Reading about spread of Confucianism in early modern Japan, amused by translators’ habit of discussing idea that ruler has Mandate of Heaven but literally not mentioning the further fact that if one lacks benevolence and humane rule then one loses mandate and may be replaced.
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Replying to @lastpositivist
how often did that losing of the mandate actually happen? the Ender's Game series mentions this a lot (to Orson Scott Card's credit, the losing part is definitely in there)
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Replying to @FemisMusic
I know of 2 regime changes which Confucian scholars valorised as regime's cruelty leading mandate being passed to more humane rulers. More often what would happen is ru would remonstrate with a wayward government, and either change their behaviour or be killed for their defiance.
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Replying to @lastpositivist
that's not nothing! how recent/distant are the examples you have in mind, historically?
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Replying to @FemisMusic
Actually given OP make that 3, and so the Meiji restoration is the latest! I haven't actually done the scholarship here, and would be interested to know how often ru have tended to agree that a regime change was the result of a mandate change. Very interesting research question!
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So the three examples are: the process by which the Zhou came to power (this is the one Kongzi himself endorsed as such), the fall of the Qin regime that unified China but ruled through harsh legalist methods, then the fall of the long since corrupt Tokugawa system in Japan.
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