The "Mandate of Heaven" is an ancient Chinese philosophical concept, which originated during the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE). The Mandate determines whether an emperor of China is sufficiently virtuous to rule; if he does not fulfill his obligations as emperor, then he loses the Mandate and thus the right to be emperor.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.
