Chinese Political Theory – 0607a

The Chinese, over time, developed a very long-lasting and complex set of political theories. These theories were dominant for more than a thousand years.

Mandate of Heaven - This idea was popularized by the Zhou dynasty. The idea is that the cosmos is dominated by an impersonal but all-powerful Heaven (t’ien), that no man rules except by the Mandate of Heaven, and that the ruler is entrusted with responsibility for “all under Heaven” (t’ien hsia). This last term was used to refer to China. The emperor was referred to as the “Son of Heaven” (although he was not considered to be divine.).

The Zhou political leaders who took over from the Shang emphasized the importance of the Mandate of Heaven. The Mandate served as propaganda for the new dynasty. The Shang had lost the Mandate, and the Zhou now held it. However, the Zhou understood the danger of the idea of the Mandate. If the Shang could loose the Mandate, so could the Zhou. Zhou rulers realized that they had to rule in a manner that would keep them in Heaven’s good graces. If the Zhou were not good to their people, a revolt might arise. In turn, that new rebellion might prove that the Zhou had lost the Mandate. From the time of the Mandate on, no dynasty was invulnerable. Any challenger had only to win in order to prove his legitimacy.

By Ch’in times, other doctrines had been added to the Mandate of Heaven. They are:

1) The Chinese world should be united under a single Son of Heaven, and his control should be effective and centralized.

2) In order to govern well, rulers need and should pay attention to capable, wise advisers. The high advisors obviously pressed this doctrine on their emperors. The fall of the Shang dynasty was partially blamed on failure to listen to the advice of qualified advisors. Confucians and Legalists both supported this idea, for obvious reasons.

3) Government exists to provide peace and order. From Zhou times on, there existed a clear, forcefully stated and reiterated (repeated) concept that Heaven willed mankind to live together in harmonious cooperation and in harmony with the cosmic universe. It was the responsibility of the emperors to see that such a condition was achieved.

4) Government should be humane and paternalistic (fatherly), giving high priority to helping the welfare of the people. Confucian thinkers definitely supported this idea. Looking back into Chinese history, many emperors realized that, “you may conquer the empire on horseback, but you cannot govern it on horseback.” Essentially, popular moral and support were necessary to the survival of a dynasty.

5) Government had control over all aspect of Chinese life. As Sons of Heaven, the emperors were responsible for everything that happened “under Heaven”. It follows that peace and order could not be their only concerns. For one thing, the emperors were responsible for the morality of the people. But, their duty did not stop there. In effect, the emperor was supposed to be an administrator, a military leader, a judge, an economic manager, a priest, a teacher, and a moral example for his people. His responsibility was total. Consequently, his power was unlimited in theory.