How the Mandate of Heaven and Tributary "System" Work in Ancient China

If you're somehow transported to the past and became the the Emperor of China, here is a guide to managing your Mandate of Heaven and the Tributary "System".
Link to The Shogunate's video of Imjin War: • The Imjin War (Part 1)...
🕒[TIMESTAMP]🕒
0:00 Introduction
0:32 What is Mandate of Heaven
3:28 Managing Mandate of Heaven
9:04 Tributary System
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📚SOURCES:
Yuan-kang Wang, 2013, Explaining the Tribute System: Power, Confucianism, and War in Medieval East Asia
J. K. Fairbank and S. Y. Têng, 1941, On The Ch'ing Tributary System
Julia Ching, 1997, Son of Heaven: Sacral Kingship in Ancient China
MA LI, 2005, LEGITIMACY AS A LIMIT OF ABSOLUTE POWER: THE CASE OF ZHU YUANZHANG 朱元章
David P. Chandler & Co., 2005, The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia: A New History
Sarah Allan, 2007, ON THE IDENTITY OF SHANG DI 上帝AND THE ORIGIN OF THE CONCEPT OF A CELESTIAL MANDATE (TIAN MING 天命)
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#History #Documentary #Asia

[@CoolHistoryBros]

The ancient Chinese tributary “system” feels a lot like the combination of LARPing & Calvinball isn’t it? Link to The Shogunate's video of Imjin War: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5ycdYatn66Bjqc Say hi to The Shogunate for me.

[@kevinton4373]

Hi there Cool history Bros I watch you previous video about of you explaining about why people have a dislike of foreign accent and also about other people hate you accent so to me I really don’t mind about your accent it give your video contents a interesting and fun and some Time a sense of humor moment so I okay with your accent so keep doing make video contents and also take break and lastly I Always like your video contents it a fun and interesting and also have funny moment.😍🥰😊❤️😁👍👌😊😍😁

[@revolutionarycomrade]

Nice!!

[@catherinebutler4819]

Super-interesting, thanks!

[@sheepbeeps3369]

last I knew it was also used to facilitate trade. Because the emperor would never stoop to buying or trading with outsiders like a lowly merchant. outsiders came with "tribute" and left with "gifts"

[@IamAWESOME3980]

wonder what will happened if japanese ended up conquering the weakened ming dynasty instead of the manchus

[@BygoneChina]

The 'Mandate of Heaven' is a double edged sword, and if a Dynasty has lost the confidence of the populace, the people will be desperate to find a replacement. I was reading recently that during the Second Opium War, when the British and French forces occupied Beijing in the year 1860, some local Chinese residents considered that the capitals capture by the Europeans was proof that they were the legitimate new holders of the Heavenly Mandate. These locals assumed that the Europeans would imminently establish a new Dynasty, just like other foreign invaders like the Manchu Qing or the Mongol Yuan had done previously. The British and French were of course unaware of this, and so they continued to burn the Summer Palace, which in effect proved that they were unworthy of the Heavenly Mandate.

[@alessandrodelogu7931]

Interesting. The Englishmen could take advantage of it, and crown queen Victoria as empress of China.

[@alessandrodelogu7931]

@OU SEN it worked with India. Why not with China?

[@DarthMalgusSith_Lord]

​@@alessandrodelogu7931 i agreed, i meant if the British or another other European Power know about this mandate of heaven. the whole China would be under British with Victoria as Empress of China and the history would be change and if the French would also known about the mandate of Heaven, Napoleon III would become Emperor of China while he's also the Emperor of France.

[@BygoneChina]

@OU SEN You're right. Prior to the British Crown taking full control of India in 1858, the British East India company had effectively ruled over the entirety of India for over a century, during which time they had built up deep knowledge and extensive experience of the country. In contrast, Britain had only just been given the right to trade with China, and they weren't even permitted to enter the interior of the country. So their understanding of China was very limited compared to China.

[@BygoneChina]

@@DarthMalgusSith_Lord Interesting, although even if the British had tried to take the Mandate of Heaven, they would have been unable to assimilate into the Chinese culture as other foreign invaders (such as the Mongols or Manchu's) had done, and so they quickly would have had revolts to their rule arising all of over the nation. They wouldn't have lasted long.

[@CoffeeSuccubus]

Instructions not clear Eunuchs ruined my dynasty several generations later

[@winniekuma4542]

not really. blaming everything on eunuchs was a irresponsible way to over-glorify literati and civil officials usually by the literati themselves. After all eunuchs did not compile history of former dynasty.

[@mxn1948]

@@winniekuma4542 Eunuchs also never held real power unless the emperor was completely incompetent, usually several incompetent emperors, that allowed them to take power.

[@VWYL900802]

it's asian dramas that taught us that, but it's a combination of factors. Many of which are wifey dramas, the aristocracy, business and loss of trade, and of course, epidemics and famine, along with closing off based in fear, something the CCP is doing now, basically another "dynasty". and lack of progressiveness, and refusal to work with other factions/countries/state.

[@winniekuma4542]

@@VWYL900802 your perspective is quite common, but it is wrong sadly. Closing off based in fear, and lack of progressiveness, and refusal to work with the rest of the world actually helped dynasties keep from collapsing. Opening-up in ancient China had no benefits for stabilizing for at least 90% of the time. It is true that you may see dynasties decline gradually after they closed off. But events happening in time-sequence do not mean causal relationship.

