This is a picture near our house which attempts to show how much snow we received over the last two days, somewhere around 10 to 12 inches. Of the last four school days we have had two canceled, one early dismissal and one late start. The snow is nothing compared to the tornadoes which hit Tennessee and other places in the south. The bad weather, along with the slowing economy and slumping stock market got me to thinking while I shoveled the snow off the driveway.
In Chinese history there is a concept known as the dynastic cycle which is tied to the idea of the Mandate of Heaven. The idea is that the emperor comes to power with the blessing of the gods and that things will go well. But as time goes on, the emperor enacts unwise policies or becomes corrupt. There may be rebellions, uprisings, or attacks by foreigners. Added to this there may be a series of natural disasters, bad weather, or other calamities which shows the people the emperor has lost the Mandate of Heaven and the time has come for the emperor or his dynasty to be removed from power.
1 comment:
um dad? that sounds like something Pat Robertson would say, except he'd same it was God [christian god] punishing the heathens.
interesting though. and didn't realize you had so much snow out here. ours melted, then more fell. think its about about 2 inches right now.
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