In this history, the political fortunes of a dynasty ultimately rest on one man and his actions, whether he behaves properly. The mandate of heaven is remarkably flexible as an explanation of historical causation. It explains why, as dynasties fell, there were often terrible storms and floods and peasant uprisings. If the emperor had been behaving properly, none of that stuff would have happened. Now, a more modern historian might point out that the negative effects of terrible storms and floods, which include peasant uprisings, sometimes lead to changes in leadership. But that would take the moral aspect out of history, and it would also diminish the importance of Confucian scholars. Because the scholars can tell you that one of the best ways to learn how to be a good emperor, and thereby maintain the mandate of heaven, is to read the Confucian classics, which were written by scholars.