Mandate Of Heaven

In the republic, people were able to vote for or against senators, consuls, and important issues. There were different levels of government, legislative, administrative, and executive, that checked each other and kept almost everything in balance. The Han government, on the other hand, gave less power to the people and their government was less consistent. The emperor had executive power, but some emperors were unsuccessful due to power being passed through families. From around 32 B.C.E. TO 9 C.E., there were unprepared rulers whose inexperience opened up a window for Wang Mang, a Confucian soldier, to gain power and end the Former Han Dynasty. While he was in the midst of restoring order to the land, wealthy rebels assassinated him and within 2 years after the death of Wang Mang, the old imperial family rose back into power and started the Later Han Dynasty that thrived until old problems

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 If a ruler is not equitable, in other words, the Mandate of Heaven can be withdrawn and bestowed upon a more qualified ruler.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

Most societies that developed in ancient civilizations were centered around some form of imperial administration and Imperial Rome (31 B.C.E.-476 C.E.) and Han China (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.) were no different in this sense. Both civilizations had a network of cities and roads, with similar technologies that catalyzed cultural amalgamation and upgraded the standard of living, along with comparable organizational structures. Additionally, both civilizations had problems managing their borders and used similar tactics for defense. However, the Chinese Emperor was interpreted as a God while the Roman Emperor was a lugal, or big man, who had to fight not only to gain power, but to push through his initiatives. The similarities and differences

As an uniformed China was his ultimate goal, he standardized currency, weight, measures, and writing script. He was able to construct a highway system and repair The Great Wall. Legalism also helped build a strong army, an efficient bureaucracy, a compliant populace, and showed the importance of a strong central government. Ultimately though, the harshness of Legalism is what killed the Qin empire. Thousands who fled from punishment under the Qin Dynasty revolted after King Zheng’s and his heirs deaths. Army generals defected and former nobles raised armies. Eventually, a man of modest background, Liu Bang, became the new emperor of

Although the foundation of both empires was built upon political integration, their organization of government differed. The Han Dynasty’s centralized power and administration was based on a bureaucratic system while the Roman Empire’s imperial power was based on a one-man sovereign. In order to improve Chinese society, which was under tyrannical rule under the Qin Dynasty, the Han Empire centralized their government with the synthesis between an imperial family and the new scholar-gentry class under a bureaucratic system. By securing power to overthrow the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang provided lands to those military supporters who helped with the task. From the land grants given, the royal families and supporters were entitled

Civilians could obtain government jobs by taking examinations. Loyal followers were also rewarded government posts by their emperor. Now what would The Han Dynasty and The Roman Empire do without their great and strong emperors? The emperors are pretty much the building foundations of the empire. Rome had the one and only Octavian who later took the title of Augustus. Augustus was Julius Caesar’s grandnephew and adopted son. He became the Roman Empire’s first emperor after defeating the combined forces of Mark Anthony and Queen Cleopatra. He brought the empire to a long and peaceful period which is known as Pax Romana. He also glorified Rome and created a form of government which is known as a bureaucracy that survived for centuries. There were other great emperors of Rome like: Nerva, Hadrian, Trajan, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelias. Nerva began the custom of adopting heir. Hadrian consolidated earlier conquests and reorganized the bureaucracy. Trajan help the empire reach its greatest extent; he undertook vast bulding programs and enlarged social welfare. Antoninus Pius reign largely a period of peace and prosperity similar to Pax Romana. Marcus Aurelias brought the Roman Empire to its height of economic prosperity, defeated invaders, and wrote a philospy. The Han Dynasty had the great emperor Wudi who reigned for 141 to 87 B.C; he was the emperor who ruled the longest. He was a courageous emperor; he expanded the Chinese empire through war. When

Qin Shi Huang Di is remembered as one of the greatest rulers in Chinese’s history, he has benefited China by many of his creations, but some see him as the emperor who killed millions and burned knowledgable books. Although, he only ruled for 15 years, he successfully united China after centuries of civil war and built an empire that has lasted to this very day, he is known as both a brutal tyrant and a great leader. He created a unified system of weights and measures, writing and currency, but used violence to take control of China which eventually killed many scholars and burnt books to wipe out heresy and brutality which was the basis of his greatest achievements. He started many major structures such as the early structure of the

If an emperor could not trust anyone with sufficient power to deal with a distant problem, most likely the problem was not dealt with at all. “This sense of neglect by central government prompted a region to rebel and proclaim it’s own emperor” (Goldsworthy). A solution to this problem was to have two emperors. This system had very little success and caused even more separation of military and civil order. Overall, the fear of usurpers overtaking power, lead emperors to lose focus on the necessary credentials of a successful society. The government had limited ambitions and lacked concern for major issues such as health, education, and agriculture.

Before Qin became emperor, the government system was not fair. He improved it by ranking officials according to their achievements and abilities. Instead of having status because of family, soldiers would be promoted

Around the year 1046 BCE, King Wu, of the province of Zhou, rebelled against King Zhou of Shang and defeated his forces at the Battle of Muye, establishing the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046- 256 BCE). 1046-771 BCE marks the Western Zhou Period while 771-226 BCE marks the Eastern Zhou Period. The Mandate of Heaven was invoked by the Duke of Zhou, King Wu’s younger brother, to legitimize the revolt as he felt the Shang were no longer acting in the interests of the people. The Mandate of Heaven was thus defined as the gods’ blessing on a just ruler and rule by divine mandate. When the government no longer served the will of the gods, that government would be overthrown. Further, it was stipulated that there could be only one legitimate ruler of China

In the Roman empire, many different people seized the throne in a short period of time, they were known as barracks emperors. In the Han Empire,after the death of a well respected Han, Wang Mang took control of the throne. Wang Mang is often times known as the socialist emperor. He attempted to fix a land distribution issue by breaking of large estates, redistribute them, and provide landless individuals with property to cultivate. He had good intentions but, it resulted in confusion. Landlords resisted a policy that threatened their holding and even peasants did not approve. In the end, it left chaos. Wang Mang was revolted against. The poor leadership from both Empires left the empires unstable, and unable to mend itself of any issues collectively. It was a catalyst in the fall of

Emperor Wudi, also known as Liu Che劉徹, was the fifth emperor of the Han Dynasty and one of the most famous Han rulers. He had two goals: have a centralized administration and expand his empire. He was a very great military leader but also promoted peace, like the Roman Empire, that later brought great prosperity to China itself. Wudi came to throne at age 15 and reigned from 141 BC to 87 BC.

The Mandate of Heaven (Tianming), which is the concept of legitimatizing a dynasty after it has conquered a previous dynasty, is a very interesting subject. Although I have studied Chinese history and have heard of the Mandate of Heaven the detail surrounding it origins eluded me. The Zhou dynasty which defeated the Shang dynasty used the Mandate of Heaven as a way to legitimize their reason for attacking the village/kingdom. There was some discussion about the last King of Shang being corrupt, unfair, and unvirtuous. He was a killer of virtuous ministers. Basically calling the last King of Shang a tyrant, dictator and every horrible thing one can think of even a cannibal. But this account of the last Shang King was written by the Zhou leaders and it stands to

implement the policies of the emperor they are also very important to the spread of the

A ruler, in China, is the most honored person in the Chinese society, but the ruler has an obligation to be a moral and upright individual. The Tao addresses these individuals on page