Question

1. ancient china was ruled by dynasties. a dynasty is a line of rulers from the same family, which is often called the royal family. starting in 1046 bce, rulers from the zhou (pronounced jo) dynasty claimed to have something called the mandate of heaven. a mandate is the authority to act in a certain way. what did it mean to have the mandate of heaven?

1)
heaven made the ruler rich.

heaven allowed the ruler to act however he wanted.

heaven required the ruler to pray every day.

heaven gave the ruler the authority to rule.

Explanation:

The Mandate of Heaven is a concept in ancient Chinese history (part of Social Science, subfield History) where it was the belief that Heaven (or the divine) granted rulers the right to govern. The definition of "mandate" here is the authority to act, so having the Mandate of Heaven means Heaven gave the ruler the authority to rule. The other options are incorrect: making the ruler rich, allowing arbitrary action, or requiring daily prayer are not what the Mandate of Heaven entailed.

Answer:

Heaven gave the ruler the authority to rule.