How does the Zhou Mandate of Heaven compare with the U.S. Constitution?
1 Answer
It does not. It has more in common with the "Divine Right of Kings" rejected in Europe eventually, and certainly opposed by the U.S.Constitution.
Explanation:
Alternatively, they ARE both documents establishing a particular form and justification for government. It does have some similarities superficially (meaning they were never enforced in China) with the "right to rule" granted by a force beyond the ruler. The other provisions to not involve the will of the people or the ability of the people to decide or remove a ruler.
The Mandate of Heaven, or Tin Ming, Tian Ming and in various dialectal spellings, is a Chinese political and religious doctrine used since ancient times to justify the rule of the Emperor of China. According to this belief, heaven—which embodies the natural order and will of the universe—bestows the mandate on a just ruler of China.
There are four principles to the Mandate:
1) Heaven grants the emperor the right to rule,
2) Since there is only one Heaven, there can only be one emperor at any given time,
3) The emperor's virtue determines his right to rule, and,
4) No one dynasty has a permanent right to rule.
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-mandate-of-heaven-195113