[@VWYL900802]

@@winniekuma4542 again, Asian drama. See, which dynasty had the most illustrious, and powerful gain? Tang and Han. And they both flourished in poetry, philosophy, business was blooming...see, I grew up watching Asian drama as well, but those were the more immersed and though not correct, they were debatable, and discussing about history, along with learning other history around the world, the ones who were most powerful are the ones who open to learning and discovery. In the case of Tang, people from other nations go to them and offer them tribute, and WHY do they have such influence? Because they open up to knowledge and acknowledge their culture. And the free trade in the silk road at the time during Tang helped them to see other religion and interpret them differently, if they closed off, how else can they have illustrious materials to make fabrics, to enjoy life? During Han, merchants trade all the way to Rome. But the Parthians stopped them mid way and tell them that if they give them coins, they will deliver the tribute the rest of the way. So during the Roman Empire, Romans already have trade, because the Hans traded with the Romans. Working with others and opening up to ideas and thoughts of others was also big during Zhao, which had a slew of philosophers and schools of thoughts, because they were different nations at the time. Closing off is a good tactic, but generally, closing off in history over time has always result in the dissolve of an Empire in an eventual time. What people has always got in wrong, in any empire, is that the most valuable thing in a nation isn't money, nor military strength, nor technological advance, nor people power, but knowledge. If you notice leaders of the past, Catherine the Great, Li Shimin, Elizabeth I, these people lived their entire lives very long and devoted their entire lives in rule, but these individuals know how to rule because they know their place and they know what to do to achieve the greatest peace for their people at that time using all the knowledge required to keep the power and expand the people's mind during that time.

[@mikejazz3001]

I’m so fucking dumb I was like, “what is the Your dynasty?”

[@LuisAldamiz]

XD

[@xyrisejoss7144]

😂

[@robinharwood5044]

Just what I needed! I’m planning to become Emperor next year, and I was trying to find out how this system worked.

[@washarintarapong]

Truck-chan has the mandate of heaven to isekai us.

[@zawwin1846]

Only Available in Japan, unless you get Nord VPN. Now you can be Isekai all over the world by a truck.

[@yahhoo69]

He should hire you for these ad 😂

[@junainoakuma]

And you have to be a fat otaku kid with glasses.

[@thisasiankidistrashfordram374]

😆😆😂

[@whathell6t]

Art ThaiLish Being hit from vehicle doesn't cetainly gurantee that you will be isekai-ed Look at Kamen Riders.

[@aokhoinguyenang3992]

One of the signs that your Emperor had lost the Heaven's Mandate is natural disaster. The true is: Natural disasters happened all the time but a good(at the job) Emperor + a healthy Dynasty can deal with it & stop the bad news from spreading until they're done solving the problem, while a tyrant in a failing dynasty simply can't or don't care -> All the refugees from affected areas flooding into everywhere causing problems on a nationwide scale(panic, food shortage, bandits,...) + some areas produce necessary goods that is now ruined.

[@eleethtahgra7182]

More like they gotta solve the problems. If the related officials solve the problem, then reward and/or promotion. If they hide it under the rug, then punishment. Thats whats gonna happen under good emperor. And also some relieve for the affected area (food, resettlement, etc) Under bad emperor, there might not be enough funds n resource for relieve n problem solving due to corruption. N thus the damage get compounded year after year, not to mention increased taxes, until some warlord rebelled and chain reaction started.

[@aokhoinguyenang3992]

@@eleethtahgra7182 Once the chain reaction started it's too late to stop. You can delay it but eventually the dynasty will fall to rebellion or foreign invasion(the Yuan & Quing dynasty). Well there is a way but it's a longshot: Use the emperor + some of his closest ally as a scapegoat & kill them then instal a new one(most of the time is yourself)

[@user-te7ui7gu2g]

That's right. In Korea, the phrase "natural disasters occur due to lack of the king's virtue" was used a lot. In fact, it is close to the king's inability to prevent natural disasters.

[@jonsong4592]

The root of the problem lies in the tendency for the wealthy families to consolidate land. The tax system in china is super skewed in favour of "scholars", which is basically the noble class with high educations and wealthy families. Minor rich families with a member who had obtained a scholarly title through the public exams were exempt from tax. In turn, this would lead to others in the area signing agreements giving their lands to them on paper to dodge taxes. In every new dynasty, the land ownership gets reshuffled, and peasants are able to live off their lands. Slowly as time progresses, more and more land are eaten up by wealthy and powerful families while peasants turn into serfs. Tax that is exempt from the scholars has to be paid by someone else, and that someone else is the peasantry. Imagine a country where 80% of the land is owned by the 5% of people who pay zero tax, and the 95% of other people who only own 20% of the land has to pay 100% of all tax. The government then has increasing difficulty in raising funds, and increasing difficulty passing laws and decrees that goes against the interests of the 5%. The reason for this is the expense of having an education. In order to become an official and pass the exams, you need financial backing. This usually meant that you either come from a wealthy family, or is under the patronage of one. This essentially meant that 90% of court officials are either part of those families or under the payroll of one. To make matters worse, corruption is high when there is little central control over regional governments. With officials covering for eachother, the emperor seldom knows when the disaster relief fund he decreed only arrives with 5% of its original amount. This erosion of control also happens over time, as more and more wealthy family backed officials take office throughout a dynasty. In total, this means that throughout a dynasty, the peasants grow poorer and poorer, the emperor has less and less control, and disasters and famines become increasingly difficult to deal with. In essence, the downfall of most dynasties are usually a causation of: 1.Famine/disaster strikes, peasants starve because they have little productive land due to land consolidation, which now produces too little to survive off. 2.Emperor may or may not receive news of the famine. If a disaster relief fund of 1 million taels of silver is decreed, 990 thousand taels of it is likely to be embezzled before the money reaches the disaster struck area. 3.Money that was enough to provide ample food for refugees become money that is only sufficient to buy animal feed, and most times not even that. 4.Refugees blame this on the emperor and the current government, and rebellions start. 5.Emperor sends the military to suppress the rebellions. 6.Military with high corruption because of low central control suffers defeats because the actual number of soldiers is much lower than the number on payroll, with generals embezzling the salaries for themselves. Uncorrupted generals are sometimes hampered by court intrigue and backstabbed. 7.Rebellion succeeds, new dynasty is proclaimed. It is interesting to note that most successful rebellion forces are led by a wealthy family after widespread rebellions break out, and there is only one case where a peasant rose to become the emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang). So its not so much that a failing dynasty can't or don't care about disasters, but simply the political system of China made it so that failure was inevitable in each cycle due to erosion of control and loss of land for the peasantry.

