Mandate of Heaven and Dynastic Cycle
A Milestone Documents E-text
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Mandate of Heaven and Dynastic Cycle
https://doi.org/10.3735/9781961844568.book.part.024

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Abstract

Tian, or “Heaven,” in native Chinese religious belief is the supreme divine power reigning over the universe and human beings. The term and idea have been of basic importance in the worldview and religious life of the Chinese from the remote past to the present. The concept of the Mandate of Heaven developed in Zhou philosophy (ca. the eighth century BCE) and was attributed to Mencius (372–289 BCE).

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