In this document, readers will see that the Confucian concept of government for the people was further

explicated and enriched by Mencius. As I shall also point out, in his saying that wicked rulers should be taken down, Mencius was not only daring (not to say consuming a lot of the magnanimous chi that he had accumulated), but way beyond the political imagination of his day. This is another romantic aspect of Mencius, and the reason why he had come to be honored in traditional China as Sage No.2. ==================================================

Mencius on The Mandate of Heaven

An excerpt from The Six Patriarchs of Chinese Humanism Author: Peter M.K. Chan All rights reserved =================================================

Another important political topic that Mencius touched upon concerns the Mandate of Heaven. As readers should be able to recall, it was the view of Confucius that at the age of fifty, he knew the decree of Heaven ( or tien ming). What was being conveyed, as I have explained, is the idea of personal destiny. However, when this concept is also applied to the reign of a supreme ruler, or Son of Heaven as called, the term tien ming could also be understood as the right to rule as conferred by Heaven, i.e., the Mandate of Heaven (the conceptual equivalent of the Divine Right of Kings as known in the West). That gave rise to the following questions. Is it justified for a subject to dispose a (wicked) king? ( Ibid. Chapter 7) And can the Son of Heaven offer the world (or empire) to anyone he chooses? (? Ibid. Chapter 9) With respect to the first question, it was the view of Mencius that a ruler who oppresses his people to the extreme should be slain, and his state should be allowed to perish. If he oppresses

not to the extreme, his life would still be in danger and his state will be weakened. Such consequences are unalterable even if he were to have many filial sons and caring grand children. (
. Ibid. Chapter 7) Moreover, said Mencius: He who injures

humaneness is a bandit. He who injures righteousness is a destructive person. Such a person is but an ordinary man (meaning, neither king nor emperor at all). (
Ibid. Chapter 2)

As to the second question, his answer is no. It is not up to a Son of Heaven to give the world (or his empire) to anyone. ( Ibid. Chapter 9) According to Mencius, the Son of Heaven can only recommend someone to Heaven. But he cannot force Heaven to give this person the world (or empire). ( Ibid.) All that an emperor can do is but to make offering for the enjoyment of deities and spiritual beings ( ) so as to show that Heaven had indeed conferred upon himself the mandate to control and govern. ( Ibid.)
Comment: According to the Book of History (Shu Jing), it was already the view of Yao and Shuen (the two legendary sage-kings prior to the Xia Dynasty ca.1994 BC ca.1523 BC) that the having of the Mandate of Heaven is not a right to be inherited by way of bloodline. It is to be earned rather by way of virtuous accomplishments. Thus, as far as intellectuals of subsequent generations were concerned, it was generally accepted that it is possible for the Mandate of Heaven to go one-way or the other. As the Duke of Zhou was also known to have said: Heaven is to be depended upon only by those who are virtuous in deed. But it was Mencius who was daring enough to bring this ancient theme explicitly again to the fore.

But the question is this: How could the decree of Heaven really be known? Menciuss reply is that Heaven does not speak. It reveals Its decreed only by way of occurrences and events. ( Ibid. ) As a matter of fact, when the people are at ease, it would have shown that they have

conferred the Mandate upon the ruler. Another way of saying the same thing is that what Heaven confers is also what the people would have conferred. This is why it is said that the Son of Heaven is not able to offer the world to anyone. (
Ibid.)

What that amount to, as he further explained, is that there is only one way to win over the world. If you have the people, you will also have the world. There is only one way to have the people. Win their hearts and you will have the people. And there is only one way to win their hearts. It is to accumulate and provide them with what they desire, and not to inflict anything that they do not desire. (
Ibid. Chapter 7) It also means that no one should acquire the world

by way of one single unjust act, or by murdering just one innocent man. (Ibid.) This is why the ancient (sage) kings had to govern with the mind that could not bear to see the suffering of others. To govern with a mind that could not bear to see the suffering of others is like turning the world in the palm of ones hand. (
Ibid. Chapter 3) As the three generations of sage-kings

were able to secure their world by means of humaneness, so could anyone lose the world because of his wickedness. This is the principle that governs the rise and fall of all states. (
Ibid. Chapter 7) More tersely put, he who acts in accordance with Heaven will live. He who acts against Heaven will be annihilated. ( Ibid. 7)

Comment: It should be observed that two basic political themes have been struck here. The first is that it is the right of anyone to revolt against oppression. Only those who govern in the interest of the people should be allowed to rule. The second is that Heaven would only confer the Mandate to rule with the implicit consent of the people. What that implies is that this

Mandate could also be withdrawn if rejected by the people. These two importance points are additional to his earlier call to those in power to respect the most basic of human rights, i.e., the right to be clothed and fed. As readers can see, the idea of government for the people, as advocated by Confucius, was further enriched, fortified, and brought to the fore. And if I may further point out, in his saying that wicked rulers should be taken down, Mencius was not only daring (not to say consuming a lot of the magnanimous chi that he had accumulated), but way beyond the political imagination of his day. This is another romantic aspect of Mencius, and the reason why he had come to be honored in traditional China as Sage No.2.

Unfortunately, said Mencius: those who think of themselves as being humane today is like a cup of water, insufficient to put out a burning wagon. When the fire is not extinguished, they say that water is not able to put out fire. This is the view of those who are not humane. They will all be overthrown in the end. (
Ibid. Chapter 11) So much the

worse for those who resort to violence of war: when they fight for territory, the fields are full of those whom they killed; and when they fight for a city, the city is also full of those whom they slaughtered. This is what is called taking land by devouring human flesh. Even the penalty of death is too light for such a crime. (
Ibid. Chapter 7)

And yet, what kept Mencius cautiously sanguine was his view of history. For every five hundred years so, he said, some true and renowned king is bound to come to the fore. From the Zhou Dynasty until today, more than seven hundred years had past. From the fact that it is already more than five hundred, something like that is bound to happen sooner or later. (
Ibid. Chapter 4) =============================================================

Peter M.K. Chan is the author of The Mystery of Mind (published

2003), and Soul, God, and Morality (published 2004). Recently, he has also competed any work titled The Six Patriarchs of Chinese Humanism (not yet in print). For details regarding the above, please visit http://sites.google.com/site/pmkchan/home http://sites.google.com/site/patriarchsofchinesephilosophy/home http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/petermkchan
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