[@aokhoinguyenang3992]

@@jonsong4592 I agree with you on most part beside the tax exemption for scholar & scholar(I mean the people who just study & have yet or no intention of being part of the government) being noble: _ Tax exemption is intended to help poor people(or rather the government to recruit talented individuals from all classes) reduce the burden on them, without it the poor people would have no time to study for exam -> Removing it would harm the rich but also destroy the poor leading to even more corruption. Also the tax exemption only last until they pass the exam(then they have to pay for any additional revenue beside the salary the government provided) or stop being scholar. Though the corrupt officials would still cook their books, which they wouldn't have to do if they're still exempted) _ They're not noble considered they're not even part of the ruling body. Even if they become officials they technically can't pass that position to their children. There are actual hereditary noble titles usually given at the start of the dynasty or in crisis ensuring the loyalty of important keys to power. But the Emperor will try to remove(take back the title or kill the entire family). Because there are 3 outcomes: A. The descendant is useless & can't fulfill his duties-> A drain on the treasury B. The descendant is just good enough for the job-> Best outcome C. The descendant is too good-> He posses the most danger out of anyone with his wealth accumulating from multiple generations + his noble bloodline(can include royal blood giving him legitimacy) => The Emperor prefer court officials to nobles * The exam itself has many problems: + Empersise on literacy & history-> there are more smooth talker in the court than there are people with in depth knowledge on their job + Bribing & cheating(near impossible without bribing). One of the ways the examiners identify the examinees who bribed them(with the name removed) is through the type of paper & ink

[@426mak]

So in essence the Chinese Emperor's place within the Tributary system was quite similar to the Pope's position in feudal Europe ie. they were nominally the cultural/spiritual leader of their tributary area, but is reality each country did their own thing.

[@CoolHistoryBros]

Yep, similar stuff.

[@user-te7ui7gu2g]

@@CoolHistoryBros Exactly. The Ming emperor had only "formal" right to allow the new king of neighboring countries to ascend. Some chinese netizens claims that "Ming's emperor named Joseon", But King Taejo of the Joseon Dynasty, Yi Seonggye, had already decided the name "Joseon" and sought only formal consent from the Ming emperor.Simply put, he was similar to the emperor of Japan during Bakuhu.

[@derigel1755]

@@user-te7ui7gu2g ri seonggye decided to name between Joseon and Hwaryeong, and the emperor picked the former for him. So it's not a "claim" by netizen.

[@user-te7ui7gu2g]

@@derigel1755 I know that, but Lee Sung-gye actually planned from the beginning that "Joseon" would be chosen. Because the name "Joseon" was modeled after Gojoseon, It had more legitimacy, the Chinese emperor could only choose this name. In korea, this is called "답정너", which means To set the answer in advance and have them choose it.

[@derigel1755]

@@user-te7ui7gu2g The emperors could choose another name for him if he wanted, just as they did for Vietnam.

[@ayi3455]

the Mandate of heaven also applied to Javanese kings. It is called 'Ndaru'.... the Kediri and Singosari kingdoms of east Java at the 13th century, at the time of end-Song and early-Yuan of China claim themselves acquiring the Mandate of Heaven as the successor of the ancient Mataram dynasty when China was under Tang and early-Song dynasty..... The Majapahit kingdom of 13 - 16 centuries also claimed to have Mandate of Heaven as successor of Singosari... The reborn Mataram dynasty / neo-Mataram of the 16th century also claim the Mandate of Heaven as ruler of whole Java.

[@NicolasTheKingphoenix10]

That is interesting!

[@vieiradosreismariadelurdes9105]

MATARAM= Matar/AM 🔎✍️👆👇 The word/Verb= "Matar" is also a Portuguese word. 🧐🤔 Verbo: Matar= Verb: to Kill In Portuguese : A conjugação do Verbo no ( tempo) Passado : Eles/as "Mataram"= In English : The Verb in the paste : "They have killed "

[@ayi3455]

@@vieiradosreismariadelurdes9105 No .. the ancient Mataram kingdom occurred in 9 - 10th centuries, long before the Portugess arrived. the new Mataram kingdom founded by Sutawijaya claimed to be the continuation of the previous ancient Mataram ..

[@vieiradosreismariadelurdes9105]

@@ayi3455 Tank you very much for that historical information. 👆.✨👍 ( But,also that word/verb,still is a actual Portuguese word✍️📝 now days,year : 2023. Yes. )

[@ayi3455]

@@vieiradosreismariadelurdes9105 Matar in Sanskrit means mother. I haven't checked it out whether it has the relation between the word Matar and Mataram. it is possible that Mataram referred to a certain queen-woman or so .. just my guessing .. Hinduism came to Indonesian archipelago around 4 - 5th centuries along with Sanskrit language .. as you know, Sanskrit is the oldest Indo-European language ... Portuguese which came from Latin could possibly one of Sanskrit derivatives .. we have a lot of words borrowed from Sanskrit : puspa, candra, pustaka, madu, karya, etc ...

