Tianming
E814612
Tianming is the Chinese philosophical and political doctrine asserting that a ruler’s legitimacy is granted by a transcendent moral order and can be revoked if they govern unjustly.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Chinese philosophical concept
ⓘ
Chinese political doctrine ⓘ doctrine of political legitimacy ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
Confucianism
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
ancient Chinese political thought ⓘ early Zhou dynasty ideology ⓘ |
| canBeLostBy |
corruption
ⓘ
persistent injustice ⓘ tyranny ⓘ |
| canBeTransferredTo | new ruling house ⓘ |
| centralIdea |
Heaven can revoke a ruler’s mandate
ⓘ
moral conduct is basis of political legitimacy ⓘ ruler’s legitimacy is granted by Heaven ⓘ |
| contrastsWith | hereditary divine right independent of morality ⓘ |
| developedIn | Western Zhou period NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| differsFrom | unconditional divine right of kings ⓘ |
| hasChineseName | 天命 ⓘ |
| hasComponent |
命 (mandate or command)
ⓘ
天 (Heaven) ⓘ |
| hasEpistemicSign |
natural catastrophes
ⓘ
omens and portents ⓘ widespread famine and rebellion ⓘ |
| hasLanguage | Classical Chinese NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasLiteralMeaning | Mandate of Heaven ⓘ |
| hasNormativeFunction | sets moral standards for rulers ⓘ |
| hasRegion | China NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasTemporalScope | from Western Zhou through late imperial China ⓘ |
| historicallyAppliedTo |
legitimation of new dynasties
ⓘ
moral evaluation of fallen dynasties ⓘ |
| implies |
natural disasters may signal loss of legitimacy
ⓘ
popular unrest may signal loss of mandate ⓘ rebellion can be morally justified if ruler is tyrannical ⓘ ruler must govern justly and benevolently ⓘ |
| influenced |
Chinese historiography of dynastic cycles
ⓘ
imperial Chinese dynastic theory ⓘ |
| involves |
relationship between Heaven, ruler, and people
ⓘ
transcendent moral order ⓘ |
| linkedTo | idea that people’s welfare reflects Heaven’s will ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
Heaven (天)
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
benevolent government (仁政) ⓘ virtue (德) ⓘ |
| requires |
care for the people
ⓘ
good governance ⓘ ruler’s virtue ⓘ |
| servesAs | framework for judging political authority in traditional China ⓘ |
| usedToJustify | overthrow of the Shang dynasty by the Zhou ⓘ |
| viewedAs | conditional mandate ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.