Inventions

 

One of the most important inventions that happened during the Zhou Dynasty was the Mandate of Heaven. The Mandate of Heaven was the belief that the heavens were supporting the current leader in China. The way that the citizens in china knew that their leader had the Mandate was if the was no natural disasters, and there was prosperity throughout the land. The leader also had a responsibility to carry out religious ceremonies, and rituals. The Mandate of Heaven also kept the current leader from being overthrown, as long as he had the Mandate. So no matter what happened, as long he had the Mandate of Heaven he could not be overthrown. The only way a leader could lose the Mandate of Heaven is if he had done something to upset the havens, either what he had done, or what he had not done to be a bad leader. When the leader lost Mandate of Heaven, it would cause chaos throughout all of China. Natural disasters would occur, and the great prosperity that they had at one point would go away. Then when the Mandate was lost, his citizens could overthrow the current him, after that a new leader (who had the Mandate of Heaven) was chosen to take his place.

The Mandate was invented early on during the Zhou Dynasty, By Emperor Wu Wang, when he was still alive, and emperor. This was first used by Emperor Wu Wang (and later The Duke of Zhou) to prove to his people that he had the heavens supporting the new dynasty. He understood that as emperor it was his job to carry out religious ceremonies, so he had to be the link between heaven, and Earth. Then when Emperor Wu Wang died, it was his brother The Duke of Zhou who claimed to have the Mandate of Heaven took his brothers place. And it went that way throughout China for years to come, one leader claiming to have the Mandate after another.

The Mandate of Heaven has affected in Chinas peoples life’s in many ways throughout The Zhou Dynasty, and beyond (Buzz Lightyear parody). Not only did they have a leader that the Heavens supported, they had great business and crops. Though some people completely despised their leader, they could not overthrow him, because he had the Mandate of Heaven. The lives of Chinese citizens were greatly affected when the Mandate of Heaven was lost, because natural disasters could affect their crops, and their businesses. Though for all the people who hated their emperor, they could finally overthrow him. The Mandate of Heaven was one the greatest inventions that was invented during the Zhou Dynasty.