[@alessandrodelogu7931]

Good video. It's interesting that the Mandate of Heaven required the recognition of the previous dynasty as legitimate ruler. In Europe it was just the opposite. Richard III of England is an evil and hunchback child-killer in Shakespeare's tragedy because Henry VII needed to vilify him, to justify his own violent rise to power. In the medieval kingdoms of Sardinia, my native island, it was also allowed for the people to depose and even kill a tyrannical ruler, but this didn't affect the succession. In 1383 the king Ugone IV of Arborea was deposed, mutilated and buried alive with his daughter during a revolt, but the throne regularly passed to his nephew, the son of his sister, the famous Eleanor of Arborea. You could make a video about the Macartney embassy or the Opium War, or about the relations between ancient Rome and ancient China. They would be very interesting topics.

[@jonsong4592]

That tidbit is not really always true. There were only a few occasions where the previous royal family were allowed to live peacefully, and even then it was usually just the women. I'm not sure where CHB got the information that the Qing allowed Ming royals to live in peace, because historically they did the dead opposite of that. They quite literally hunted down all members of the royal family, even distantly related members and killed every one of them. The Qing entered China through Shanhai Gate under the claim that they were avenging the Ming emperor from the Shun rebels, so they couldn't just kill the Ming royals publicly after taking over. Instead, every time they caught a royal, they would proclaim that he is a charlatan and have him executed for "pretending" to be Ming royalty. They did this in order to ensure that the Ming can't be reinstated by a rebellion that rallied behind a surviving royal. I'm not sure how the last Southern Ming emperor could give the Qing legitimacy, as he was garroted with a bow after he was returned to the Qing by the king of Myanmar after trying to seek asylum.

[@alessandrodelogu7931]

@@jonsong4592 I don't know much about the Chinese issue, but at least some Ming royals survived, because in the early XX century Puyi, the last Qing emperor, met with the last Ming descendant. Probably the Qing killed as many Ming royals they thought they needed to suppress any opposition coming from them, and stopped when their rule on China became more stable. I've read something like that about the last Tang emperor, who after losing the throne became the personal fool of the new emperor, and later was poisoned because he was suspected of treason.

[@jonsong4592]

@@alessandrodelogu7931 ive never heard of puyi meeting any ming royal descendant. The Qing made sure to kill all the male royals they could find. Some Ming royals changed last names and hid, so its not impossible for them to survive. Im just saying that it was impossible for them to survive while publicly being acknowledged as a Ming royal. The truth is the manchurians always feared a revolt due to the ethnic differences and the blatant differential treatment of the Han ethnics, so they would never let any Ming descendant be publicly acknowledged.

[@alessandrodelogu7931]

@@jonsong4592 I remember reading it in a biography of Puyi.

[@kennywong4239]

@@alessandrodelogu7931 The so-called Ming dynasty descendant goes by the name of Zhu Zhilian. But many people questioned is he the real descendant. He is only permitted to go out and visit the tombs of Ming emperors once a year under heavy guard. When Pu Yi, the last emperor was evicted from Beijing in 1924, Zhu Zhilian seems to follow him to Manchukuo.

[@TheNovaFiends]

After binge watching Linfamy and The Shogunate, this is definitely hitting the spot. Instantly love this channel!

[@mottscottison6943]

Amazing how each dynasty may came from different groups or even ethnic, they followed the continuous Middle Kingdom system and even learn and embraced the culture and history from past dynasties and states. Like how Jiaqing Emperor of Manchu ethnic from the north learned about the Nan Yue from the south of warring states/spring and autumn period (2000 years ago) and renamed Vietnam as it is to protect the territorial sovereignty. The libraries of ancient China must be one of the most sophisticated and well kept ones.

[@watamiminozaki6383]

man funny u mention libraries because the first emperor didn’t like that

[@mottscottison6943]

@@watamiminozaki6383 yea he did destroyed many documents. Yet Chinese history remains one of the most well documented ones.

[@watamiminozaki6383]

@@mottscottison6943 yeah i know i was just taking the piss, if i’m being honest it really isn’t his fault the imperial library which had a copy of said books burnt down

[@mimorisenpai8540]

@@mottscottison6943 they always made copy of new book but sometimes will rewrite it

[@qxezwcs]

50 cent army

[@stoopidyoutubehandle]

Every to-be-emperor of a new dynasty to last emperor of the collapsing dynasty: You have lost the mandate of heaven! I have the high ground!(pwn not intended)

[@strawhatluroji4526]

Funny intro the amount of manhua and manhwa I've read this year with this premise mixed with Wuxia/martial arts basically lead me to this channel and your good content kept me coming back. Keep up the good work!

[@BloodnSteel]

Fun and interesting video here. Lots of good "crash course" style videos on this channel. Great job here.

[@marsaeternum1003]

that and nobody cared about being Emperor in Japan because they were absolutely powerless. since kamakura period of course

[@yulusleonard985]

And the reason why they survive for long time.

[@junainoakuma]

Yet still there were fierce checks and balances in power from anyone proclaiming a king dubbed by China in Japan. One rare occurrence was by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, if you know what I mean.

[@rostyawanaldy2402]

Dont get isekai'ed as emperor of japan

[@khai96x]

@@rostyawanaldy2402 Why not? No political power means no worrying about usurper, you get to enjoy a lavish lifestyle.

[@danielmick5236]

@@khai96x you have responsibility but not the right. can you imagine?

[@galren208]

Great video, the Mandate of Heaven was a lot more complex than I first thought.

[@user-ce3jb6nq7i]

Finally someone explain this to me, i never really understood it till now!

[@darkfalon7]

I'm reading "Investiture of the Gods," which is about Zhou Dynasty overthrowing Shang Dynasty and it's honestly a little bit frustrating how much some characters are "no! I can't betray the king, even though he's clearly evil! I won't become a rebel."

[@seluneshar9080]

That's just a novel

[@darkfalon7]

@@seluneshar9080 yes, I'm aware of that. What is your point?

