The Zhou conquer the Shang
A new dynasty justifies itself with an idea that will constrain Chinese rulers for 3,000 years.
- When
- Known to
- ± 10 years
- Era
- Iron Age, Holocene
The Zhou defeat the Shang at Muye around 1046 BCE and face the problem of explaining why they should rule. Their answer is the Mandate of Heaven: Heaven grants authority to the virtuous and withdraws it from the corrupt, so the Shang lost it by misrule. The doctrine legitimises the conquest but cuts both ways — it makes every subsequent rebellion arguable as a withdrawal of the mandate, and every disaster a sign of one.