This Han dynasty vintage illustration makes the point that the preceding Qin dynasty did not have the Mandate of Heaven. How? First, bear in mind that, as was common in the art of the period, the whole image depicts several different scenes simultaneously, even though they happened at different times. Here is the story: The first emperor of the Qin dynasty learned that a ritual tripod bronze vessel (a ding) from the Zhou dynasty had been cast into a river at a certain place. He determined to recover it because the bronze tripod was a prominent symbol of dynastic legitimacy. The Qin emperor assembled a crew of workers, some of whom dove into the water and secured a ropes around the bronze vessel (bottom right of the image, notice the boats and fish). Others erected a wooden structure over the spot and began pulling the ding up by the ropes. But, just as it began to emerge from the water, a dragon rose up and bit the ropes in two. Notice the dragon's head above the tripod and another dragon to the right. In Chinese lore, dragons (which look more like snakes or lizards) were associated with water and were a common symbol of tian in its meaning of "the cosmic forces." Notice the salvage workers on the right falling backward owing to the sudden severing of the rope. In other words, the cosmic forces have spoken, saying that the first Qin emperor is not the one who should be ruling the empire. Obviously, this is a self-serving point made often during the Han dynasty, which succeeded the Qin.

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