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124-766: Tuanlian (Chinese: 團練) is the Chinese term for localised village militias created in the Zhou dynasty . In May 1645, Ming rebel leader Li Zicheng (Chinese: 李自成) was killed by a tuanlian of local landowners in Hubei province. During the Jiaqing reign, with the corrupt and ineffective official military establishment of the Eight Banners and Green Standard Army incapable of curbing the White Lotus Rebellion ,

248-532: A conclave of nobles met at Shen and declared the Marquis's grandson King Ping . The capital was moved eastward to Wangcheng , marking the beginning of the Eastern Zhou period. The Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC) was characterized by an accelerating collapse of royal authority, although the king's ritual importance enabled more than five additional centuries of rule. The Spring and Autumn Annals ,

372-460: A conflict between Qin and Zhao for control of Shangdang. Qin and Zhao engaged in the three-year-long Battle of Changping , followed by another three-year siege by Qin on Zhao's capital city of Handan . The conflict at Changping was seen as a power struggle, as both sides pitted their forces against each other not only on the battlefield, but also domestically. Although Qin had an abundance of resources and vast manpower, it had to enlist every man above

496-556: A crushing defeat on Chu. In 299 BC, King Huai I was tricked into attending a diplomatic conference in Qin, where he was captured and held hostage until his death. In the meantime, Qin launched several attacks on Chu and eventually sacked the Chu capital city of Chen ( 陳 ; modern Jiangling County , Hubei). The crown prince of Chu fled east and was crowned King Qingxiang of Chu in the new capital city of Shouchun ( 壽春 ; modern Shou County , Anhui). In

620-651: A famine the following year, Duke Hui did not reciprocate, leading to diplomatic deterioration and a war in 645 BC. The war ended with Duke Hui's defeat and capture, but Duke Mu later released him after Jin agreed to cede land and form an alliance. During the battles with Jin, Duke Mu learned that Chong'er, one of Duke Xian's exiled sons, was taking refuge in the state of Chu . After consulting his subjects, Duke Mu sent an emissary to Chu to invite Chong'er and supported him in his challenge against his brother, Duke Hui. After Chong'er defeated Duke Hui to become Duke Wen of Jin , he expressed gratitude to Duke Mu, and relations between

744-555: A horse-breeder as their ancestor may imply that the Ying family had a partial connection to nomadic tribes. As late as 266 BC, it was remarked by a noble of Wei that they shared customs with the Rong and Beidi tribes; the central plains states seemed to hold Qin culture and other peripheral states like Yan and Chu in low regard, due to the marginal location of their states. Qin was the second state after Zhao to adopt cavalry tactics from

868-407: A lack of coordination among the five states. In addition to the effects on Qin's military, Shang Yang's reforms also increased labour for numerous public works projects aimed at enhancing agriculture, and enabled Qin to maintain and supply an active military force of more than a million troops. This achievement could not be matched by any other state, except Chu, during that time. Qin's conquests of

992-555: A language largely similar in vocabulary and syntax to that of the Shang; a recent study by David McCraw, using lexical statistics, reached the same conclusion. The Zhou emulated Shang cultural practices, possibly to legitimize their own rule, and became the successors to Shang culture. At the same time, the Zhou may also have been connected to the Xirong , a broadly defined cultural group to

1116-579: A major victory. Duke Mu refused to advance further east after holding a memorial service for those killed in action at the Battle of Xiao and returned to focus on the traditional policy of expanding Qin's dominance in the west. Duke Mu's achievements in Qin's western campaigns and his handling of foreign relations with Jin earned him a position among the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period. In

1240-484: A piece of land was divided into nine squares in the well-field system , with the grain from the middle square taken by the government and that of surrounding squares kept by individual farmers. This way, the government was able to store surplus food and distribute it in times of famine or bad harvest. Some important manufacturing sectors during this period included bronze smelting, which was integral to making weapons and farming tools. Again, these industries were dominated by

1364-556: A plan for conquering the other six states and unifying China, with assistance from Li Si and Wei Liao. In 230, Qin attacked Han , the weakest of the Seven Warring States , and succeeded in conquering Han within a year. Since 236, Qin had been launching several assaults on Zhao , which had been devastated by its calamitous defeat at the Battle of Changping three decades earlier. Although Qin faced strong resistance from

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1488-622: A platform for launching attacks on the Chu state, which lies downstream of the Yangtze. During the reign of King Huiwen of Qin , the state of Chu to the southeast became a target for Qin's aggression. Although Chu had the largest operation-ready army of all the Seven Warring States at over a million troops, its administrative and military strength was plagued by corruption and divided among the nobles. The Qin strategist Zhang Yi suggested to King Huiwen to exercise Qin's interest at

1612-583: A series of Legalist reforms in Qin with the support of Duke Xiao, despite facing strong opposition from conservative Qin politicians. Direct primogeniture was abolished, with all commoners granted citizenship rights. Many were resettled in new clusters with a focus on increasing agricultural output. Meritocracy was practiced throughout, especially in the military, with soldiers and officers receiving due rewards according to their contributions, regardless of their backgrounds. However, stringent and strict laws were also imposed, with severe punishments being meted out for

1736-457: A speech pronounced on the eve of a major interstate conference of 546 BC, a Jin leader recognized Qin, along with Jin, Chu and Qi, as one of the four pivotal great powers of the current world. In 506 BC, King Helü of Wu defeated Chu at the Battle of Boju and captured the Chu capital, Ying (modern Jingzhou ). Helü's adviser, Wu Zixu , who had previously been forced into exile by the already deceased King Ping of Chu and craved vengeance for

1860-478: A system of mutual duty between superiors and inferiors. In contrast, the Legalists had no time for Confucian virtue and advocated a system of strict laws and harsh punishments. Agriculture in the Zhou dynasty was very intensive and, in many cases, directed by the government. All farming lands were owned by nobles, who then gave their land to their serfs , a situation similar to European feudalism . For example,

