In the eight centuries between the fall of the Shang and the rise of the First Emperor, there were many important developments in Chinese civilisation as a patchwork of kingdoms coalesced towards a single state. The period saw the emergence of a distinctive political philosophy based on older historical traditions and rituals of rulership. At its heart was one great and enduring idea, that of the king who ruled by virtue, the sage-monarch mandated by heaven, to whom all allegiance was due. The key figure in shaping this ideology, the most important person in Chinese civilisation, was
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