both family and folk religion is somewhat more exceptional, although not unique (Thompson, 7). The founder of Taoism is Lao Zi and Chuan Tze, the school advocates the doctrine that the Dao is the course, the principle, the substance, and the standard of all things, to which all of them must conform. Based on the Dao De Jing, Taoism promotes the belief that a person should live a simple life, not to strive for wealth, fame or power, which will only give one worries and trouble. The school favors the political principle of “achieving good government through

Ancient China’s rich history has a direct influence on the China of the 21st century. First, the immense importance of the cultivation of rice, which became a staple source of food in China for centuries. Next, the primary source of accounts of ancient china comes from the Shujing, which spanned the Xia, Shang, and Zhou empires. Furthermore, The power women could hold reached its heights during the Shang empire, and underwent a downward trajectory during the Zhou empire. Moreover, regime changes have had a unique outcomes in China due to the “Mandate of Heaven” which gave new regimes the control over the civilians of the conquered empires. Lastly, the decline of the Zhou came about from the power of local rulers who began to seek their own interests. Ultimately, the mandate of heaven bears responsibility for keeping China intact for centuries regardless of conflicts and shifts in power.

For example, Han China believed in the “Mandate of Heaven”. The Mandate of Heaven was basically a system that was used to determine the next ruler of China. The belief was that if negative events such as an invasion of an enemy nation, a natural disaster, a drought or famine(etc.) occurred then the ruling family’s time was up and it was time for another family to rule.

During each period, there is always a leader who changes a basic component of society: a king or ruler. We find characteristics of leaders as well as what changes they made in the ancient and medieval period. It is important to study ancient history because we can learn the mistakes and impacts of the decisions they made. During the time periods, organization depended upon the leader that brought change to the state. The organization of government relied upon the role of certain individuals or groups.

“ [. . .] an important force of nature, unlike our concept of Supreme Being. [. . .] The Mandate of Heaven became a fundamental principle of Chinese government.

When the ancient peoples of the past expanded their group sizes from small bands to larger chiefdoms, they gained a certain level of increased political leadership. This stage of growth involved a process of urbanization were eighty percent of the population lived within cities. These first cities had strictly drawn social positions and were involved in trade with neighboring cities. Another key characteristic of these cities was the management of economic resources the advent of a more structured political leadership.

Try to imagine these three distinct situations: The year is 1124 B.C.E and in China, the Zhou dynasty has recently prevailed over the largely successful Shang Empire. Just years earlier in approximately 3100 B.C.E, near the smooth flowing Nile, a conqueror by the name of Menes (Narmer) was in the process of establishing a centralized state which was to be ruled by the supreme pharaoh. Back in “the land between the two rivers”, Babylonian ruler King Hammurabi was enforcing his strict judgements and codes of law. Based on these three separate situations, it is easy to view and perceive the cultural differences between each ancient civilization. Despite cultural differences, miles of separation, and existence in difference centuries, all three of the civilizations discussed above share one distinct similarity that links them all together—The link between Earth and heaven. All three civilizations maintained an expectation for their kings to perform the same task: to serve as the main connector between the heavens and life on Earth.

Religion and traditional government were intertwined which meant that all State matters had a religious influence while at the same time politics had a considerable control over the religious practices. These religious practices that were based on Confucian values had an underlying belief that Heaven provided the political power and that the political decisions came from Heaven. Sacrifice to Heaven is one of the three that were directly related the Confucian values. The other two that will be discussed later include sacrifice to ancestors and sacrifice to Confucius. It is important to note that the three sacrifices were the pillars of the traditional government. Heaven formed an important aspect that determined the structure of the universe and all the people living in the universe. It was seen as an essential force that was responsible for the proper functioning of religious activities, political matters, the moral conduct of people and in general the daily their lives. In ancient China, heaven was used in a spiritual perspective and hence the reason for the great influence that religion exerted in political systems. Spiritual matters were viewed to be the driver of everything that happened in the universe and hence sacrifice to Heaven was taken very seriously by the people. The ceremony associated with the sacrifice to heaven was performed with great care according to the writings in the Confucian classics.