A feudalistic
political theory formulated to defend
monarchy. The
Mandate of Heaven, or
Tian Ming in
Chinese, was developed in the
Zhou Dynasty in
China around 1000 BC as a method to legitimize their rule. In the words of
Confucius, the
emperor, the
Son of Heaven, has the blessing of the
Heavens to rule the
Middle Kingdom (
China), and his son will inherit that right of
rule as they are also blessed by
Heaven.
However, when things start to go wrong, that means he has lost the favor of the Gods and no longer has the mandate to rule, and is liable to be overthrown. To keep the mandate of heaven, a ruler must possess yi (righteousness), and jin (benevolence). When he loses either or both, Heaven is angry. Things that indicate an emperor no longer has the decree of Heaven include crippling famines, floods, or earthquakes, and if the emperor becomes tyrannical to the people or immoral in his personal life. With the change of each dynasty, Heaven has withdrawn its mandate and gave it to a more worthy soul.
Developed seperately in Europe much later to defend the rise of monarchy there, but it bears a similar name, the Divine Right of Rule. The ruler is blessed by God in his birth, hence is rightful in his rule. However, that theory had no provisions on God withdrawing his mandate once given, so tyrannical rulers were still legitimate rulers.
In China, if you become a despot, the people will usually rise up and kick you out. Examples include the death of just about every dynastic era, the prime examples being the Qin Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, and of course, the Kuomintang.
Even though at that point in time the dynasties were no longer in power, some people view the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) to be similar to old imperial rule, calling it the Soong Dynasty, after the powerful, Westernized family which produced several daughters. They all married high ranking leaders in the Kuomintang, giving this family substantial power in that era of time. They were corrupt and power-hungry. In the end, they lost the Mandate of Heaven.
An interesting sidenote to "Heaven's Wrath" is the death of Mao Zedong. Just before his death, a massive earthquake hit the city of Tangshan, killing some 300,000 people, making it the most deadly earthquake in recorded history. Heaven must have been really angry.
Heaven shook in rage and rained death and destruction on the cursed people of the Middle Kingdom ...... Signalling the despot has lost his mandate of heaven.