Mandate of Heaven
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Calque of Literary Chinese 天命 (tiānmìng).
Proper noun[edit]
- The philosophical construct that is the basis of the authority of the Son of Heaven.
Noun[edit]
Mandate of Heaven (plural Mandates of Heaven)
- Any such mandate or blessing.
- 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.
- (figurative, often humorous) The preeminence of an incumbent or institution other than that of the rulers of China.
Translations[edit]
any such mandate or blessing
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See also[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- Mandate of Heaven on Wikipedia.Wikipedia