[@saretgnasoh7351]

@@darkfalon7 his point is it's just a NOVEL dooh 🙄

[@moderatecanuck]

@@saretgnasoh7351 so he has no right to complain about some of the characters?!

[@saretgnasoh7351]

@@moderatecanuck there's a big difference between frustrating and complain. frustrating over a novel character, funny

[@TheShogunate]

Thank you so much for the shout out! Great Video!

[@CoolHistoryBros]

No worries, bro. Love your channel!

[@jamesdakrn]

As a Korean, this is the BEST explanation of the "tribute" system there is in English on KZbin. I looove how you explain a lot of Asian history concepts that are usually misunderstood in the West

[@TheGloriousLobsterEmperor]

I wanted something to watch while I was making porridge, and have been playing a load of Total War Three Kingdoms recently, so I searched up "Mandate of heaven" and got this result. Loved this video so much I subscribed instantly!

[@johnhanley9946]

"Jesus' Chinese brother" made me smile... 😁

[@weirdshit]

They got the hint from second coming of jesus appearing from the east. LOL.

[@echabigail]

Me too 😁

[@williamwan3712]

Yes, that is Hong Xiuquan, a scholar who failed to pass the civil service exam, accidentally read half of the Bible, ONLY HALF, and then decided to create a cult based on Christianity as the spiritual guide for his rebellion. And of course, in order to control the followers, he claimed to be the brother of Jesus. lol

[@williamwan3712]

Basically the religion he founded was not Christianity, but a cult dressed in Christian clothing

[@IamAWESOME3980]

@@williamwan3712 sounds like Jesus when he sets out to reform Judaism.

[@sebl.4951]

Keep up je good work my friend! Your channel is underrated !!

[@conho4898]

Amazing video yet again!

[@richardmackenzie2513]

Cool! This was what I asked for!

[@wenyuanliang2469]

Many thanks for inspiration. I'm now writing a paper related to the mandate of heaven

[@keiraroleston8325]

Excellent video -thank you!

[@Eclipsegoearth]

This helped with HW, Thank You ❤😊

[@nickypenn5841]

Oh awesome, you're partnering with Shogunate as fellow history bros? This is very cool! Both of you should collaborate more!

[@ctngel1990]

0:00 ...I've never expected there is a person who uses 'this set-up' in teaching history.

[@alannasarafat9938]

Well I read some novel about back in the past and this one I like the most 1. Back to the beginning of ming dynasty to do charity 2. Royal road 3. Transmigrating to the Ming dynasty imperial examination. 4. All under heaven Is a good read for kingdom building genre

[@user-te7ui7gu2g]

You are very popular among Korean history enthusiasts. Although you are a Chinese-Australian, you do not only look at history as China-centered(中華思想), but you describe the history of China and its surrounding Asian countries in an objective and balanced manner.

[@IRIS-uq8vd]

Can you suggest some korean history channel that reflect major korean's pov about history and neighbour country? i'd like to know. thank you.

[@user-te7ui7gu2g]

@@IRIS-uq8vd Dragon historian, 우물 밖의 개구리, arirang news, 국립진주박물관 site:동북아역사재단, encyclopedia of the korean folk cultures book: Goguryeo Tomb Murals, History of the Three kingdoms: 삼국사기 (in gmarket global)

[@Joseph-qd9ew]

Actually, I think he is Australian, not American

[@hanliu3707]

中华思想？I never heard this phrase, usually it's 中国中心论/中国至上, I do agree that it's good that he keep bias out of it.

[@user-te7ui7gu2g]

@@IRIS-uq8vd The korea Society

[@yaleyoon6856]

Oh didn't expect The Shogunate's video on the Imjin War here! Seems like all the East Asian history & culture KZbinrs that I watch all know about each other. Linfamy, The Shogunate, Japan at War, Cool History Bros, and several others

[@Marc-925]

Your visuals are top tier

[@ltmatthewakj2466]

I like how you tell chinese tributary system and connected it with east asia culture about generosity as a prestige (south asia did too like in Indonesia) culture. Fighting to pay for the bill often happen for who has worked treat his unemployed friend, showing generosity and prestige in same time or treat everyone in birthdays. Good job showing Asian culture.

[@hanliu3707]

I don't think it have any connection with tributary system? it's just the easiest way to show that ''I'm rich and kind''

[@Joseph-qd9ew]

I loved the video! Would like to know more about the tributaries of China other than the big 3 😮

[@MCorpReview]

The darn zhou made a whole series explaining how they defeated those shang devils.

[@ffn8917]

Really great content. You should make a video about ancient China next

[@mirrorocean3852]

Thailand and Malaysia also paid tribute to China. Especially Thailand, sent several tributes often because China was generous and gave back much bigger gifts

[@SciFi2285]

The tributary system is often misinterpreted as purely exploitative. But it bears little resemblance to European colonialism. A strict "do unto others" ethos governs all Confucian relationships. Children should respect their elders, subjects should obey their rulers, and vassals should pay tribute to the emperor. But this is only half the story. Reciprocation is expected. And required. Parents must love their children, rulers must treat their subjects fairly, and satellite states must benefit from their relations with the empire. The emperor must give a generous gift back upon receiving tribute. Emperors who take without giving are violating the rules.

[@almalayuwiyyah2512]

Tributary system is just domestic propaganda and theatre. Emperor would not stoop so lower to trade with filthy lowly merchant. So emperor gave "gift" and other state give"tribute". It basically trade between state lol. Cutting out freaking merchant. Chinese really hate merchant. Old China and new China is basically the same. Socialism is just natural evolution to that.

