Isaac Kronholm

4/28/15

Prof. Michelle Bauchman

SB110 B World Civilization

The Dynastic Cycle and the Mandate of Heaven

Every culture and civilization has its beginnings and, of course, its ends. In history, many

Chinese dynasties have risen and fallen and made their mark upon the world they inhabited.

In studying these risings and falls has shown scholars the Dynastic Cycle. This Cycle shows the

telltale signs and phases each dynasty went through and how it could predict future dynasties

would follow.

Some Chinese cultures believed in “The Mandate of Heaven”. This religion told that the

Emperor had divine right to rule over his people, but only if certain conditions was met. These

conditions range from keeping civilians happy to being dethroned.

The Dynastic Cycle has four different phases; Rise of a great empire, Taxes and

overspending, rebellions forming, and the eventual downfall. When a new dynasty was formed it

was viewed as a new age and it would be better. As time goes on, the leaders get greedy and

build massive monuments that have still survived today. To counteract this overspending, the

government would increase taxes to the breaking point of its civilians. In response to this

overwhelming tax, the civilians would rise up to form their own government. The rebellions

would succeed and the fall of the dynasty would be complete. This process has been named the

Dynastic Cycle because every Chinese dynasty that has risen has followed this same exact

pattern. (“The Heritage of World Civilizations”, 233)

The Mandate of Heaven allowed an Emperor to rule because he had been given direct

orders from God himself. People recognized this “right to rule” as common place but it did not

allow the ruler to do anything he wanted. In order for him to maintain his right has Emperor, he

had to keep his people happy and make sure they lead good and healthy lives. If these conditions

were not met, the people held the right to over through the government and constitute a new one

in its place.

These days, in our modern government, our president, officials, and representatives do

not maintain a “Mandate of Heaven” and are right to do so. This type of thinking would defiantly

not work as it was originally intended for today. If someone stepped up and proclaimed that God

had spoken to him and said that he has the right to be President, almost everyone in our modern

day culture would just ignore him and treat him as a religious fanatic. If this were ever to happen,

the media would, of course, leech out story after story about this person claiming to be ruler, but

it would not go beyond the seriousness of media coverage. This just does not happen in today’s

society and most likely, God would not choose a “prophet” to proclaim he is now ruler of the

United States or any other government for that reason.

In conclusion, every Chinese dynasty has a certain cycle that it would follow, the rise of

the empire, the overspending, the rebellions, and finally the fall. These Emperors believed that

they had been chosen by God to rule over the people, known as The Mandate of Heaven. This

methodology would not work in today’s society.