2 Rise of the hegemons

The first nobility to help the Zhou kings was the Duke Zhuang of Chang (r. 743 BC- 701 BC). He was the first to establish the hegemonial system (ba4 霸), which was intended to retain the old proto-feudal system. Traditional historians justified the new system as a means of protecting weaker civilized states and the Zhou royalty from the intruding "barbarian" tribes. Located in the south, north, east and west, the barbarian tribes were, respectively, the Man , YiThe Yi people(Chinese: Yizu, own name: Nosu) are a modern ethnic group in China. Numbering 6. 6 million, they are the seventh largest of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. They live primarily in rural areas of Si, Rong and DiDi may be: # Diana, Princess of Wales #a medieval ethnic group in China See also also the acronym DI..

All so-called "civilized" states, however, were actually composed of a substantial mix of ethnicities; hence, there was no fine line between a "civilized" state and a "barbarian" one. Nevertheless, these ethnically and culturally different tribes had their own unique civilizations in some areas. Some ethnic groups were so substantially civilized and powerful by traditional Chinese standards that their political entities, including WuWu was a state during the Spring and Autumn Period in China. The state of Wu straddled the mouth of the Chang Jiang river east of the State of Chu. Considered a semi-barbarian state by ancient Chinese historians, its capital was Suzhou. The State of Jin a and YueYue can refer to: Yu (( T: S: ), an abbreviation for Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China, and also: Yue, a subdivision of spoken Chinese spoken in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Its prestige form is called Standard Cant, are even included in some versions of the five overlords (see below).

The newly powerful states were more eager to maintain aristocratic privileges over the traditional ideology of supporting the weak ruling entity during times of unrest (匡扶社稷 kuang1 fu2 she4 ji4), which had been widely propagated during imperial China to consolidate power into the ruling family.

Dukes Huan of Qi (r. 685 BC- 643 BC) and Wen of Jin (r. 636 BC- 628 BC) made further steps in installing the overlordship system, which brought relative stability, but in shorter time periods than before. Annexations increased, favoring the several most powerful states, including Qin, Jin, Qi and Chu. The overlord role gradually drifted from its stated intention of protecting weaker states; the overlordship eventually became a system of hegemony of major states over weaker satellites of Chinese and "barbarian" origin.

The great states used the pretext of aid and protection to intervene and gain advantages over the smaller states during their internal quarrels. Later overlords were mostly derived from these great states. They proclaimed themselves master of their territories, without even recognizing the petty figurehead of Zhou. Establishment of the local administration system (Jun and Xian), with its officials appointed by the government, gave states better control over the dominion. Taxation facilitated commerce and agriculture more than proto-feudalism.

The three states of Qin, Jin and Qi not only optimized their own strength, but also repelled the southern state of Chu, whose rulers had proclaimed themselves kings. The Chu armies gradually intruded into the Yellow River Basin. Framing Chu as the "southern barbarian", Chu Man, was merely a pretext to warn Chu not to intervene into their respective spheres of influence. Chu intrusion was checked several times in three major battles with increasing violence - the Battle of Chengpu, the Battle of Bi and the Battle of Yanling ; this resulted in the restorations of the states of Chen and Cai .

3 Changing tempo of war

After a period of increasingly exhaustive warfare, Qi, Qin, Jin and Chu finally met for a disarmament conference in 579 BC, where the other states essentially became satellites. In 546 BC, Jin and Chu agreed to yet another truce.

During the relatively peaceful 6th century BC, the two coastal states in today's Zhejiang, Wu and Yue, gradually grew in power. After defeating and banishing King Fucha of Wu , King Gou Jian of Yue (r. 496 BC- 465 BC) became the last recognized overlord.

This era of peace was only a prelude to the maelstrom of the Warring States Period. The four powerful states were all in the midst of power struggles. Six elite landholding families waged war on each other in Jin. The Chen family was eliminating political enemies in Qi. Legitimacy of the rulers was often challenged in civil wars by various royal family members in Qin and Chu. Once all these power strugglers firmly established themselves in their dominions, the bloodshed among states would continue in the Warring State Period. The Warring States Period officially started in 403 BC when the three remaining elite families in Jin - Zhao, Wei and Han - partitioned the state; the impotent Zhou court was forced to recognized their authority.

4 List of overlords

The Five Overlords of Spring and Autumn Period (春秋五霸 Chun1 qiu1 Wu3 Ba4) include:

• Duke Huan of Qi
• Duke Wen of Jin
• Duke Mu of Qin
• King Zhuang of Chu

Any of the following rulers can be considered as the fifth overlord:

• Duke Xiang of Song
• King Fu Cha of Wu
• King Gou Jian of Yue

Order is not important.

5 List of prominent states

The name following the name of the state is the capital(En., TC. and SC.).

Qi (state) - Linzi 臨淄 临淄

Chu (state) - Ying 郢 郢

Qin (state) - Xianyang 咸陽 咸阳

Jin (state)

Lu (state) - Qufu 曲阜 曲阜

Chang (state) - Xinzheng 新鄭 新郑

Chen (state) - Chenqiu 陳丘 陈丘

Cai (state) - Shangcai 上蔡 上蔡

Cao (state)

Song (state) - Shangqiu 商丘 商丘

Wei (state)

Wu (state) - Suzhou 姑蘇 姑苏

Yue (state) - Kuaiji 會稽 会稽

6 List of important figures

Rulers

Duke Huan of Qi

Duke Xian of Jin and his son:

Duke Wen of Jin

King Zhuang of Chu

Duke Mu of Qin

Duke Xiang of Song

King Liao of Wu , assassinated by his cousin:

King He Lu of Wu

King Fu Cha of Wu

King Gou Jian of Yue , mortal rival of He Lu and Fu Cha

Nobility

Prince Qing Ji of Wu , the son of King Liao and major opponent and pretender against He Lu.

Bureaucrats or Officers

Kuan Chung , statesman and advisor of Duke Huan of Chi and regarded by some modern scholars as the first Legalist.

Bo Pi , the corrupted bureaucrat under King He Lu and played important diplomatic role of Wu- Yue relations.

Wen Zhong and Fan Li , the two advisors and partisans of King Gou Jian of his rally against Wu.

Zi Chan , leader of self-strengthening movements in Chang

Influential scholars

Confucius

Lao zi or Lao tse, founder of Daoism

Mo zi, known as Motse (墨子 Mo4 Zi5) or Mocius to the Western scholars, founder of Mohism

Historians

Confucius

Engineers

Mo zi

Lu Ban

Wielders

O Ye Zi , literally means O the wielder and mentor of the couple Gan Jiang and Mo Xie

Entrepreneurs and Commercial personnel

Fan Li

Generals, military leaders and authors

Rang Ju , elder contemporary and possibly mentor of

Sun Tzu, the author of The Art of War

Assassins

Yao Li , sent by He Lu to kill Qing Ji.

Zhuan Zhu , sent by He Lu to kill his cousin King Liao

Women and Beauties

Lady of Li , concubine of Duke Xian of Jin and stepmother of Duke Wen of Jin

Xi Shi, wife of Fan Li according to legend

Mo Xie

See also: Hundred Schools of Thought

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