Question

How did the Mandate of Heaven affect the government in China?

Answer 1

Hint: The Mandate of Heaven can be understood in terms of the divine right of the king or emperor to rule his subjects. These rights are seen as bestowed upon the king by God itself and therefore, are seen as unobjectionable.

Complete answer: After the Zhou dynasty took over the Shang dynasty, they established this philosophical thought of the Mandate of Heaven. According to this thought, there could only be one ruler of the land at any given time. Moreover, this ruler was not supposed to be exclusive of noble birth. But by becoming an emperor or a king was a sign of God’s agreement with the right of a particular king to rule his subjects.
This philosophy had very defined effects on China and the kind of governance it witnessed up until the Qing dynasty. The king, if not popular among his subjects, could be overthrown as he would then not be naturally chosen to rule. This was an effective method to mark the despotic rulers away from popular ones. This philosophy also united the entire territory as belonging to Chineses as it is seen today.
To keep the mandate, the rulers were supposed to behave in a just manner. This decided the modes of governance one undertook. The philosophy of the Mandate of Heaven continued for the entire ancient Chinese period.

Note: There were also other elements, not related to governance that was seen to alter the Mandate of Heaven. Natural disasters were seen as an indication that the incumbent ruler was losing his mandate and it was time to overthrow his decree.