Brief Introduction About The Chinese Spring and Autumn & Warring States Periods (770 BCE – 221 BCE)

🌄 Fracture and Rebirth: The Axial Age of Chinese Civilization during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods

(770 BCE – 221 BCE)

“The world is in chaos, sages are unclear, and morality is divided... The way and techniques will split the world.”
— Zhuangzi, "Tianxia"

In 770 BCE, as King Ping of Zhou moved the capital to Luoyang, the Zhou dynasty’s once-unshakable order began to crumble. Over the next 550 years, more than 200 vassal states merged into just seven powerful kingdoms, and over 500 battles raged across the land. But out of this political and military chaos, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods gave rise to an intellectual, philosophical, and technological explosion—a transformation that the German philosopher Karl Jaspers called the “Axial Age,” a time that would become the crucible in which China’s cultural DNA was forged.

⚔️ Political Fracture: From Ritual to Revolution

1. The Collapse of the Patriarchal System and Power Restructuring

Zhou Rites in Disarray
The once-sacred Zhou rituals were shattered after King You of Zhou’s infamous “beacon fire and entertainment” scandal, which destroyed trust in the royal authority. Following the Eastward migration of King Ping in 770 BCE, the Zhou royal family was reduced to a figurehead, and vassal states increasingly ignored their feudal obligations. In 707 BCE, Duke Zhuang of Zheng literally "shot an arrow at the king's shoulder", signaling the open defiance of the Zhou Emperor’s authority.

New Models of Governance

• The Early Seeds of the County System: The state of Jin began experimenting with direct governance over peripheral regions, while the state of Chu set up regional “Yin” officials to control critical junctures.

• The Codification of Laws: Zi Chan of Zheng introduced the “legal codes” in 536 BCE, breaking away from the "unknown laws" tradition, while Li Kui’s “Legalist Code” in the state of Wei laid the groundwork for legal systems.

2. The Evolution of the Hegemonic Logic

🏯 Regional Cultural Circles: Clashing and Merging of Three Major Civilizations

The Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were not about cultural unification but were instead marked by fierce clashes between multiple regional cultures, giving rise to three distinct cultural spheres:

1. The Culture of the Three Jin States: Birthplace of Legalist Reforms

• Geographic DNA: Located on the Loess Plateau, the Jin states were surrounded by nomadic tribes (Di, Rong), which fostered a martial, pragmatic spirit.

• Institutional Innovations:

  • Jin broke the well-field system with “Zuo Yuantian”, unleashing agricultural production.

  • Li Kui’s Legal Code and Shang Yang’s military meritocracy reshaped the social hierarchy.

  • Zhao Wuling Wang’s “Barbarian-style Cavalry” (307 BCE) marked the first complete acceptance of nomadic military tactics in the Central Plains.

2. The Qi and Lu Cultures: The Shrine of Confucianism and Daoism

• Dual Bloodlines:

  • Lu upheld Zhou rituals (Confucius’ birthplace) and served as the foundation for Confucianism.

  • Qi was more pragmatic, incorporating Eastern Yi and Shang customs, and became home to the Jixia Academy, where thinkers like Mencius and Zou Yan gathered to debate.

• The Intellectual Laboratory: The Yellow-Daoist School in Qi merged Confucianism with Legalism, giving birth to Guanzi’s economic theories.

3. The Chu and Yue Cultures: Mysticism and Poetic Revolution

• Yangtze River Civilization:

  • The Chu people practiced shamanism, performed elaborate rituals, and their “Nine Songs” were originally ceremonial music and dances.

  • Wu and Yue bronze swords had distinct patterns (such as diamond-shaped decorations) and the King Goujian Sword discovered in Hubei continues to shine like a cold blade.

• Aesthetic Revolution:

  • Qu Yuan’s “Li Sao” pioneered personal lyrical poetry, and the “People’s Dragon Painting” set the stage for China’s line-drawing art tradition.

• Fusion Evidence: Jin-Chu trade-related bronzes (740 BCE) show the flow of goods and culture between the Yangtze and Yellow River civilizations.

📜 Philosophical Explosion: The Intellectual Map of the Hundred Schools of Thought

1. The Competition and Harmony of the Four Major Philosophies

2. Hidden Technological Insights

• The Mo Jing records pinhole imaging and the lever principle, predating Greek discoveries by a century.

• Gan De discovered Jupiter’s moons in 364 BCE, more than 2,000 years before Galileo.

• Dujiangyan (256 BCE) used fluid mechanics to irrigate the Chengdu Plain, a feat still in use today.

⚙️ Technological Revolution: The Leap from Bronze to Iron

1. Three Phases of Productivity Liberation

• Ironworking Breakthrough: Early iron smelting technologies spread, with tools and weapons being hardened threefold. Excavated iron farming tools from the Spring and Autumn period mark the dawn of the Iron Age.

• Agricultural Revolution: The oxen-driven plow and iron tools doubled crop yield, from 60 to 120 jin per mu (unit of area).

• Handicraft Boom:

  • Qi silk weaving machines predated Greek weaving by over a thousand years.

  • Wu-Yue bronze sword rust-proofing technology was lost for a millennium.

2. The Canal and Urban Revolution

• Logistics Network: King Fuchai of Wu opened the Han Gou Canal in 486 BCE, linking the Yangtze and Huai River, promoting North-South trade.

• Million-Person Metropolises: Linzi, the capital of Qi, boasted a population of 350,000, much larger than ancient Athens.

🌏 Historical Legacy: How the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Shaped China

Political DNA

• The county system ended feudalism, paving the way for Qin’s unification.

• The fluid officials from districts broke aristocratic privilege, ensuring meritocratic governance.

Cultural Foundations

• The evolution of the Chinese script from seal script to clerical script was the prelude to a unified written language.

• The Book of Songs and Chu Ci laid the foundations for Chinese literature.

National Spirit

• Confucius’ “education for all” initiated public education, while Mencius’ “people first” philosophy predated the European Social Contract by 2,000 years.

As warriors in Hu clothes rode into battle on the walls of Handan, and the debates echoed through the Jixia Academy in Linzi, practicality and ideals, barbarism and refinement, were tested and shaped into the resilience and inclusiveness of Chinese civilization. Even today, the concept of a “community of shared future for mankind” echoes Mozi’s “universal love,” and the voice of Mencius’ “stable livelihoods for the people” resonates in the modern call for rural revitalization.