[@hugolorente7705]

Yuan Shu needed this guide

[@sinoroman]

was expecting some mention of Shun dynasty, but i guess it'll be for another video

[@VWYL900802]

what a useful channel! growing up I had so much trouble talking to others who don't get Chinese history and culture and has a extremely hard time explaining to people who don't get it. They all think we made things up and it's all mythology. Or white people use the PC way, such as "we respect your culture a lot, even we don't understand it.", to address their ignorance. If people want to show they know a lot, they only know stuff from the last half century, and made fun of the ancient times, or say it's not relevant. It strips off the values that made our history and cultural sustainability. In fact, knowing a culture's history will help understand the current problems facing the world today. Late Qing was already poor from Dao Guang emperor, the emperor who ceded HK to England, and the father of Xianfeng, the husband of Dowager Cixi. After the burning of the Summer Palace, and the death of her husband, Dowager Cixi joint rule with Dowager Cian under the kid ruler Tongzhi, as puppet. The fact that even after Cian's death, she continues to strip down counsellor's advice for national reforms and continues to ignore the changes of the world made China impossible to progress under the pretext of industrialization at a global scale. The dissolve made the early half of the 20th century a general struggle to modernize as other nations just don't respect the Chinese anymore, even when HK was in it's early stage in English Colonialization.

[@thfyk]

An episode about The Dynasty Cycle might help better understanding of Mandate of Heaven.

[@nidohime6233]

You should watch Twelve Kingdoms anime, is an old isekai set in a fantasy counterpart of China, and things like the Mandate of Heaven affects a lot to the plot. Also it haves unicorns.

[@tat3179]

To all would be would be rebels bros, do realise that what Cool History Bros didn’t tell you that the penalty for failing a rebellion against an established dynasty is not only death to you, but the death to all your family including your extended family as well. So when carrying out your ambition to create a new dynasty, at least give advance knowledge to your 2nd cousin Timmy that you only talk once a year during your family’s Christmas gathering about your plan that might risk him losing his head.

[@TKN_NTBY]

Yes, in Vietnam, its "Chu di tam tộc" = "3-generation Death Sentence" or "Chu di cửu tộc" = "9-generation Death Sentence" depending on how severe it is

[@miinfl7143]

If you come for the king, you best not miss.

[@williamwan3712]

@@TKN_NTBY I think "Chu di tam tộc" =誅其三族（zhu qi san zu）, "Chu di cửu tộc"=誅其九族（zhu qi jiu zu）in chinese

[@TKN_NTBY]

@@williamwan3712 very likely

[@MrsKoldun]

10:09 In my (western) country the other children at a kid‘s bday party always get presents right before they go home 😆

[@tonbopro]

wah lao， best arrangement lor

[@eleethtahgra7182]

Huh, so thats why I gotta pay for my friends meal when we were celebrating my birthday.

[@marieduffaut8741]

Thank you for this video! I would like to know more about the history of this dynasty. There is an english translation of the Ming shilu? Or Ming Taizong shilu? Classical chinese is hard to translate. Thank you :)

[@SonPham-nx3sy]

Thank you

[@tombouie]

I never know asian culture/history was so amazing/complex. Request you explain the china language & its structure to us westerns.

[@WmJared]

paradox game devs PLEASE take note and pay this team to consult

[@BabyColor]

Probably the coolest video opening ever

[@jefferygoldmann2643]

I have a feeling I will need this information

[@gom5799]

Do one about the Nan Yue and the nations they later formed

[@thewanderingrey8830]

he's done that in "First Chinese domination of Vietnam" video.

[@cambodgeknowledge9382]

@coolhistorybros Please make video about Cambodia history.

[@jonasleclerc945]

Wien will you take Ober the Mandate of Heaven of KZbin? Another Great and informative video.

[@user-te7ui7gu2g]

Evem Yi seong gye, Taejo of Joseon had same conception about 天命(천명). He destroyed Goryeo and established Joseon because the Goryeo Dynasty, especially Buddhism, was so corrupt that it was difficult for the people to live. In Korea and China, corruption in existing countries and poverty of people have always been the reason for establishing a new country. A similar story comes out in the drama "Kingdom." Joseon's prince and politicians always compete with "Who treats the people more like heaven?" Many Western viewers were very curious that the cause of fighting between royalty and politicians in the drama was not their own legitimacy, but the livelihood of the people.

[@alessandrodelogu7931]

I like "Kingdom" too. The mix of historical and zombie genres is so weird and interesting that I had to watch it.

[@mimorisenpai8540]

Still they fighting for Legitimacy and use People suffering for their own agenda, Joseon is built more rigid class system than Goryeo.

[@toedpens4954]

Oh you already have animations for everyone in the azuchi momoyama era? Very interested to see your videos on that

[@creestee08]

Hi bro, please do suggest a book/s about the way of life in china in 15 and 16th century. Thanks

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

1:28 funnily enough something similar happened in Medieval Europe when the Great Schism happened, After Centuries of growing tension between the Catholic and Orthadox Churches, Empress Irene took over from Her Son, seeing this as an Excuse the Catholic Church recognised that Charlemagen gets to be Roman Emperor while the Byzantine Empire and the Orthadox Church maintains that they are the Actual Roman Empire creating the Problem of the 2 Emperors, There is also there is a Concept called Translatio Imperii in Europe this basically means that the New Empire is the "True Heir" of the Roman Empire.

[@kylin3197]

I'd love to see a Chinese Manichaeism vid!

[@richhartnell6233]

You should talk about Qin general Bai Qi. Although he is more known for his brutality nowadays, he was an absolute genius and in my opinion one of the best generals to ever walk the earth.

[@jurtra9090]

But i read that he was once refuse to engage in battle in order to not ruin his perfect win record

[@fuzzzone]

@@jurtra9090 I don't know what event you're referring to specifically but avoiding engaging in a battle you don't believe you can win is certainly sound military strategy.