1984-480: A turning point, as rulers did not even entertain the pretense of vassalage of the Zhou court, instead proclaiming themselves fully independent kingdoms. A series of states rose to prominence before each falling in turn, and in most of these conflicts Zhou was a minor player. The last Zhou king is traditionally taken to be Nan , who was killed when Qin captured Wangcheng in 256 BC. Duke Wen of Eastern Zhou declared himself to be "King Hui", but his splinter state

2108-435: A vigorous duke would take power from his nobles and centralize the state. Centralization became more necessary as the states began to war among themselves and decentralization encouraged more war. If a duke took power from his nobles, the state would have to be administered bureaucratically by appointed officials. Despite these similarities, there are a number of important differences from medieval Europe. One obvious difference

2232-453: Is not the eldest and hence not heir to the lineage territory has the potential of becoming a progenitor and fostering a new trunk lineage (Ideally he would strike out to cultivate new lineage territory). [...] According to the Zou commentary, the son of heaven divided land among his feudal lords, his feudal lords divided the land among their dependent families and so forth down the pecking order to

2356-496: Is often considered to be the zenith for the craft of Chinese bronzeware . The latter Zhou period is also famous for the advent of three major Chinese philosophies: Confucianism , Taoism and Legalism . The Zhou dynasty also spans the period when the predominant form of written Chinese became seal script , which evolved from the earlier oracle bone and bronze scripts . By the dynasty's end, an immature form of clerical script had also emerged. According to Chinese mythology ,

2480-481: Is that the Zhou ruled from walled cities rather than castles. Another was China's distinct class system, which lacked an organized clergy but saw Shang-descent yeomen become masters of ritual and ceremony, as well as astronomy, state affairs and ancient canons, known as ru ( 儒 ). When a dukedom was centralized, these people would find employment as government officials or officers. These hereditary classes were similar to Western knights in status and breeding, but unlike

2604-480: The Qing court began to order local gentry and landowners in all ten provinces to organise tuanlian for self-defense, with both funding and control in the hands of local gentry and landowners. Yong (Chinese:勇), literally "braves", was the official name for members of the militia, which was recruited from the local civilian (Han Chinese) population. These "braves" were grouped into units or battalions ( ying ), known as

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2728-601: The Quanrong ', modern Li County, Gansu ), and an eastern branch that settled east of the Yellow River in modern Shanxi . The latter became the ancestors of the rulers of the later state of Zhao . The western Ying clan at Quanqiu were lords over the Xichui ('western march ') region west of Mount Long and served as a buffer state for the Shang dynasty against invasions by the Xirong barbarians. One of them, Elai ,

2852-456: The Spring and Autumn period (722–481 BC), the Qin state's interaction with other central Chinese states remained minimal due to their primary concern with the Rong to the west. The exception was their immediate eastern neighbor, Jin , a large vassal of the Zhou. Qin maintained diplomatic relations with Jin through intermarriages between the royal clans, but relations occasionally deteriorated to

2976-459: The Xirong and Rongdi (see Hua–Yi distinction ). Ju's son Liu , however, led his people to prosperity by restoring agriculture and settling them at a place called Bin , which his descendants ruled for generations. Tai later led the clan from Bin to Zhou, an area in the Wei River valley (modern Qishan County ). The duke passed over his two elder sons Taibo and Zhongyong to favor

3100-478: The Yellow River and defeated King Zhou of Shang at the Battle of Muye , marking the beginning of the Zhou dynasty. The Zhou enfeoffed a member of the defeated Shang royal family as the Duke of Song , which was held by descendants of the Shang royal family until its end. This practice was referred to as Two Kings, Three Reverences  [ zh ] . According to Nicholas Bodman, the Zhou appear to have spoken

3224-561: The canal was named in honour of Zheng . Qin benefited from the project as it became one of the most fertile states in China due to the efficient irrigation system, and also because it could now muster more troops as a result of increased agricultural yield. In 247, the 13-year-old Ying Zheng became King of Qin following the sudden death of King Zhuangxiang. However, Ying Zheng did not fully wield state power until 238, after eliminating his political rivals, Lü Buwei and Lao Ai . Ying formulated

3348-566: The "Yong Ying". Yong were not regarded as part of the official imperial army of Eight Banners or Green Standard, with their funding and logistics provided by civilian society, not the imperial governments. The Xiang Army , a "Yung-ying" army in Qing dynasty China, was separate from the Manchu Eight Banners and Green Standard Army. It used modern weapons and the officers were never rotated, so relationships formed between officers and

3472-428: The "second sage" of Confucianism; Shang Yang and Han Fei , responsible for the development of ancient Chinese Legalism ; and Xunzi , who was arguably the center of ancient Chinese intellectual life during his time. The state theology of the Zhou dynasty used concepts from the Shang dynasty and mostly referred to the Shang god, Di , as Tian , a more distant and unknowable concept, yet one that anyone could utilize,

3596-584: The 2nd-century BC Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian , the Qin state traced its origin to Zhuanxu , one of the legendary Five Emperors in ancient times. One of his descendants, Boyi, was granted the family name of Ying by Emperor Shun . During the Xia and Shang dynasties , the Ying clan split into two: a western branch that migrated across the Ordos Plateau to Quanqiu ( 犬丘 'hill of

3720-489: The 400,000 prisoners of war from Zhao to be executed by burying them alive. Subsequently, the Qin forces marched on the Zhao capital city of Handan in an attempt to conquer Zhao completely. However, the Qin troops were unable to capture Handan as they were already exhausted and also because the Zhao forces put up fierce resistance. King Xiaocheng of Zhao offered six cities to Qin as a peace offer, and King Zhaoxiang of Qin accepted

