''Interactions between Heaven and Mankind'' () is a set of doctrines formulated by Chinese

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

scholar

Dong Zhongshu Dong Zhongshu (; 179–104 BC) was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer of the Han Dynasty. He is traditionally associated with the promotion of Confucianism as the official ideology of the Chinese imperial state. He apparently favored ...

which at that time became the basis for deciding the legitimacy of a monarch. At the same time, for the

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

School of Thought, Interactions between Heaven and Mankind provided a set of checks and balances on a reigning monarch. This ''

ganying ''Gǎnyìng'' or ''yìng'' is a Chinese cultural keyword meaning a "correlative resonance" pulsating throughout the purported force field of '' qi'' that infuses the cosmos. When the idea of ''ganying'' first appeared in Chinese classics from ...

'' in the title is a Chinese cultural keyword meaning "correlative resonance; stimulus and response; moral retribution".

History

Interactions Between Heaven and Mankind is said to originate from ''The Great Plan f Jizi">Jizi.html" ;"title="f Jizi">f Jizi', the 24th Scroll of the ''Book of Documents">Jizi">f_Jizi<_a>.html" ;"title="Jizi.html" ;"title="f Jizi">f Jizi">Jizi.html" ;"title="f Jizi">f Jizi', the 24th Scroll of the ''Book of Documents''. Dong Zhongshu based his doctrines on this theoretical framework, believing that heaven (天) had its own consciousness and controlled everything through the “100 Lords of Heaven” with all natural laws and variations in human affairs decided by them. Moreover, he believed that human physiological structure, thought, emotions and moral character are all modelled according to heaven's will and thus that mankind is the incarnation of heaven. Furthermore, Dong Zhongshu believed that a monarch was ordained by heaven as its representative. Auspicious heaven honoured the ruler; calamitous heaven condemned his thinking with all calamity caused by political errors. If a calamity such as an earthquake or prolonged drought occurred, the Emperor was obliged to issue an edict of self-criticism (罪己詔/罪己召) admitting his lack of ability and virtue, leave the royal palace, enter a period of fasting, profess his guilt or pardon some prisoners. This edict should be frank and not hide anything so as to make up for the error. Statistics compiled by the Chinese academic Xiao Han (蕭瀚) show that from the time of the fifteenth Han emperor onwards edicts of self-criticism were issued 8 times by Emperor Xuan, 13 times by Emperor Yuan and 12 times by Emperor Cheng of Han">Emperor Cheng. Xiao Han's research on the Twenty-Four Histories">Twenty-Four Dynastic Histories shows that in total 79 edicts of self-criticism were issued. For example, in June 221 CE during the Three Kingdoms period an eclipse occurred and Cao Pi, first emperor of Cao Wei, issued an edict of self-criticism. In 1213 CE, Emperor Ningzong of Song issued an edict of self-criticism during thunderstorms that occurred in September. During

Emperor Zhangzong of Jin Emperor Zhangzong of Jin (31 August 1168 – 29 December 1208), personal name Madage, sinicized name Wanyan Jing, was the sixth emperor of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty of China. He reigned from 20 January 1189 to 29 December 1208.Tao, p. 85-86 ...

’s reign during a widespread drought in 1190 CE, he commanded the people to pray for rain and the prime minister and senior officials to show their guilt. The emperor further asked

Hanlin Academy The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution of higher learning founded in the 8th century Tang China by Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an. Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed sec ...

Dang Huaiying (党怀英) to draft a suitable edict of self-criticism for him. During a critical period in the final years of the

Northern Song dynasty Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

(960 – 1127 CE), when Jin or Jurchen troops were at the wall of his capital, Emperor Huizong also issued an edict of self-criticism:

''Words conceal the roadway pass, flatter the sun’s reputation, flatter lucky autocracy and allow corrupt officials to enjoy success. Taxation exhausts the wealth of the people and saps the strength of garrisoned troops. Much is done in a wasteful manner which is not beneficial.
History of the Song dynasty The Song dynasty (Chinese: 宋朝; pinyin: Sòng cháo; 960–1279) of China was an imperial dynasty that ruled most of China proper and southern China from the middle of the 10th century into the last quarter of the 13th century. The dynasty ...
, Huizong Biographical Sketch''

Chinese academic

Hu Shih Hu Shih (; 17 December 1891 – 24 February 1962), also known as Hu Suh in early references, was a Chinese diplomat, essayist, literary scholar, philosopher, and politician. Hu is widely recognized today as a key contributor to Chinese libera ...

believed that the doctrine of Interactions Between Heaven and Earth was the origin of the ideas of

Mohism Mohism or Moism (, ) was an ancient Chinese philosophy of ethics and logic, rational thought, and science developed by the academic scholars who studied under the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi (c. 470 BC – c. 391 BC), embodied in an epony ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Interactions Between Heaven And Mankind Political history of China Religious Confucianism