[@jurtra9090]

@@fuzzzone From Wikipedia: "According to the Shiji, in the year 257 BC, Qin started to besiege Handan, the capital of Zhao. Because Bai Qi was ill, the Qin king used another prominent general, Wang Ling (王陵), who subsequently lost the battle. After about four months, when Bai Qi seemed to have recovered, the king asked him to return to his post as commander, but Bai Qi held a different opinion, he argued that Qin no longer had enough resources for such a long-range war, and the other states would soon attack Qin since Qin had been contrary to the negotiation. However, the king insisted on continuing the attack. Bai Qi refused the king's command, using his illness as an excuse. The king, therefore, had to use Wang He (王齕), another prominent Qin general, instead of Bai Qi, as the commander.[10] This decision did not help the Qin army in the battle at all; Chu and Wei soon sent troops to assist Zhao. After more than five months of continuous defeat at Handan, Qin had suffered major losses. The king asked Bai Qi to become commander again, but he once more used his illness to refuse the request. In the Zhan Guo Ce, his true intentions were supposedly revealed when he stated that he would rather be executed for refusing the king's order, than lose his long undefeated fame on the battlefield. Having been refused several times, the king became angry, removed all titles from Bai Qi, and forced him to leave Xianyang, the Qin capital. In addition, Fan Ju persuaded the king that Bai Qi would join another state as a general and become a threat to the State of Qin. Convinced by Fan Ju's information, the king then forced Bai Qi to commit suicide in Duyou (杜邮).[11] Before he committed suicide, Bai Qi stated that he deserved such a tragic ending after having killed so many people.[12]"

[@richhartnell6233]

Bai Qi killled literally millions of enemies, including more then 450,000 at changping alone and 240,000 at Yique He commanded the Qin army for over 30 years in which he won more then 90 wars and captured 73 cities. He gained the nickname “human butcher” for. His brutality. There is no evidence to suggest he lost a single battle in his entire career which spanned over three decades. I can’t think of any general to compare him to except subutai. The raw math, especially for a general in the ancient period is beyond incredible

[@jurtra9090]

​@@richhartnell6233 Khalid Ibn-al Walid

[@itihaserjalsha6814]

'Mandate of heaven' is is nothing but Lu buwei's Dragon slaying technique of miscellaneous family.it is the strongest weapon of aristocratic familys to restrict power of the emperor.

[@ryuism6561]

Do a video about who is guan yin and her story since birth

[@littlehistorian5751]

Bro Can you make a video About Military Of Tang Dynasty And Then Ming Dynasty

[@tejdandekar]

My new favorite Isekai!

[@kennethh3790]

Finally, I’ve always heard the English name, but never knew what it was called in Chinese!

[@davidkueny2444]

Is Zhu Yuanzang wearing mountain pattern armor? If so, why do the pauldrons look more like brigandine?

[@screamingfox5666]

Its a nice name for a magic spell.

[@kevinton4373]

Truck Chan did it again!😂 why truck chan why!!!!!😫😫

[@CoolHistoryBros]

See the ribbon & toast? It's truck chan being late this time. 😆😆

[@kevinton4373]

Whoops 😅 my bad 🤦 I forgot to notice there’s a ribbon and the toast on the truck 🛻 also I fix the mistake tho so yeah I correct the mistake

[@karaqakkzl]

In Vietnam, there is no Truck-chan. You'll get roast by an bike-san

[@strategicgamingwithaacorns2874]

It's Truck-Kun, not Truck-Chan. GET IT RIGHT!

[@kevinton4373]

@@strategicgamingwithaacorns2874 really?🤔 I did said that before but someone corrected me That the truck have a toast and ribbon 🎀 with the truck and realized that the truck is female(truck Chan)

[@lordkent8143]

It's interesting to think that if Japan succeeded in the Imjin War, Hideyoshi would declare a new dynasty in China and the Qing may have never existed. A scholar friend and I had a deep conversation on this alternate history. It would be interesting to see Japan be then broken to two or more separate empires, with the Shogun ultimately adopting the Chinese throne and separate factions that want to remain on the island loyal to the Japanese emperor. Much like Alexander's empire, the Mandate of Heaven favors the "strongest" really + a bit of good PR and luck.

[@papercat2599]

yuan dynasty conquering japan was more likely. All because fucking storm. Japan was literally too weak to actually challenge China in imjin. They can’t even pass Korea.

[@goldman77700]

@@papercat2599 Actually a storm only accounted for the failure of the 2nd invasion of Japan. There's no evidence that any storm was involved in the failure of the FIRST invasion of Japan by Yuan Dynasty. 😁

[@papercat2599]

@@goldman77700 no there is. You clearly don’t know any history. Go to Wikipedia for the first invasion. During a temporary strategic retreat, a sudden storm appeared. Ending with close to 200 yuan ship were lost .

[@goldman77700]

@@papercat2599 Lmao. You're directing me to Wikipedia of all places as a source? They just banned several editors for making false entries recently. Keep failing.

[@yohaneschristianp]

Not a chance, they can't even win against Korea. Korea has naval superiority too.

[@Thaumaturge2251]

Never know when this stuff comes in handy.

[@jiyefuuu]

its about time u guys go to three kingdoms era videos. and please do milk it! so many tactics, characters, and events to milk content out of. i for one will gladly watch.

[@xTheacefrehleyx]

So, instead of the more natural sequence: Natural Disaster/Invasions -> Famine -> Rebellion -> (loss of mandate of heaven) Emperor deposed -> New Dynasty They thought it was: Loss of mandate of heaven -> Natural Disaster/Invasions -> Famine -> Rebellion -> Emperor deposed -> New Dynasty

[@nickyliu8762]

Medieval European logic was very similar, too. Instead of causal logic, they used determination paradigm: The lion didn't die _because_ it got hit by an arrow. It's because the lion _had to die_ so it got hit by an arrow.