3844-443: The 44 governor-generals appointed 20 were militia commanders and of the 117 governors appointed in the same time period over 52 were militia commanders with 25% of the governors not possessing the 2 highest grades of the imperial civil service exam Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( [ʈʂóʊ] ; Chinese : 周 ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from c.  1046 BC until 256 BC,

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3968-469: The 600,000-strong army as he had requested and ordered Wang to lead another attack on Chu. Wang scored a major victory against the Chu forces in 224, and Xiang Yan was killed in action. The following year, Qin pushed on and captured Chu's capital city of Shouchun , bringing an end to Chu's existence. In 222, the Qin army advanced southward and annexed the Wuyue region (modern Zhejiang and Jiangsu). By 221, Qi

4092-512: The Confucian chronicle of the early years of this process, gave the period its name as the Spring and Autumn period . The partition of Jin during the mid-5th century BC is a commonly cited as initiating the subsequent Warring States period . In 403 BC, the Zhou court recognized Han , Zhao , and Wei as fully independent states. In 344, Duke Hui of Wei was the first to claim the title of "king" for himself. Others followed, marking

4216-462: The European equivalent, they were expected to be something of a scholar instead of a warrior. Being appointed, they could move from one state to another. Some would travel from state to state peddling schemes of administrative or military reform. Those who could not find employment would often end up teaching young men who aspired to official status. The most famous of these was Confucius , who taught

4340-499: The Qin army, led by Wang Ben , invaded Wei and besieged Wei's capital city of Daliang for three months. Wang directed the waters from the Yellow River and the Hong Canal to flood Daliang ; King Jia of Wei surrendered, and Wei was conquered. In 224, Qin prepared for an attack on Chu , its most powerful rival among the six states. During a discussion between Ying Zheng and his subjects, the veteran general Wang Jian claimed that

4464-509: The Qin dynasty, and became the first sovereign ruler of a united China. Before Qin unified China, each state had its own customs and culture. According to the Yu Gong or Tribute of Yu , composed in the 4th or 5th century BC and included in the Book of Documents , there were nine distinct cultural regions of China, which are described in detail in this book. The work focuses on the travels of

4588-441: The Qin government's direct administration. King Zhaoxiang's foreign adviser, Fan Sui, counselled the king to abandon these fruitless campaigns against distant states. King Zhaoxiang heeded this advice and altered Qin's foreign policy to foster good diplomatic relations with the distant states of Yan and Qi), while focusing on attacking the nearby Zhao, Han, and Wei. As a result, Qin began to launch constant attacks on Han and Wei over

4712-492: The Rong and recovered their lost patrimony, formerly held by the deceased branch of the Ying clan. King Xuan formally awarded them the territory of Quanqiu. Duke Zhuang then moved his seat from Qinyi to Quanqiu and had three sons. When Duke Zhuang died in 778 BC, his eldest son Shifu chose to continue fighting the Xirong and avenge their grandfather, turning down the succession. As a result, his second son, Duke Xiang , ascended as

4836-573: The Rong but was released a year later. In 771, the Marquess of Shen , in collaboration with the state of Zeng and the Quanrong nomads, attacked and sacked the Zhou capital Haojing , killing King You of Zhou and ending the Western Zhou . Duke Xiang led his troops to escort King You's son, King Ping , to Luoyi (modern Luoyang ), where the new capital city of the Eastern Zhou dynasty

4960-487: The Rong tribes that were occupying it. Encouraged by this promise, the following generations of Qin rulers launched several military campaigns against the Rong, eventually expanding their territories far beyond the original lands lost by the Western Zhou dynasty. The Qin state therefore viewed the Zhou rulers King Wen and Wu as their predecessors and themselves as the legitimate inheritors of their legacy. During

5084-538: The Shang kings. Nobles of the Ji family proclaimed Duke Hui of Eastern Zhou as King Nan's successor after their capital, Chengzhou, fell to Qin forces in 256 BC. Ji Zhao, a son of King Nan, led a resistance against Qin for five years. The dukedom fell in 249 BC. The remaining Ji family ruled Yan and Wei until 209 BC. During Confucius's lifetime in the Spring and Autumn period, Zhou kings had little power, and much administrative responsibility and de-facto political strength

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5208-400: The Shang's large scale production of ceremonial bronzes, they developed an extensive system of bronze metalworking that required a large force of tribute labor. Many of its members were Shang, who were sometimes forcibly transported to new Zhou to produce the bronze ritual objects which were then sold and distributed across the lands, symbolizing Zhou legitimacy. Western writers often describe

5332-465: The Shang. Zhou rulers introduced the Mandate of Heaven , which would prove to be among East Asia's most enduring political doctrines. According to the theory, Heaven imposed a mandate to replace the Shang on the Zhou, whose moral superiority justified seizing Shang wealth and territory in order to return good governance to the people. The Mandate of Heaven was presented as a religious compact between

5456-490: The Western Zhou. During the Western Zhou (1045–771 BC), King Wu maintained the old capital for ceremonial purposes but constructed a new one for his palace and administration nearby at Haojing . Although Wu's early death left a young and inexperienced heir, the Duke of Zhou assisted his nephew King Cheng in consolidating royal power. Wary of the Duke of Zhou's increasing power, the "Three Guards", Zhou princes stationed on

5580-482: The Yong ying militias were often poorly equipped with Jingals , swords, spears and antiquated firearms though they did possess modern firearms it was not the norm. They were often poorly housed in barracks and left idle with many becoming addicted to opium and gambling. The commanders of these militias however gained vast power becoming appointed to the positions of governor-generals and governors between 1861 and 1890 of

5704-508: The Zhao forces, led by General Li Mu , it still managed to defeat the Zhao army by using a ploy to sow discord between King Qian of Zhao and Li Mu, leading King Qian to order Li Mu's execution and replace Li with the less competent Zhao Cong. Zhao eventually fell to Qin in 228 after the capital city of Handan was taken. However, a Zhao noble managed to escape with remnant forces and proclaim himself King in Dai. Dai fell to Qin six years later. After

