Free A History of China by Morris Rossabi Page B

emerged during troubled eras in Chinese society.
    The Eastern Zhou was certainly a troubled, unsettled time. This era is often divided into two discrete segments, the Spring and Autumn period ( 722 – 481 BCE ) and the Warring States period ( 403 – 221 BCE ). The appellation “Spring and Autumn” derives from the
Spring and Autumn Annals
(
Chun qiu
), a text perhaps written by the great philosopher Confucius that offered a factual, if somewhat tedious, account of interstate relations at that time. This work lacks interpretation and the fullness of a true history, leading to speculation about Confucius’s motives in compiling the text. Some students have suggested that Confucius may have valued the
Annals
because it was the first attempt to set down events in Chinese history in chronological order without embroidering the facts with invented dialogues and fabricated evidence meant to underscore a moral. Later scholars wrote commentaries designed to flesh out the spare details offered in the text and to provide it with a moral and didactic framework. It eventually became associated with the
Zuo Commentary
(
Zuo zhuan
), a source dealing with many of the same events (through 468 BCE ) but with more elaborate and more colorful and lengthier descriptions. Both texts described turbulent times.
    The founding of the Eastern Zhou coincided with the virtual disintegration of the king’s power. The nobility was autonomous and no longer felt obliged to provide military service and tribute to the Zhou ruler. Nor did nobles appear in person at the Zhou court to be invested with authority. Some formed their own states that were not controlled by the king. The proliferation of such states engendered fears of strife. Thus, in the seventh century BCE an overlord or hegemon (
ba
), supported by lesser leaders, sought to impose order with the blessing, for whatever it was worth, of the king. Five rulers in succession assumed the role of hegemon and are credited with stemming disorder for a time, but interstate hostility intensified throughout this era.
    The principal states were in the Central Plain, which was surrounded by so-called barbarian groups. These states comprised Jin, Lu, Qi, Wei, Song, and Cheng while the states on the fringes of what was perceived to be Chinese civilization consisted of Qin (the westernmost of the states), Yan (which included the area around modern Beijing), Wu (along the eastern coast, near modern Shanghai), Yue (directly south of Wu), and Chu (in the southwest). In general, the states on the periphery were in more advantageous positions because they had room in which to expand and could avoid conflict until they themselves were prepared to do battle. However, until the third century BCE , these states waxed and waned depending on their conditions at particular times, for each had unique strengths and weaknesses. Qi, for example, had reserves of iron and salt, perhaps facilitating its construction of weapons and enriching itself through sale of its precious salt. It also had the advantage of the administrative reforms introduced by Guan Zhong (ca. 720 – 645 BCE ), the influential counselor to its lords and the author of an important work of ­political philosophy, the
Guanzi
. Jin, on the other hand, controlled much of the territory around the bend of the Yellow River.
    A precarious balance prevailed among these states throughout the seventh and sixth centuries but it eventually collapsed late in the fifth century. Hegemons, marital alliances, and conferences between potential belligerents all averted chaos and warfare during what became known as the Spring and Autumn period. The states of the Central Plain often joined together in fear of the “barbaric” Chu in the southwest, and the state of Jin, in particular, checked the power of that state. However, in 453 BCE , internal conflicts within Jin led to its breakup into three smaller and more vulnerable states. Earlier in the ­century, Yue had conquered