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According to Chinese political theory, every dynasty goes through a dynastic cycle.

1. A new ruler: Unites China, founds a new dynasty, and gains the Mandate of Heaven. ¹
2. China, under the new dynasty, achieves prosperity and a new golden age. ²
3. The population increases ³
4. Corruption becomes rampant in the imperial court, and the empire begins to enter decline and instability.⁴
5. A natural disaster wipes out farm land. The disaster normally would not have been a problem; however, together with the corruption and overpopulation it causes famine.⁵
6. The famine causes the population to rebel and starts a civil war ⁶
7. The ruler loses the Mandate of Heaven. ^{7 8}
8. The population decreases because of the violence ⁹
9. China goes through a warring states period ¹⁰
10. One state emerges victorious ¹¹
11. The state starts a new empire ^{12 13}
12. The empire gains the Mandate of Heaven. ^{14 15}

(The cycle repeats itself)

The Mandate of Heaven was the idea that the Emperor was favored by Heaven to rule over China. The Mandate of Heaven was created by the Chinese philosopher Mencius, during the Period of Warring States. ¹⁶

Sources

Kennedy, Bruce. "Chinese Dynastic Cycle." Killer Roos. 17 February 2008 <http://killeenroos.com/6/Chin2.htm>.

Ching, Frank. Ancestors: 900 Years in the Life of a Chinese Family. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1974.

Wills, John E. Mountain of Fame: Portraits in Chinese History. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994

Further reading

• Chi, C. Y. C., and N. D. Lei. (1994) Famine, Revolt, and the Dynastic Cycle: Population Dynamics in Historic China. Journal of Pop Economics 7: 351-378.
• Korotayev, A., Malkov, A., & Khaltourina, D. (2006) Introduction to Social Macrodynamics: Secular Cycles and Millennial Trends. Moscow: URSS [1]. ISBN 5484005590
• Nefedov, S. A. 2004. A Model of Demographic Cycles in Traditional Societies: The Case of Ancient China. Social Evolution & History 3(1): 69–80.

See also

• History of China
• Demographic cycle
• Dialectic
• Social cycle theory
• Period of Warring States
• Mencius

External links

• Secular Cycles and Millennial Trends

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 20 November 2008, at 23:49.

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