Editing Mandate of Heaven (section)

=== Eastern Zhou ===
The Zhou dynasty was marked by early success and expansion until the death on campaign of King Kang's successor, [[King Zhao of Zhou]].{{sfnp|Li|2008|p=34}} During the ensuing centuries, central authority waned overall, driven by socioeconomic pressures. This culminated in a succession crisis which saw the aristocracy split between two competing candidates for a number of years. When the crisis resolved, the royal house retained only a tiny amount of land and no real military power. This marked the beginning of the [[Eastern Zhou]]. During the decline of the royal house, although real power was wrested from their grasp, their divine legitimacy was not brought into question, and even with the king reduced to something of a figurehead, his prestige remained supreme as Heaven's eldest son.{{sfnp|Pines|2004|p=23}}

However, there is epigraphic evidence that, in private, the rulers of the state of [[Qin (state)|Qin]] (which would go on to conquer everyone else and become the first dynasty of the imperial era) held that their ancestors had received Heaven's mandate. As early as the 600s BCE, multiple inscriptions attest to this idea.{{sfnp|Pines|2006|pp=18–21}} It is unclear whether the Qin rulers meant they believed they had celestial approval to replace the Zhou kings, whether they believed themselves the appointed heirs of the Zhou should the royal line come to an end,{{sfnp|Pines|2006|p=19}} or whether their receipt of Heaven's mandate was construed as issuing through the Zhou king to give them legitimate authority over their own lands.{{sfnp|Pines|2004|p=16}}