Ancient China

There was a pattern to all the dynasties that ruled China.Think of a circle.When a new family overthrew the old dynasty and took the "Mandate of Heaven", the right to rule, this was the top of the circle. As the dynasty ruled for the first half of the circle, their rule was good; they gave land to the peasants and cut down on taxes and corruption.For the second half of the circle, the ruling family became distant from the peasants; they started taxing heavily and taking land from the peasants. The last part of the circle was usually started by a natural disaster, which led to a revolution, which led to a new family taking over, and the circle would start again. This was the dynastic cycle. The Dynastic Cycle