[@xTheacefrehleyx]

@@nickyliu8762 Yeah, like the bad behaviour of a ruler caused the gods to be angry, so they sent natural disasters to start to topple the domino

[@zsarimaxim692]

Natural disasters doesn't necessarily bring famine as the state would bring relief. Famine or at least wide spread famine only happens when the state is unresponsive. So despite all the mumble jumble ritual, the bottom line is a social contract of the state providing security from war and relief from disaster in return for loyalty.

[@tomcherry8618]

Do a video of Forbidden city that built by Vietnamese architect Nguyen An

[@williamwan3712]

Yes, 阮安, 阮白, 阮浪, 黎澄 are all Vietnamese architects that have made great contributions to the building of Forbidden city, but they all grown up in China.

[@sgcl10658]

He was one of the important ones but he was not the only one.

[@marcomartinez1843]

Do you have any sources in English that claim that the Wu Zhao Dynasty used Manichaeism for her mandate of heaven? When I searched for it in Wikipedia, the article said she used only Buddhism and Daoism.

[@CoolHistoryBros]

www.academia.edu/5702321/Maitreyan_and_Manichaeism Don't rely on wikipedia, my friend.😉

[@theredwhirlwin]

Haha, Isekai truck, you had me laughing right out the gate 🤣

[@brucefrizzell4221]

Your videos are very helpful in learning history not taught in America . For example , Vietnam history in America starts in 1957 and ends in 1975 . Of course , this just makes America look silly . I would like to know more about the Taiping Rebellion . I learn a lot from your videos . They are also good at pointing out places to find more detailed information. Sehr gut . Math fhein !

[@rostyawanaldy2402]

this guy had preparing us to be ready to get isekai'ed

[@jakelabete7412]

It seems there's no consensus on the 'Mandate of Heaven' so if two factions claim it that means status quo prevails. How do you 'save face'?

[@navigator5426]

Yeah, if that actually happens I'll offer you the position of Minister of History and Cool Bros.

[@HierophanticRose]

It is actually a clever trick of state building this. "Why did Han fall to rebellions? Because it lost the Mandate of Heaven. Why did it lose the Mandate of Heaven? Because it fell to rebellions."

[@jxmai7687]

替天行道 enforce justice on behalf of heaven

[@yohannessulistyo4025]

An interesting next topic: Facts vs fictions in the Romance in Three Kingdom.

[@jurtra9090]

Good idea 1. Liu Bei was far less virtuous than what he was depicted in the novel, but more capable in leading the army 2. Cao Cao actually has 25 sons instead of 6

[@Marc-.]

@@jurtra9090 And Cao cao is actually ugly and short af unlike what’s said in the ROTK

[@phambinhan17]

Japan and Vietnam also have their own tributary system

[@HontasFarmer80]

In some ways this kinda sounds like the Islamic phrase _Al-masur Billah_ . That some are destined to lead and win because they are _made victorious by God_ . Based on the idea that Muhammad won battles he "should have lost" while he won battles he "should have lost".

[@almalayuwiyyah2512]

Mandate of heaven is mistranslation. It actually a mandate of god. The word Tian is not just heaven. It refer to god.

[@nakanowatari3339]

So the tributary system is just a networking events for prospective rulers, lol

[@hierok.5125]

I liked Sun Jian having the mandate of heaven statue and he had to cross borders. Guard: "do you have the mandate of heaven? Lemme look in your bag" Sun Jian: no I don't have the mandate of heaven. If I do then may I be struck down with spears arrows and stones" Repeat twice. Finally on a raft heading home he got struck down by....

[@nordicgaming5429]

Rip our boi Sun Jian, the only decent vanguard Commander of the Coalition againts Dong Zhuo, along with Cao Cao. Everyone else did nearly Nothing after Luoyang got burned.

[@yeahlol2911]

Would you do a video about religion or myth in ancient china?

[@backyD]

We have Taoism. Buddhism. Islam. Christ. Of course Taoism is our religion one.

[@RareSeldas]

We studied this in college.

[@jackl2257]

In China?

[@ancalyme]

Wait in the US your own birthday isn't your treat? If you have a birthday party others pay for it? So weird...

[@hollister2320]

Ya, is that not normal where you’re from?

[@ukeyaoitrash2618]

11:24 as a Dutch person, I know my next vacation 😍

[@jackl2257]

Lol yeah they will pay for you

[@Herzquelle]

didn'T got isekaied after watching the vid feel baited :P! good video.

[@Trainlizardfan2002]

run in front of a truck

[@hwasiaqhan8923]

Zhu Yuanzhang said Yuan had the Mandate of Heaven but was not a Chinese dynasty

[@LuisAldamiz]

Mao: let's make a cultural revolution and get rid of all the ritualistic "fun", I have the Mandate of Heaven now.

[@rickr9435]

mao wasn't the president during the cultural revolution. his term ended before that

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@rickr9435 - Fair enough, I guess. He was still the Great Helmsman. AFAIK the President of the People's Republic of China is a figurehead anyhow. Mao still kept the two most important roles: Chairman of the CCP and Chairman of the Central Military Commission until his death in 1976.

[@williamwan3712]

He had been given his Mandate of Heaven long before that, as famine and prices soared in Kuomintang China, that is why the public supported the Communists in ousting the Kuomintang

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@williamwan3712 - I didn't know that factoid but it makes perfect sense. It's the curse of capitalism, it's the curse of greed.

[@xirensixseo]

i keep forgetting about the jesus brother thing and it keeps getting me

[@jackl2257]

You know it when you know it