5828-588: The Zhou expanded to the north and the northwest at the expense of the Siwa culture . When King You demoted and exiled his Jiang queen in favor of the commoner Bao Si , the disgraced queen's father the Marquis of Shen joined with Zeng and the Quanrong. The Quanrong put an end to the Western Zhou in 771 BC, sacking the Zhou capital at Haojing and killing the last Western Zhou king You . With King You dead,

5952-469: The Zhou lineage began when Jiang Yuan , a consort of the legendary Emperor Ku , miraculously conceived a child, Qi "the Abandoned One", after stepping into the divine footprint of Shangdi . Qi was a culture hero credited with surviving abandonment by his mother three times, and with greatly improving agriculture, to the point where he was granted lordship over Tai , the surname Ji , and

6076-428: The Zhou people and their supreme god in heaven. The Zhou agreed that since worldly affairs were supposed to align with those of the heavens, the heavens conferred legitimate power on only one person, the Zhou ruler. In return, the ruler was duty-bound to uphold heaven's principles of harmony and honor. Any ruler who failed in this duty, who let instability creep into earthly affairs, or who let his people suffer, would lose

6200-648: The Zhou period as feudal because the Zhou's fengjian system invites comparison with European political systems during the Middle Ages . There were many similarities between the decentralized systems. When the dynasty was established, the conquered land was divided into hereditary fiefs ( 諸侯 , zhūhóu ) that eventually became powerful in their own right. In matters of inheritance, the Zhou dynasty recognized only patrilineal primogeniture as legal. According to Hsi-Sheng Tao, "the Tsung-fa or descent line system has

6324-550: The Zhou period clearly intoned this caution. The Zhou kings contended that heaven favored their triumph because the last Shang kings had been evil men whose policies brought pain to the people through waste and corruption. After the Zhou came to power, the mandate became a political tool. One of the duties and privileges of the king was to create a royal calendar. This official document defined times for undertaking agricultural activities and celebrating rituals. But unexpected events such as solar eclipses or natural calamities threw

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6448-490: The Zhou's establishment is supported by the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project and David Pankenier, but David Nivison and Edward L. Shaughnessy date the establishment to 1045 BC. The latter Eastern Zhou period is itself roughly subdivided into two parts. During the Spring and Autumn period ( c.  771  – c.  481 BC ), power became increasingly decentralized as the authority of

6572-487: The affairs of the Zhou world in the 5th and the early 4th century BC considerably diminished. Another research also finds that Qin was strong and explains the weak influence on the Central Plain by the Qin isolationist policy. Initially, Qin avoided involvement using its protective geography and, responding to growing external threats, gradually turned to intervention in the manner of "defensive imperialism." During

6696-422: The age of 15 for war-related duties, ranging from front-line service to logistics and agriculture. King Zhaoxiang even personally directed his army's supply lines. Qin's eventual victory in 260 BC was attributed to its use of schemes to stir up internal conflict in Zhao, which led to the replacement of Zhao's military leaders. Following the Qin victory at the Battle of Changping, the Qin commander, Bai Qi , ordered

6820-466: The baron of Li Rong ( 驪戎男 ), after being defeated by Jin , married his daughter Li Ji off. According to historian Li Feng , the term "Rong" during the Western Zhou period was likely used to designate political and military adversaries rather than cultural and ethnic "others". Cultural artifacts of the Western Rong coexisted with Western Zhou bronzes, indicating close bonds between the Rong and

6944-426: The brutal execution of his father and brother, exhumed King Ping's corpse and posthumously lashed it. This was a great humiliation for the Chu state. Consequently, Shen Baoxu, a Chu official and a former friend of Wu Zixu, travelled to the Qin court and pleaded for assistance from Duke Ai of Qin to recover the capital. After Duke Ai initially refused to help, Shen spent seven days crying in the palace courtyard. Duke Ai

7068-399: The clan leader. In 777 BC, Duke Xiang married his younger sister, Mu Ying, to a Rong leader named King Feng ( 豐王 ) in an apparent attempt to make peace. The following year, he moved the Qin capital eastward from Quanqiu to Qian ( 汧 ; modern Long County, Shaanxi ). However, Quanqiu soon fell to the Rong again after he left. His older brother Shifu, who led the defense of Quanqiu, was captured by

7192-417: The core philosophies of Legalism. Following these reforms, Qin rose to prominence in the late fourth century BC and emerged as the dominant superpower among the Seven Warring States . In 364 BC, Qin defeated the combined armies of Wei and Han, and King Xian of Zhou , the nominal ruler of China, declared Duke Xian the Hegemon (ba) of China (Sima Qian 4:160). His successor, Duke Xiao , who ascended

7316-411: The doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven while accommodating important Shang rituals at Wangcheng and Chengzhou . Over time, this decentralized system became strained as the familial relationships between the Zhou kings and the regional dynasties thinned over the generations. Peripheral territories developed local power and prestige on par with that of the Zhou. The conflicts with nomadic tribes from

7440-512: The dominant powers among the Seven Warring States . It unified the seven states of China in 221 BC under Qin Shi Huang . This unification established the Qin dynasty , which, despite its short duration, had a significant influence on later Chinese history. Accordingly, the Qin state before the Qin dynasty was established is also referred to as the "predynastic Qin" or "proto-Qin". According to

7564-554: The early Warring States period , its neighbours in the Central Plains began rapidly developing. The Wei state , formed from the partition of Jin , became the most powerful state on Qin's eastern border. Qin largely relied on natural defences such as the Hangu Pass (northeast of modern Lingbao, Henan ) and Wu Pass (modern Danfeng County ) in the east, to protect its Guanzhong heartland. Between 413 and 409 BC, during

