Editing Zhou dynasty (section)

===Mandate of Heaven===
{{Main|Mandate of Heaven}}
[[File:陕西扶风法门镇庄白村-三年兴壶-西周-宝鸡周原博物院.jpg|thumb|Western Zhou bronze pot (896&nbsp;BC), Fufeng County, Shaanxi{{snd}}Baoji Zhouyuan Museum]]
Zhou rulers introduced the Mandate of Heaven, which would prove to be among East Asia's most enduring political doctrines. According to the theory, Heaven imposed a mandate to replace the Shang with the Zhou, whose moral superiority justified seizing Shang wealth and territory in order to return good governance to the people.{{sfnp|Tignor et al.|2013}}

The Mandate of Heaven was presented as a religious compact between the Zhou people and their supreme god in heaven. The Zhou agreed that since worldly affairs were supposed to align with those of the heavens, the heavens conferred legitimate power on only one person, the Zhou ruler. In return, the ruler was duty-bound to uphold heaven's principles of harmony and honor. Any ruler who failed in this duty, who let instability creep into earthly affairs, or who let his people suffer, would lose the mandate. Under this system, it was the prerogative of spiritual authority to withdraw support from any wayward ruler and to find another, more worthy one.{{sfnp|Tignor et al.|2013|p=153}} In this way, the Zhou sky god legitimized regime change.

In using this creed, the Zhou rulers had to acknowledge that any group of rulers, even they themselves, could be ousted if they lost the mandate of heaven because of improper practices. The book of odes written during the Zhou period clearly intoned this caution.{{sfnp|Tignor et al.|2013|p=153}}

The Zhou kings contended that heaven favored their triumph because the last Shang kings had been evil men whose policies brought pain to the people through waste and corruption.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ivanhoe |first1=Philip J. |title=Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy |last2=Van Norden |first2=Bryan W. |publisher=Hackett |year=2005 |isbn=0-872-20781-1 |edition=2nd |location=Indianapolis, IN |pages=XIV}}</ref> After the Zhou came to power, the mandate became a political tool.

One of the duties and privileges of the king was to create a royal calendar. This official document defined times for undertaking agricultural activities and celebrating rituals. But unexpected events such as [[solar eclipses]] or natural calamities threw the ruling house's mandate into question. Since rulers claimed that their authority came from heaven, the Zhou made great efforts to gain accurate knowledge of the stars and to perfect the [[astronomical]] system on which they based their calendar.{{sfnp|Tignor et al.|2013|p=153}}

Zhou legitimacy also arose indirectly from Shang material culture through the use of bronze ritual vessels, [[statues]], ornaments, and weapons. As the Zhou emulated the Shang's large scale production of ceremonial bronzes, they developed an extensive system of bronze metalworking that required a large force of tribute labor. Many of its members were Shang, who were sometimes forcibly transported to new Zhou to produce the bronze ritual objects which were then sold and distributed across the lands, symbolizing Zhou legitimacy.{{sfnp|Tignor et al.|2013|p=153}}