[albertni]

I hope this was a joke. Concepts like a "mandate of Heaven" are completely irrelevant in modern China. Also as a side note, China really hasn't had disproportionately more "revolutions" than any other nation with such a long history.

[rfreytag]

I did not say China has disproportionately more revolutions.

I'm interested why you believe that modern China will not repeat 4000 years of history. It is not an accident that "history repeats itself" is a well worn phrase. I see no reason why it should not apply to modern China any less than the modern China of 1980's (Deng), 1960's (Cultural Revolution), 1950's (Communists), 1910's (Nationalists), or earlier.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_China <- tiny sample.