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7688-521: The eastern plain, rose in rebellion against his regency. Even though they garnered the support of independent-minded nobles, Shang partisans, and several Dongyi tribes, the Duke of Zhou quelled the rebellion, and further expanded the Zhou Kingdom into the east. To maintain Zhou authority over its greatly expanded territory and prevent other revolts, he set up the fengjian system. Furthermore, he countered Zhou's crisis of legitimacy by expounding

7812-462: The execution of the duties of their position. Its courts and bureaus functioned without delays and with such smoothness that it was as if there were no government at all." In his Petition against driving away foreigners ( 諫逐客書 ), Li Si mentioned that the guzheng and percussion instruments made of pottery and tiles were characteristic of Qin music. List of Qin rulers based on the Records of

7936-483: The expense of Chu. Over the following years, Zhang engineered and executed a number of diplomatic plots against Chu, supported by the constant military raids on Chu's north-western border. Chu suffered many defeats in battles against Qin and was forced to cede territories to Qin. King Huai I of Chu was furious and ordered a military campaign against Qin, but he was tricked by Zhang Yi into breaking diplomatic ties with his allies, and his angered allies joined Qin in inflicting

8060-464: The fall of Zhao, Qin turned its attention towards Crown Prince Dan of Yan, who had sent Jing Ke to assassinate Ying Zheng, but the assassination attempt failed, and Qin used that as a pretext to attack Yan. Yan lost to Qin at a battle on the eastern bank of the Yi River in 226, and King Xi of Yan fled with remnant forces to Liaodong . Qin attacked Yan again in 222 and annexed Yan completely. In 225,

8184-607: The five decades following King Huiwen's death, King Zhaoxiang of Qin shifted his focus to the central plains after victories in the south against Chu. In the early years of King Zhaoxiang's reign, the Marquis of Rang ( 穰侯 ) served as Qin's chancellor and actively advocated for military campaigns against the state of Qi in the far eastern part of China. However, the marquis had personal motives, intending to use Qin's formidable military to secure his own fief in Qi territories, as these lands were not directly linked to Qin and would not be under

8308-476: The following characteristics: patrilineal descent, patrilineal succession, patriarchate, sib-exogamy, and primogeniture" The system, also called "extensive stratified patrilineage", was defined by the anthropologist Kwang-chih Chang as "characterized by the fact that the eldest son of each generation formed the main of line descent and political authority, whereas the younger brothers were moved out to establish new lineages of lesser authority. The farther removed,

8432-420: The greedy will abandon their general to give chase. We can then capitalize on this opportunity by hunting each group down individually and then capturing the generals that have been isolated. Finally, we must array our army to ambush their commander. According to Wu, the character of the populace is a consequence of the government, which in turn is a result of the ruggedness of the terrain. Wu expounds upon each of

8556-576: The importance of the Di troops. King Xiang of Zhou also married a Di princess after receiving Di military support. During the Zhou dynasty, the origins of native Chinese philosophy developed, its initial stages of development beginning in the 6th century BC. The greatest Chinese philosophers, those who made the greatest impact on later generations of Chinese, were Confucius , founder of Confucianism , and Laozi , founder of Taoism . Other philosophers of this era were Mozi , founder of Mohism ; Mencius ,

8680-410: The invasion force needed to be at least 600,000 strong, but the younger general Li Xin thought that 200,000 men would suffice. Ying Zheng put Li Xin in command of the Qin army to attack Chu. The Chu defenders, led by Xiang Yan, took Li Xin's army by surprise and defeated the Qin invaders. The defeat was deemed the greatest setback for Qin in its wars to unify China. Ying Zheng put Wang Jian in command of

8804-512: The king harboured a personal grudge against Shang, as he had been severely punished for a minor infraction during his adolescence under Shang's reformed system. Despite this, King Huiwen and his successors maintained the reformed systems, which laid the foundation for Qin's eventual unification of China under the Qin dynasty in 221 BC. Shang Yang's theories were later expanded upon by Han Fei , another Legalist scholar. Han Fei amalgamated Shang's ideas with those of Shen Buhai and Shen Dao , forming

8928-538: The kings of Qin, but de facto Qin remained hegemonic until its universal conquest in 221 BC. It seldom suffered defeats and repeatedly crashed other states in at least 15 major campaigns. Memorial on the Abolition of Feudal Lords by Qin official Li Si , dated to 246 BC, described: Through military victories, Qin has, "in the time of the last six kings," that is from Xiao in 361 BC to the First Emperor, brought

9052-501: The lesser the political authority". Ebrey defines the descent-line system as follows: "A great line (ta-tsung) is the line of eldest sons continuing indefinitely from a founding ancestor. A lesser line is the line of younger sons going back no more than five generations. Great lines and lesser lines continually spin off new lesser lines, founded by younger sons". K.E. Brashier writes in his book "Ancestral Memory in Early China" about

9176-515: The longest of all dynasties in Chinese history . During the Western Zhou period ( c.  1046  – 771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji , had military control over ancient China . Even as Zhou suzerainty became increasingly ceremonial over the following Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC), the political system created by the Zhou royal house survived in some form for several additional centuries. A date of 1046 BC for

9300-628: The lords of equal rank to its court." By the late 4th century BC, other states in China became alarmed by the Qin power and began forming anti-hegemonic alliances, called Perpendicular (Sima Qian 5:208; 6:279). Qin repeatedly clashed with these alliances. This pattern continued during the last century of the Warring States. The success of Qin is attributed to the industriousness of its people. The Qin kings authorised numerous state development projects, including significant public works such as irrigation canals and defensive structures. One of

9424-436: The mandate. Under this system, it was the prerogative of spiritual authority to withdraw support from any wayward ruler and to find another, more worthy one. In this way, the Zhou sky god legitimized regime change. In using this creed, the Zhou rulers had to acknowledge that any group of rulers, even they themselves, could be ousted if they lost the mandate of heaven because of improper practices. The book of odes written during

