The Mandate of Heaven (or Tian Ming) is a political doctrine that the Zhou Dinasty implemented to justify the rule of the Emperor of China. The main idea was that there should only be one ruler of the country and he was on charge with the approval of the gods as the "<em>Son of Heaven</em>". If the ruler was unfair or didn't serve his people well, he could lose the Blessing of the gods and was consider to be bound to be removed from power (The cases in which the King was overthrown, or the people suffered any kind of natural disaster or famine were considered signs that the gods have removed the Mandate of Heaven).
<span>Assuming that this is referring to the same passage of the Declaration that was posted before with this question, <span>the correct response would be "the Enlightenment" (specifically John Locke) since he is referencing the "social contract" that exists between people and the government. </span></span><span />
