How the Mandate of Heaven and Tributary 'System' Work in Ancient China

If you're somehow transported to the past and became the the Emperor of China, here is a guide to managing your Mandate of Heaven and the Tributary "System".

🕒[TIMESTAMP]🕒
0:00 Introduction
0:32 What is Mandate of Heaven
3:28 Managing Mandate of Heaven
9:04 Tributary System

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Qin Dynasty Origin
Tang Dynasty Origin
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📚SOURCES:
Yuan-kang Wang, 2013, Explaining the Tribute System: Power, Confucianism, and War in Medieval East Asia
J. K. Fairbank and S. Y. Têng, 1941, On The Ch'ing Tributary System
Julia Ching, 1997, Son of Heaven: Sacral Kingship in Ancient China
MA LI, 2005, LEGITIMACY AS A LIMIT OF ABSOLUTE POWER: THE CASE OF ZHU YUANZHANG 朱元章
David P. Chandler & Co., 2005, The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia: A New History
Sarah Allan, 2007, ON THE IDENTITY OF SHANG DI 上帝AND THE ORIGIN OF THE CONCEPT OF A CELESTIAL MANDATE (TIAN MING 天命)

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#History #Documentary #Asia

[CoolHistoryBros]

The ancient Chinese tributary “system” feels a lot like the combination of LARPing & Calvinball isn’t it?
Say hi to The Shogunate for me.

[BygoneChina]

The 'Mandate of Heaven' is a double edged sword, and if a Dynasty has lost the confidence of the populace, the people will be desperate to find a replacement. I was reading recently that during the Second Opium War, when the British and French forces occupied Beijing in the year 1860, some local Chinese residents considered that the capitals capture by the Europeans was proof that they were the legitimate new holders of the Heavenly Mandate. These locals assumed that the Europeans would imminently establish a new Dynasty, just like other foreign invaders like the Manchu Qing or the Mongol Yuan had done previously. The British and French were of course unaware of this, and so they continued to burn the Summer Palace, which in effect proved that they were unworthy of the Heavenly Mandate.

[mikejazz]

I’m so fucking dumb I was like, “what is the Your dynasty?”

[mak]

So in essence the Chinese Emperor's place within the Tributary system was quite similar to the Pope's position in feudal Europe ie. they were nominally the cultural/spiritual leader of their tributary area, but is reality each country did their own thing.

[robinharwood]

Just what I needed! I’m planning to become Emperor next year, and I was trying to find out how this system worked.

[washarintarapong]

Truck-chan has the mandate of heaven to isekai us.

[TheShogunate]

Thank you so much for the shout out! Great Video!

[alessandrodelogu]

Good video. It's interesting that the Mandate of Heaven required the recognition of the previous dynasty as legitimate ruler. In Europe it was just the opposite. Richard III of England is an evil and hunchback child-killer in Shakespeare's tragedy because Henry VII needed to vilify him, to justify his own violent rise to power.
In the medieval kingdoms of Sardinia, my native island, it was also allowed for the people to depose and even kill a tyrannical ruler, but this didn't affect the succession. In 1383 the king Ugone IV of Arborea was deposed, mutilated and buried alive with his daughter during a revolt, but the throne regularly passed to his nephew, the son of his sister, the famous Eleanor of Arborea.
You could make a video about the Macartney embassy or the Opium War, or about the relations between ancient Rome and ancient China. They would be very interesting topics.

[stoopidyoutubehandle]

Every to-be-emperor of a new dynasty to last emperor of the collapsing dynasty: You have lost the mandate of heaven! I have the high ground!(pwn not intended)

[aokhoinguyenang]

One of the signs that your Emperor had lost the Heaven's Mandate is natural disaster. The true is: Natural disasters happened all the time but a good(at the job) Emperor + a healthy Dynasty can deal with it & stop the bad news from spreading until they're done solving the problem, while a tyrant in a failing dynasty simply can't or don't care
-> All the refugees from affected areas flooding into everywhere causing problems on a nationwide scale(panic, food shortage, bandits, ...) + some areas produce necessary goods that is now ruined.

[marsaeternum]

that and nobody cared about being Emperor in Japan because they were absolutely powerless. since kamakura period of course

[ayi]

the Mandate of heaven also applied to Javanese kings.
It is called 'Ndaru'....
the Kediri and Singosari kingdoms of east Java at the 13th century, at the time of end-Song and early-Yuan of China claim themselves acquiring the Mandate of Heaven as the successor of the ancient Mataram dynasty when China was under Tang and early-Song
The Majapahit kingdom of 13 - 16 centuries also claimed to have Mandate of Heaven as successor of Singosari...
The reborn Mataram dynasty / neo-Mataram of the 16th century also claim the Mandate of Heaven as ruler of whole Java.

[jamesdakrn]

As a Korean, this is the BEST explanation of the "tribute" system there is in English on Youtube.

I looove how you explain a lot of Asian history concepts that are usually misunderstood in the West

[cejbnqi]

Finally someone explain this to me, i never really understood it till now!

[mottscottison]

Amazing how each dynasty may came from different groups or even ethnic, they followed the continuous Middle Kingdom system and even learn and embraced the culture and history from past dynasties and states. Like how Jiaqing Emperor of Manchu ethnic from the north learned about the Nan Yue from the south of warring states/spring and autumn period (2000 years ago) and renamed Vietnam as it is to protect the territorial sovereignty. The libraries of ancient China must be one of the most sophisticated and well kept ones.

[galren]

Great video, the Mandate of Heaven was a lot more complex than I first thought.

[strawhatluroji]

Funny intro the amount of manhua and manhwa I've read this year with this premise mixed with Wuxia/martial arts basically lead me to this channel and your good content kept me coming back. Keep up the good work!

[nickypenn]

Oh awesome, you're partnering with Shogunate as fellow history bros?

This is very cool!

Both of you should collaborate more!

[ltmatthewakj]

I like how you tell chinese tributary system and connected it with east asia culture about generosity as a prestige (south asia did too like in Indonesia) culture. Fighting to pay for the bill often happen for who has worked treat his unemployed friend, showing generosity and prestige in same time or treat everyone in birthdays. Good job showing Asian culture.

[이창민-yw]

You are very popular among Korean history enthusiasts. Although you are a Chinese-Australian, you do not only look at history as China-centered(中華思想), but you describe the history of China and its surrounding Asian countries in an objective and balanced manner.