9548-470: The middle of the 3rd century, Zheng Guo , a hydraulic engineer from the state of Han, was dispatched to Qin to advise King Zhaoxiang on the construction of irrigation canals. Qin had a predilection for constructing large-scale canals, as evidenced by its irrigation system for the Min River . King Zhaoxiang approved Zheng Guo's proposal to construct an even larger canal. The project was completed in 264 and

9672-402: The most evident outcomes of the reforms was the transformation in Qin's military. Previously, the army was under the control of Qin's nobles and comprised feudal levies. Following Shang Yang's reforms, the aristocracy system was abolished and replaced by a meritocracy, in which ordinary citizens had the same opportunities as the nobles to be promoted to high ranks. Additionally, military discipline

9796-427: The neighbouring state of Jin. In 842 BC, nobles revolted against the corrupt King Li of Zhou in a coup known as the 'countrymen's riot' ( 國人暴動 ). They overthrew him the following year, leading the country into political turmoil. The Xirong tribes seized this opportunity to rebel against the Zhou dynasty, attacking and exterminating the senior branch of the Ying clan at Quanqiu. This left the cadet branch at Qinyi as

9920-415: The neighbouring states of Wei and Chu . Wei was hesitant to help Zhao initially but launched an attack on Qin after seeing that Qin was already exhausted after years of war. The Qin forces crumbled and retreated, and Zheng Anping surrendered. The combined forces of Wei and Chu continued to pursue the retreating Qin army, and Wei managed to retake part of its original lands that were lost to Qin earlier. In

10044-588: The nobility who directed the production of such materials. China's first projects of hydraulic engineering were initiated during the Zhou dynasty, ultimately as a means to aid agricultural irrigation. Sunshu Ao , the Chancellor of Wei who served King Zhuang of Chu , dammed a river to create an enormous irrigation reservoir in modern-day northern Anhui province. For this, Sunshu is credited as China's first hydraulic engineer. The later Wei statesman Ximen Bao , who served Marquis Wen of Wei (445–396 BC),

10168-616: The nomads. Following the collapse of the Zhou dynasty, the Qin state absorbed cultures from two of the Four Barbarians from the west and north, which made the other warring states see their culture in low esteem. However, the Qin state was sensitive to the cultural discrimination by the Central Plains states and attempted to assert their Huaxia identity. In Qin law, mixed-ethnicity offspring were categorised as Huaxia, as well as in their preference for importing recruits from

10292-509: The north and the northwest, variously known as the Xianyun , Guifang , or various "Rong" tribes, such as the Xirong , Shanrong or Quanrong , intensified towards the end of the Western Zhou period. These tribes are recorded as harassing Zhou territory, but at the time the Zhou were expanding northwards, encroaching on their traditional lands—especially the Wei River valley. Archaeologically,

10416-596: The northern Loess Plateau , modern Ningxia and the Yellow River floodplain. The military prowess of Zhou peaked during the 19th year of King Zhao 's reign, when the six armies were wiped out along with King Zhao on a campaign around the Han River . Early Zhou kings were true commanders-in-chief King Zhao was famous for repeated campaigns in the Yangtze region, and died on campaign. Later kings' campaigns were less effective. King Li led 14 armies against barbarians in

10540-454: The offer after being persuaded by Fan Sui. Within Zhao, many officials strongly opposed King Xiaocheng's decision to give up the cities, and subsequent delays caused the siege on Handan to be prolonged until 258 BC. Meanwhile, Bai Qi was consecutively replaced by Wang Xi, Wang Ling, and Zheng Anping as the Qin commander at the siege. In 257 BC, Qin was still unable to penetrate Handan after besieging it for three years, and Zhao requested aid from

10664-597: The officers who had their dependent kin and the commoners who "each had his apportioned relations and all had their graded precedence"" This type of unilineal descent-group later became the model of the Korean family through the influence of Neo-Confucianism , as Zhu Xi and others advocated its re-establishment in China. There were five peerage ranks below the royal ranks, in descending order with common English translations: gōng 公 "duke", hóu 侯 "marquis", bó 伯 "count", zǐ 子 "viscount", and nán 男 "baron". At times,

10788-525: The only surviving Ying clan in the west. After King Xuan of Zhou ascended the throne in 827 BC, he appointed Qin Zhong , Feizi's great-grandson, as the commander of his forces in the campaign against the Xirong. In 822 BC, Qin Zhong was killed in battle and succeeded by his eldest son, Duke Zhuang . To commemorate Qin Zhong's loyalty, King Xuan summoned Duke Zhuang and his four younger brothers and gave them 7,000 soldiers. The Qin brothers successfully defeated

10912-458: The opposite view of the Shang's spirituality. The Zhou wanted to increase the number of enlightenment seekers, mystics, and those who would be interested in learning about such things as a way to further distance their people from the Shang-era paradigm and local traditions. Having emerged during the Western Zhou, the li ritual system encoded an understanding of manners as an expression of

11036-509: The other states "into submission." Already by the 240s BC, other states "yielded obeiscence to Qin as if they were its commanderies and prefectures." Sima Qian (6:282) confirmed and dated the beginning of the Qin hegemonic policy already from the reign of Xiao's predecessor, Xian (384-361 BC): Since his reign, Qin "gradually swallowed up the six states until, after 100 years or so," the First Emperor conquered them. "For more than one hundred years [before 221 BC], Qin commanded Eight lands and brought

11160-433: The others and Chinese society in sometimes unusual ways. The Mohists for instance found little interest in their praise of meritocracy but much acceptance for their mastery of defensive siege warfare; much later, however, their arguments against nepotism were used in favor of establishing the imperial examination system. The Zhou heartland was the Wei River valley; this remained their primary base of power after conquering

