Home > Warring States Period
- Alternative meaning: Warring States Period (Japan)
The Warring States Period ( traditional Chinese: 戰國時代, simplified Chinese: 战国时代 pinyin Zhànguó Shídài) takes place from sometime in the 5th century BC to the unification of China by Qin in 221 BC. It is nominally considered to be the second part of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, following the Spring and Autumn Period. Like the Spring and Autumn Period, the king of Zhou acted merely as a figurehead. The name Warring States Period was named after Record of the Warring States compiled in early Han Dynasty. The date for the beginning of the Warring States Period is somewhat in dispute: it is traditionally considered to be in 475 BC, right after the end of the Spring and Autumn Period. However 403 BC is also in consideration, when the tripartite of the State of Jin happened.
The Warring States Period, in contrast to the Spring and Autumn Period, was a period when regional warlords annexed smaller states around them and consolidated their rule. The process began in the Spring and Autumn Period, and by the 3rd century BC, there were seven major states that rose to prominence. The seven states, known as the "Seven Great Powers" (戰國七雄/战国七雄 Zhànguó Qixióng), are the Qi (齊), the Chu (楚), the Yansmall seal script, 220 BC) Yan ( pinyin: yan1, simplified Chinese/ traditional Chinese: ) was a state during the Western Zhao, Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods in China. Its capital was Ji (nowadays Beijing). As the most northeastern of all th (燕), the HanThe Han ( simplified Chinese: , traditional Chinese: ) was a state during the Warring States Period in China. It is conventionally written in some academic texts as Hann to distinguish it from the more prominent Han Dynasty later. The viscounts of the Han (韓), the Zhaosmall seal script, 220 BC) Zhao ( pinyin: zhao4, simplified Chinese: , traditional Chinese: ) was a Chinese state during the Warring States Period. Its territory included areas in modern Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces. The state of Zh (趙), the WeiThe following details the state of Wei of the Warring States Period. Refer to Ran Min for his state of Wei during the Sixteen Kingdoms. The Wei ( simplified Chinese and traditional Chinese: ) was a state during the Warring States Period in China. Its terr (魏) and the Qin (秦). Another sign of this shift in power was a change in title: warlords still considered themselves dukes (公 pinyin: gong) of the Zhou Dynasty king; but now the warlords began to call themselves kings (王 pinyin: wáng), meaning they were equal to the Zhou king.
The Warring States Period saw the proliferation of iron working in China, replacing bronze as the dominant metal used in warfare. Areas such as Shu (modern Sichuan) and Yue (modern Zhejiang) were also brought into the Chinese cultural sphere during this time. Walls built by the states to keep out northern nomadic tribes and each other were the precursors of the Great Wall of China. Different philosophies developed into the Hundred Schools of Thought, including Confucianism (elaborated by Mencius), Taoism (elaborated by Zhuang Zi), Legalism (formulated by Han Feizi) and Mohism (formulated by Mo Zi). Trade also became important, and some merchants had considerable power in politics.
