Part Three: Chu and Other Cultures Table of Contents | Start Section
More about Excavations at the Tomb of Marquis Yi, Lacquer
Objects
The period between the transfer of the Zhou court to Luoyang in 770 B.C. and the unification of China under the First Emperor in 221 B.C. is divided into the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.) and the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.). During this time power shifted to a number of regional states, which competed with each other for dominance until one, the Qin, prevailed. The Zhou court ruled (at least in principle) through most of this period, but constantly needed the help of surrounding states to bolster its position. The first of these states was Zheng, which had family connections with the Zhou. The Qi state (in the east) succeeded Zheng, assuming the position of Ba, or guardian of the Zhou feudal system. A key figure was Huan Gong, who for forty years maintained order through a series of military maneuvers and conferences between state leaders. After his death in 643 B.C., the Jin state (to the north), which had been a vassal state during the Western Zhou, assumed leadership. |
Meanwhile, two new states were emerging. Qin had taken control of the area vacated by the Zhou in the west but remained a minor contender at first. In the south, along the Yangzi River, the state of Chu was growing rapidly and beginning to venture northward. Around 475 B.C., four powerful states (Qi, Jin, Qin, and Chu) stood on the periphery of the Zhou heartland, and were poised to assume leadership. Jin was subsequently divided and, for a while, the contest seemed to be between the successor states to the Jin and the Chu state to the south. But from about 350-250 B.C., Qin launched a campaign of conquest that would pit all the states either in alliance with or against it.
By this time, the old Zhou system of lineage ties connecting cities and their regions was being replaced by a new power structure of centralized states and rulers. Powerful ministers, advisers, and reformers emerged, such as Shang Yang, whose administrative systems and harsh laws would be adopted by the First Emperor (see object 15). The scale of warfare also increased, with huge infantry ranks drawn from the peasantry now dominating the field of battle.
Out of this turbulent period rose the "hundred schools" of philosophy, a creative flowering that laid the foundations for all major schools of Chinese thought except Buddhism. Travelling aristocrat-scholars known as shi offered advice on everything from political theory to military tactics to immortality. The most famous of these shi was Kong Fu Zi (c. 551-479 B.C.), known in the West as Confucius. He was concerned particularly with how society should be governed and with the qualities of an ideal ruler. He stressed the necessity of maintaining proper relationships and the important role of education in developing a virtuous and harmonious society.
The Dao De Jingo also dates from this time. The Dao was a formless essence underlying all things, out of which arose the complementary forces of yin and yang. The Confucian and Daoist thought that emerged at this time would be instrumental in shaping Chinese politics, religion, and art for centuries to come.
Late Prehistoric China | Bronze Age China | Chu and Other Cultures | Early Imperial China
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