11284-510: The others were Confucianism as interpreted by Mencius and others, Legalism , Taoism , Mohism , the utopian communalist Agriculturalism , two strains of the School of Diplomacy , the School of Names , Sun Tzu 's School of the Military , and the School of Naturalists . While only the first three of these would receive imperial patronage in later dynasties, doctrines from each influenced

11408-620: The point of armed conflict. In the early reign of Duke Mu of Qin , the Jin state, under the leadership of Duke Xian of Jin , was a formidable power. However, after Duke Xian's death, Jin descended into internal conflict as Duke Xian's sons fought for succession. Duke Hui of Jin , one of the contenders, emerged victorious. However, Jin was struck by a famine in 647 BC, and Duke Hui requested aid from Qin. Duke Mu of Qin, married to Duke Hui's half-sister, sent relief food supplies and agricultural equipment to Jin out of goodwill. However, when Qin experienced

11532-403: The recaptured capital. Mozi (460–390 BC) did not list Qin among the powerful states. However, other scattered information of its military exploits indicates that Qin remained a powerful polity ever since Lord Mu. Its armies acted, even if infrequently, in the eastern and southeastern parts of the Chinese world, occasionally against great power Wu. Although not weak, the overall impact of Qin on

11656-712: The reign of Duke Jian of Qin , the Wei army, led by Wu Qi and supported by Zhao and Han , attacked Qin and conquered some Qin territories west of the Yellow River . In 362 BC, Qin defeated Wei and Han . Following these victories, the Qin rulers actively pursued legal, economic, and social reforms. In 361 BC, Duke Xiao ascended the throne of Qin. He issued an announcement inviting men of talent (including scholars, administrators, theorists, and militarists) from other states to enter Qin and assist him with his reforms, promising rewards of high offices and lands in return. Among these foreign talents, Shang Yang successfully conducted

11780-410: The royal house diminished. The Warring States period ( c.  481  – 221 BC) that followed saw large-scale warfare and consolidation among what had formerly been Zhou client states, until the Zhou were formally extinguished by the state of Qin in 256 BC. The Qin ultimately founded the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BC after conquering all of China . The Zhou period

11904-413: The ruling house's mandate into question. Since rulers claimed that their authority came from heaven, the Zhou made great efforts to gain accurate knowledge of the stars and to perfect the astronomical system on which they based their calendar. Zhou legitimacy also arose indirectly from Shang material culture through the use of bronze ritual vessels, statues , ornaments, and weapons. As the Zhou emulated

12028-442: The slightest of offences, and even the nobility and royalty were not exempt. After decades, the reforms strengthened Qin economically and militarily, and transformed it into a highly centralised state with an efficient administrative system. Following the death of Duke Xiao, King Huiwen ascended as the new ruler of Qin. He executed Shang Yang by tearing him apart with chariots, citing charges of treason. However, some speculated that

12152-455: The social hierarchy, ethics, and regulation concerning material life; the corresponding social practices became idealized within Confucian ideology. The system was canonized in the Book of Rites , Rites of Zhou , and Etiquette and Ceremonial compiled during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), thus becoming the heart of the Chinese imperial ideology. While the system

12276-430: The south, but failed to achieve any victory. King Xuan fought the Quanrong nomads in vain. King You was killed by the Quanrong when Haojing was sacked. Although chariots had been introduced to China during the Shang dynasty from Central Asia, the Zhou period saw the first major use of chariots in battle. Recent archaeological finds demonstrate similarities between horse burials of the Shang and Zhou dynasties with

12400-488: The southern states of Ba and Shu (modern Sichuan ) also provided Qin with significant strategic advantages. The lands in the new territories were highly fertile and served as a "backyard" for supplies and additional manpower. It was difficult for Qin's rivals to attack Ba and Shu, as the territories were located deep in the mountains upstream of the Yangtze . Simultaneously, Qin's strategic position in Ba and Shu provided it with

12524-746: The states in this manner. Following a visit to Qin in 264, the Confucian philosopher Xun Kuang observed that Qin society was "simple and unsophisticated", and its people held their officials in awe but were entirely devoid of Confucian literati. Despite being disliked by many Confucians of its time for "dangerously lacking in Confucian scholars", Confucian Xun Kuang wrote of the later Qin that "its topographical features are inherently advantageous", and that its "manifold natural resources gave it remarkable inherent strength. Its people were unspoiled and exceedingly deferential; its officers unfailingly respectful, earnest, reverential, loyal, and trustworthy; and its high officials public-spirited, intelligent, and assiduous in

12648-566: The steppe populations in the west, such as the Saka and Wusun . Other possible cultural influences resulting from contact with these Iranic people of Central Asia in this period may include fighting styles, head-and-hooves burials, art motifs and myths. The Zhou army also included "barbarian" troops such as the Di people . King Hui of Zhou married a princess of the Red Di as a sign of appreciation for

12772-457: The subsequent decades, conquering several territories in its campaigns. By then, Qin's territories had expanded beyond the eastern shore of the Yellow River , and Han and Wei were reduced to the status of "buffers" for Qin against the other states in the east. Starting from 265 BC, Qin launched a massive invasion on Han and forced Han to cede its territory of Shangdang ( 上黨 ; modern Shanxi). However, Han offered Shangdang to Zhao instead, leading to

12896-492: The terrain they live in. Of Qin, he said: The nature of Qin's troops is to disperse so that each unit fights their own respective battles. The people of Qin are ferocious by nature and their terrain is treacherous. The government's decrees are strict and impartial. The rewards and punishments are clear. Qin soldiers are brave and high in morale so that they are able to scatter and engage in individual combat. To strike at Qin's army, we must entice various groups with small benefits;

