[Steppes] How kings were made?

[Xue XianXian]

I was thinking about the concept of Crown Tournament and how my persona would understand it.  After considering this for quite a long afternoon, I began to wonder how others would explain/see the event and, if their persona would understand the concept.  I'm sorry if this is in some sort of "gray area" but I just really wanted to discuss something history-oriented...

I have been doing a bit of research through Chinese and Mongolian 
history about the responsibilities of a king/lord unto their 
people and how they were put into office.  

I found that the belief that all men are born equal originated 
in the teachings of Confucius (Master Kong/551-479 B.C.E.).  
Previous to his time, the king was thought to be the Son of Heaven
by virtue of his lineage.  He and his family were known as jun zi,
"aristocratic/virtuous gentlemen," who had the exclusive right to
rule by their noble blood. A man could never become jun zi without
the noble birth regardless of his talent or virtue.

Confucius came upon the revolutionary idea that any man could be 
jun zi so long as they conducted themselves in a proper manner.  
The honor of jun zi could no longer be gained by birthright alone 
but by earning it through their behavior.  Confucius taught that 
the right to rule depended upon ability, conduct, and education.  
Any man could rule, provided he remain virtuous and just.  Rulers 
were supposed to hold their power in trust which could be revoked 
"by Heaven" if they abused their power.

This "open mandate of Heaven" could easily be explained in 
SCAdian terms.  I mean, Crown Tourney bestows the "Mandate of 
Heaven" on the victor.  It's quite easy for my persona
to place the thought of that into play to make the Ansteorran ways
fit into her understanding of the world.


An ancient philosopher, Han Feizi, showed us with his proverb 
"Watching the tree to catch a hare" that the only thing that does 
not change is change itself.  Maybe he was trying to teach us that
there are no universal moral standards.  People react to leaders 
differently defined by their own personal experiences and at any 
time there can be a fine line between "Devoted Ruler" and "Fanatic
Tyrant."

I feel these things are so even today and wondered what your 
thoughts were and how we could apply them to the SCA.  There are 
many different areas being covered within the society and many 
more types of ideals and codes of conduct.  Perhaps this would 
give us all a chance to share some differing views on the 
subject, no?
-Lady Yu Xue XianXian