 All interpreters agree that there is at least a narrow kind of political legitimacy in play, of the type that tells one who the legitimate heir to the throne should be. According to the Mencius, in the earliest days, political power was passed on via sagely, particularistic assessment of who was most qualified to rule, coupled with the endorsement of Heaven, as viewed through the actions of the people. This is how the throne was passed from Yao to Shun, and from Shun to Yu. This practice quickly fell apart, though, and in its (supposed) place arose the mechanisms of hereditary monarchy (MC 5A:5 and 5A:6). This is an ingenious explanation for the shift that also helps to explain why Confucius was never tapped to rule in the way that Shun had been. Mou Zongsan has influentially argued that the shift from sagely judgment on who is best fit to rule, to hereditary monarchy, is a shift from a holistic form of ethical authority to what is merely an effective technology for the administration of power instead of genuine political authority (Mou 1991: 132). In other words, Mou agrees with El Amine on the existence of a relatively distinct realm of politics, though—writing as a modern Confucian philosopher—Mou regrets the degree to which this shallow form of politics is disconnected from justification deeper than “order”, and argues for a re-imagining of Confucian politics (on which see  Section 5).