May somebody annote/ summarize this for 10 points?
The time in China's history from 403 to 221 B.C. is called the Warring States period. During this time there was a lack of unity. Many states were fighting for total power. One was the state of Qin. Its early rulers claimed to have the Mandate of Heaven and that the Zhou did not have it anymore.
Later rulers, such as China's first emperor Shi Huangdi of the Qin, were less concerned about being kind and fair. They thought they earned their victory because of a strong military and good luck.
Later thinkers believed that the emperor wasn't given power from Heaven at all. Rather, he was just serving the public good. Still, even in the 18o0s, emperors continued to argue that they had the Mandate of Heaven.
While the emperor was powerful, he could not do anything he wanted. He depended on loyal supporters to carry out his rules and ideas. He needed to create laws and have a working system of government officials around him.
The emperor also had to follow many rules that had been written long ago. Since all rulers were chosen by Heaven, each one that followed had to respect their old laws and ideas. This is what limited an emperor's power.
