Mandate of Heaven

The Mandate of Heaven (Chinese: 天命; pinyin: tiānmìng; literally: "heaven decree") is an ancient Chinese belief and philosophical idea that tiān (heaven) granted emperors the right to rule based on their ability to govern well and fairly. According to this belief, heaven bestows its mandate to a just ruler, the Son of Heaven. The Mandate of Heaven depends on whether an emperor is sufficiently virtuous to rule; if he does not fulfill his obligations as emperor, then he loses the Mandate and thus the right to be emperor. The Mandate of Heaven would then transfer to those who would rule best. The fact that a ruler was overthrown was taken by itself as an indication that the ruler had lost the Mandate of Heaven. In addition, it was also common belief that natural disasters such as famine and flood were other signs of heaven’s displeasure with the current ruler, so there would often be revolts following major environmental events as citizens saw these as signs of heaven's displeasure.

Emperor

An emperor (through Old French empereor from Latin: 'imperator') is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother (empress dowager), or a woman who rules in her own right (empress regnant). Emperors are generally recognized to be of a higher honour and rank than kings. In Europe the title of Emperor was, since the Middle Ages, considered equal or almost equal in dignity to that of Pope, due to the latter's position as visible head of the Church and spiritual leader of Western Europe. The Emperor of Japan is the only currently reigning monarch whose title is translated into English as "Emperor".

Both kings and emperors are monarchs, but emperor and empress are considered the higher monarchical titles. In so far as there is a strict definition of emperor, it is that an emperor has no relations implying the superiority of any other ruler, and typically rules over more than one nation. Thus a king might be obliged to pay tribute to another ruler, or be restrained in his actions in some unequal fashion, but an emperor should in theory be completely free of such restraints. However monarchs heading empires have not always used the title—the British sovereign did not assume the title until the incorporation of India into the British Empire, and even then used it only in a limited context. For purposes of protocol, emperors were once given precedence over kings in international diplomatic relations; currently, however, precedence amongst heads of state – whether they be Kings, Queens, Emperors, or Presidents – is determined by the duration of time that each one has been continuously in office.

Ming dynasty

The Ming dynasty (Chinese: 明朝; pinyin: Míng Cháo), or the Great Ming (Chinese: 大明; pinyin: Dà Míng), also called the Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China for 276 years (1368–1644) following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming, described by some as "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history," was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Han Chinese. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the Shun dynasty, soon replaced by the Manchu-led Qing dynasty), regimes loyal to the Ming throne – collectively called the Southern Ming – survived until 1662.

The Hongwu Emperor (ruled 1368–98) attempted to create a society of self-sufficient rural communities ordered in a rigid, immobile system that would guarantee and support a permanent class of soldiers for his dynasty: the empire's standing army exceeded one million troops and the navy's dockyards in Nanjing were the largest in the world. He also took great care breaking the power of the court eunuchs and unrelated magnates, enfeoffing his many sons throughout China and attempting to guide these princes through the Huang Ming Zu Xun, a set of published dynastic instructions. This failed spectacularly when his teenage successor, the Jianwen Emperor, attempted to curtail his uncles' power, prompting the Jingnan Campaign, an uprising that placed the Prince of Yan upon the throne as the Yongle Emperor in 1402. The Yongle Emperor established Yan as a secondary capital and renamed it Beijing, constructed the Forbidden City, and restored the Grand Canal and the primacy of the imperial examinations in official appointments. He rewarded his eunuch supporters and employed them as a counterweight against the Confucian scholar-bureaucrats. One, Zheng He, led seven enormous voyages of exploration into the Indian Ocean as far as Arabia and the eastern coasts of Africa.

Europa Universalis

Europa Universalis is a grand strategy video game released on February 20, 2001 by Paradox Development Studio and distributed in North America by Strategy First. Originally based on a French board game of the same name by Philippe Thibaut, Europa Universalis lets the player take control of one of seven European nations (others are available in different scenarios) from 1492 to 1792, expanding its power through military might, diplomacy, and colonial wealth. The game takes place on a map divided into approximately 1,500 provinces, and proceeds in a pausable real time format. The lead game programmer was Johan Andersson and the lead designer was Philippe Thibaut.

The game became a surprise hit for its great deal of depth and strategy. Paradox used this sudden success to springboard other titles such as Victoria, Crusader Kings, and Hearts of Iron.

Europa Universalis was followed by Europa Universalis II, Europa Universalis III, Europa Universalis: Rome and Europa Universalis IV

Li Zicheng

Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, nicknamed "Dashing King", was a Chinese rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 and ruled over China briefly as the emperor of the short-lived Shun dynasty before his death a year later.

Early years

Li was born in Mizhi County, Yulin, Shaanxi in the late Ming dynasty. Initially a shepherd, he started learning horse riding and archery at the age of 20, and had also worked in a wine shop and as a blacksmith's apprentice.

According to folklore, in 1630, Li was put on public display in an iron collar and shackles for his failure to repay loans to a usurious magistrate, Ai. Ai struck a guard who offered shade and water to Li, whence a group of peasants friendly to Li tore apart Li's shackles, spirited him to a nearby hill, and proclaimed him their leader. Although they were only armed with wooden sticks, Li and his band managed to ambush a group of government soldiers sent to arrest them, and obtained their first real weapons.