Political Fragmentation & the Warring States System
770–256 BCE
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The Zhou king is dead.
What happens when the referee dies?
How do you create order when everything is falling apart?
770–479 BCE
479–256 BCE
Named after the chronicle Spring and Autumn Annals covering Lu state (722–479 BCE), traditionally attributed to Confucius.
During this era, Zhou kings retained symbolic authority while powerful states took turns acting as "hegemons" (ba) who called meetings, enforced agreements, and maintained interstate order.
Key source: The Zuo zhuan (Zuo Commentary) provides detailed narrative of this period.
Begins conventionally with the partition of Jin state (453 BCE) or death of Confucius (479 BCE).
The Seven Major States:
Qin (west) • Chu (south) • Zhao (north) • Wei (central) • Han (central) • Yan (northeast) • Qi (east)
Why would smaller states disappear?
Write down two reasons. (60 seconds)
Think about military, economic, and diplomatic factors...
During the Spring and Autumn period, states were ranked by how many hundreds of chariots they could deploy. A chariot typically carried three warriors: driver, archer, and halberdier.
Chariots were expensive - requiring horses, bronze fittings, and trained crews. This kept warfare an elite affair. Battles often began with champions challenging each other, and ceremonial rules governed conduct.
The Zuo zhuan records instances where commanders refused to attack an enemy crossing a river or forming ranks - such "honorable" conduct disappeared in the Warring States.
Universal male military obligation - all adult male peasants required to serve in the army.
This was revolutionary: previously warfare was elite privilege. Now rulers needed to mobilize entire societies. This required:
The result: bureaucratic states that could project massive military force.
Invented in southern Chu state
Widespread by 5th century BCE
The crossbow's bronze trigger mechanism was a sophisticated engineering achievement. Unlike composite bows requiring years of training, crossbows could be taught in days.
One period text claimed: "A skilled soldier with a powerful crossbow and a sharp sword was the match for a hundred ordinary men."
States like Wei equipped elite troops with crossbows that could fire multiple bolts, shoulder armor, helmets, and three days' provisions - they could march 50 kilometers in a day.
Battle of Changping (260 BCE)
Qin vs. Zhao: Hundreds of thousands engaged over three years
Result: Zhao army surrendered; Qin allegedly executed 400,000 prisoners
Originally 士 meant "knight" or "warrior" - the lowest rank of the hereditary aristocracy. During the Warring States, the term shifted to mean educated men who served as advisors, ministers, and officials.
Their expertise included:
Famous shi could move between states, seeking rulers who would adopt their ideas. The philosophers we study (Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, etc.) were all shi seeking patronage.
Next lecture: we'll meet these philosophers and their competing solutions.
If you were a Warring States ruler, what kind of advisor would you want?
Someone focused on:
Discuss with partner for 90 seconds
Iron plows and tools spread during the Warring States period, dramatically increasing agricultural productivity.
Consequences:
The same iron technology that made weapons also made tools - agricultural and military revolutions were connected.
Result: A dynamic, chaotic, opportunistic society where everything is up for grabs.
How do you create order when everything falls apart?
That's what the philosophers will try to answer.
We'll meet the philosophers responding to this crisis:
Different solutions, different values, different visions of human nature and society.