Abstract:

During the periods of Zhou and Qin, the concept of the mandate of Heaven had multiple connotations such as the mandate of ghosts and gods, the mandate of law and the mandate of the heart-mind and nature. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the concept of the mandate of Heaven was based on the mandate of ghosts and gods and meanwhile emphasized the governance of the state. However, it also contained some elements of the mandate of law and the mandate of the heart-mind and nature. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the mandate of ghosts and gods continued its influence in the sphere of national region. However, as the power structure of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty moved from royal government to hegemony and then to unification, the mandate of law and the mandate of the heart-mind and nature in the sphere of social ideology gradually became dominant. Moreover, philosophers in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty conducted theoretical construction to interpret the pluralistic connotations of the concept of the mandate of Heaven inherited from previous times, which had made a profound impact on ancient Chinese political philosophy.

Key words: periods of Zhou and Qin, mandate of Heaven, ghosts and gods, law, heart-mind and nature