Between the Emperor of Heaven and the King:The Manifestation and Evolution of"the Mandate of Heaven"in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties
The concept of the Mandate of Heaven is the theoretical cornerstone of the logic behind dynastic changes and the logic of state governance in ancient China.As a concept,it first appeared in the Shang-Zhou period.In terms of the subject granting the Mandate,the Shang dynasty used the term"Di(Emperor)"to express the concept of"Heaven".The order from"Di"was the early manifestation of the Mandate of Heaven.The concept of"Huang Tian Shang Di"emerged during the Western Zhou dynasty,with the"Tian Di"(Emperor of Heaven)as the grantor of the Mandate.By the same token,with the continuous strengthening of the royal power of the Zhou dynasty,the grantors of the Mandate of Heaven evolved in specific political practice to include the Zhou king and even the rulers of various feudal states,resulting in the phenomenon of substituting the orders of"king"or"ruler"to the heaven's will.Regarding the receiving end of the Mandate,the"Di"of the Shang dynasty,as the supreme deity,not only commanded other deities,but also conferred orders the mandate to Shang kings and nobles at all levels.The Zhou people deliberately focused the recipients of the Mandate within political realms.They linked the recipients with"De(virtue)"as to explain the dynastic changes and to guide national governance.This development transformed the Mandate of Heaven from the natural religion in the Shang dynasty into a national political and ethical state religion in the Zhou dynasty,exhibiting certain characteristics of Shintoism.This trend continued into the Eastern Zhou dynasty,where individual recipients of the Mandate became increasingly important aspect of this concept.This shift not only reflected the classical humanistic spirit but also had a significant impact on the development of state political philosophy from the Qin and Han dynasties onwards.
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