Dynastic cycle

Dynastic cycle (traditional Chinese: 朝代循環; simplified Chinese: 朝代循环; pinyin: Cháodài Xúnhuán) is an important political theory in the history of China. According to this theory, each dynasty of China rises to a political, cultural, and economic peak and then—because of moral corruption—declines, loses the Mandate of Heaven, falls, and is replaced by a new dynasty. The cycle then repeats under a surface pattern of repetitive motifs. The theory sees a continuity in Chinese history from early times to the present, in the succession of empires or dynasties, which implies that there is little basic development or change in social or economic structures. John K. Fairbank expressed the doubts of many historians when he wrote that "the concept of the dynastic cycle ... has been a major block to the understanding of the fundamental dynamics of Chinese history", and that the only validity of it is "if one interprets it as a somewhat superficial political pattern that overlay the more fundamental technological, economic, social, and cultural developments."