Writing Assignment- Losing the Mandate of Heaven.
Under the Zhou the Chinese ruler possessed the "mandate of Heaven," an impersonal law of nature devoted to universal harmony. The king ruled as a representative of Heaven, and was responsible for governing with compassion and justice. Famines, floods, or social unrest could indicate that the ruler had lost the mandate of Heaven, and thus could be overthrown. The rise and fall of dynasties during this era will be tied to the mandate.
INSTRUCTIONS
• Read the relevant sections of Chapter 10 for your analysis and discussion.
• Identify at least two outside sources to support your discussion. Please keep in mind that Wikipedia is not an acceptable reference.
PREPARE AND SUBMIT
Write a well organized essay a minimum of 700 words, including supporting details from the documents/textbook/other sources, in which you to address the following:
Compare and contrast the Chinese dynasties of this era. Examine and discuss the various possible causes for the loss of the "Mandate of Heaven" from the Han to the Yuan dynasties, and assess the reasons for and impact of the Mongol victory over China. Was it "simply" a matter of better military effectiveness or were societal, economic, and related attitudinal elements influential, if not determinative?
REMINDERS
• Paragraphs in an essay are not numbered. Any questions that are associated with an assigned reading are there to serve as a guide for your discussion.
• Your discussion should incorporate all of the information from the documents and or textbook, and outside sources as one essay.
• Students are required to research and incorporate into their discussions additional sources that relate to the content. Chapters contain documents in sections titled Comparative Essays, Comparative Illustrations, and Opposing Viewpoints, and maps and tables also provide information that can be used to support discussion of your essay topic. Recommendations can be found at the end of textbook chapter in Suggested Reading, in Primary Source documents posted in many of the chapter folders, in the Enrichment Activites folder. Many chapters also have videos relating to the content of that chapter, and can be used as reference material. Wikipedia is not an acceptable reference.
• All statements must be supported, and all sources including your textbook and assigned readings must be cited in the essay, and included in your reference list. Failure to do so constitutes Plagiarism, and the college has strict policies and penalties for failure to comply. Under the Student Writing Resources tab you will find links to sites that review how to format a paper or essay. I recommend that students use APA to format their essay. Since you are not writing a Research paper, you do not have to include an Abstract. Students should ask their instructor which format style they prefer you to use.
• Proofread your work. Make sure that you have looked for all of the spelling and grammatical errors and corrected them, and that you have organized your work into coherent paragraphs.
• Prepare the assignment as a Word Document, double-spaced and using a standard font of 12 points.