Reference meaning
Mandate of Heaven
Last updated
The philosophical construct that is the basis of the authority of the Son of Heaven.
Other meanings
2. noun
Any such mandate or blessing.
3. noun
The Chinese philosophical concept of the circumstances under which a ruler is allowed to rule. Good rulers would be allowed to rule with the Mandate of Heaven, and despotic, unjust rulers would have the Mandate revoked by disasters or revolution.
4. noun
The preeminence of an incumbent or institution other than that of the rulers of China.
Source and scope
This definition is reproduced from English Wiktionary, sense en-Mandate_of_Heaven-en-name-W~eeWtlZ, under the CC BY-SA 4.0. It has not yet received VocabularyBase editorial review. Read the source and license details.