Editing Chinese historiography (section)

===Dynastic cycle===
{{main|Dynastic cycle|Mandate of Heaven}}

Like the [[Three-age system#The Metallic Ages of Hesiod|three ages]] of the Greek poet [[Hesiod]], the oldest Chinese historiography viewed mankind as living in a fallen age of depravity, cut off from the virtues of the past, as [[Confucius]] and his disciples revered the [[sage king]]s [[Emperor Yao]] and [[Emperor Shun]].

Unlike Hesiod's system, however, the [[Duke of Zhou]]'s idea of the [[Mandate of Heaven]] as a rationale for dethroning the supposedly divine [[Zi (surname)|Zi]] clan led subsequent historians to see man's fall as a [[dynastic cycle|cyclical pattern]]. In this view, a new dynasty is founded by a morally upright founder, but his successors cannot help but become increasingly corrupt and dissolute. This immorality removes the dynasty's divine favor and is manifested by natural disasters (particularly [[Yellow River|floods]]), rebellions, and foreign invasions. Eventually, the dynasty becomes weak enough to be replaced by a new one, whose founder is able to [[rectification of names|rectify]] many of society's problems and begin the cycle anew. Over time, many people felt a full correction was not possible, and that the [[golden age]] of Yao and Shun could not be attained.

This [[teleology|teleological]] theory implies that there can be only one rightful sovereign [[all under heaven|under heaven]] at a time. Thus, despite the fact that Chinese history has had many lengthy and contentious periods of disunity, a great effort was made by official historians to establish a legitimate precursor whose fall allowed a new dynasty to acquire its mandate. Similarly, regardless of the particular merits of individual emperors, founders would be portrayed in more laudatory terms, and the last ruler of a dynasty would always be castigated as depraved and unworthy – even when that was not the case. Such a narrative was employed after the fall of the empire by those compiling the [[History of the Qing dynasty|history of the Qing]], and by those who justified the attempted restorations of the imperial system by [[Yuan Shikai]] and [[Zhang Xun (Qing loyalist)|Zhang Xun]].