<P> The concept of the Mandate of Heaven was first used to support the rule of the kings of the Zhou dynasty (1046--256 BCE), and legitimize their overthrow of the earlier Shang dynasty (1600--1046 BCE). It was used throughout the history of China to legitimize the successful overthrow and installation of new emperors, including non-Han ethnic monarchs such as the Qing dynasty . This concept was also used by monarchs in neighboring countries like Korea and Vietnam . A similar situation prevailed since the establishment of Ahom rule in the Kingdom of Assam of India . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (November 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (November 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Chinese historians interpreted a successful revolt as evidence that the Mandate of Heaven had passed . In China, the right of rebellion against an unjust ruler has been a part of political philosophy ever since the Zhou dynasty, and the successful rebellion was interpreted by Chinese historians as evidence that divine approval had passed on to the successive dynasty . The Right of Rebellion is not coded into any official law, rather rebellion is always outlawed and severely punished, but still is a positive right grounded in the Chinese moral system . Often, it is used as a justification for actions to overthrow a previous dynasty after a rebellion has been successful and a new dynastic rule has been established . Since the winner is the one who determines who has obtained the Mandate of Heaven and who has lost it, some Chinese scholars consider it to be a sort of Victor's justice, best characterized in the popular Chinese saying "The winner becomes king, the loser becomes outlaw" (Chinese:" 成 者 為 王, 敗者 為 寇 "). Due to the above, it is considered that Chinese historical accounts of the fall of a dynasty and the rise of a new one need to be handled with caution . Chinese traditional historical compiling methods produce accounts that tend to fit their account to the theory; emphasize aspects tending to prove that the old dynasty lost the Mandate of Heaven and the new one gained it, and de-emphasize other aspects . </P>

The chinese concept of mandate of heaven is an example of rule by