13020-411: The throne in 361 BC, was also appointed Hegemon (Sima Qian 7:203). The Guanzi defines the status of hegemon as intermediate between king and emperor. A text from the late Warring States period describes hegemon as controlling military forces and commerce of the states under the hegemony and using court visits as a means of supervision. After Xiao, the status of hegemon was not officially granted to

13144-511: The title Houji "Lord of Millet ", by the Emperor Shun . He even received sacrifice as a harvest god . The term Houji was probably a hereditary title attached to a lineage. Buzhu —Qi's son, or rather that of the Houji —is said to have abandoned his position as Agrarian Master ( 農師 ; Nóngshī ) in old age and either he or his son Ju abandoned their tradition, living in the manner of

13268-510: The titular sage, Yu the Great , throughout each of the regions. Other texts, predominantly military, also discussed these cultural variations. One of these texts was the Wuzi , written in response to a query by Marquis Wu of Wei on how to cope with the military threat posed by competing states. Wu Qi , the author of the work, declared that the government and nature of the people were reflective of

13392-613: The troops, unlike in the Green Standard and Banner forces. It was recorded that Although rations came from public funds, the yung-ying troops were nevertheless grateful to the officers of the battalion for selecting them to be put on the rolls, as if they had received personal favours from the officers. Since in ordinary times there existed [between the officers and the troops] relations of kindness as well as mutual confidence, in battle it could be expected that they would see each other through hardship and adversity. The soldiers of

13516-404: The tsung-fa system of patrilineal primogeniture: "The greater lineage, if it has survived, is the direct succession from father to eldest son and is not defined via the collateral shifts of the lesser lineages. In discussions that demarcate between trunk and collateral lines, the former is called a zong and the latter a zu, whereas the whole lineage is dubbed the shi. [...] On one hand, every son who

13640-476: The two states improved. With stability on his eastern front, Duke Mu seized the opportunity to launch military campaigns against the Rong tribes in the west. In 630 BC, Qin and Jin agreed to wage war on the state of Zheng , but Duke Mu was lobbied by the Zheng emissary to abandon the alliance. In 627 BC, Duke Mu planned a covert attack on Zheng, but the Qin army retreated after being deceived into believing that Zheng

13764-435: The west of the Shang, which the Shang regarded as tributaries. For example, the philosopher Mencius (372–289 BC) acknowledged that King Wen of Zhou had ancestry from among the Xirong, as King Wen's descendants, the Zhou kings, claimed descent from Hou Ji , a legendary culture hero possibly related to the Xirong through his mother Jiang Yuan . Additionally, the late 4th-century BC Zuo Zhuan comments that

13888-559: The younger Jili , a warrior in his own right. As a vassal of the Shang kings Wu Yi and Wen Ding , Jili went to conquer several Xirong tribes before being treacherously killed by Shang forces. Taibo and Zhongyong had supposedly already fled to the Yangtze delta, where they established the state of Wu among the tribes there. Jili's son Wen bribed his way out of imprisonment and moved the Zhou capital to Feng (present-day Xi'an ). Around 1046 BC, Wen's son Wu and his ally Jiang Ziya led an army of 45,000 men and 300 chariots across

14012-435: Was already prepared for Qin's invasion. By that point, Duke Wen had died and his personal alliance with Duke Mu no longer stood, and his successor Duke Xiang ordered an ambush for the retreating Qin army. The Qin forces were defeated at the Battle of Xiao (near modern Luoning County , Henan) and suffered heavy casualties, and all three of its generals were captured. Three years later, Qin attacked Jin for revenge and achieved

14136-503: Was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty . It is traditionally dated to 897 BC. The Qin state originated from a reconquest of western lands that had previously been lost to the Xirong . Its location at the western edge of Chinese civilisation allowed for expansion and development that was not available to its rivals in the North China Plain . After extensive reform during the 4th century BC, Qin emerged as one of

14260-462: Was awarded a separate fief in the valley of Qin (modern Qingshui and Zhangjiachuan in Gansu) northeast of Quanqiu, and his seat was named Qinyi (modern Qintingzhen). Both branches of the western Ying clan lived in the midst of the Rong tribes, sometimes fighting their armies and sometimes intermarrying with their kings. Scholars such as Annette Juliano and Arthur Cotterel have suggested that having

14384-419: Was established. In gratitude for Duke Xiang's service, King Ping formally enfeoffed Duke Xiang as a feudal lord and elevated Qin from an 'attached state' ( 附庸 ; fùyōng , a minor state with limited self-rule under the authority of another liege-lord) to a major vassal state with full autonomy. He further promised to permanently grant Qin the lands west of Qishan , the former heartland of Zhou, if Qin could expel

14508-466: Was eventually moved by his devotion and agreed to send troops to assist Chu. The famous poem, "No Clothes" ( Chinese : 無衣 ; pinyin : Wú Yī ), recorded in the Classic of Poetry , was a battle hymn personally composed by Duke Ai to boost the morale of the Qin troops. In 505 BC, the Qin and Chu armies jointly defeated Wu in several battles, allowing King Zhao of Chu to be restored and return to

14632-464: Was fully disassembled by 249. Qin's wars of unification concluded in 221 BC with Qin Shi Huang 's annexation of Qi . The Eastern Zhou is also remembered as the golden age of Chinese philosophy: the Hundred Schools of Thought which flourished as rival lords patronized itinerant scholars is led by the example of Qi's Jixia Academy . The Nine Schools of Thought which came to dominate

14756-499: Was initially a respected body of concrete regulations, the fragmentation of the Western Zhou period led the ritual to drift towards moralization and formalization in regard to: The rulers of the Zhou dynasty were titled wang ( 王 ), which was also the term used by the Shang rulers, normally translated into English as 'king'. In addition to these rulers, King Wu's immediate ancestors— Danfu , Jili , and Wen —are also referred to as "Kings of Zhou", despite having been nominal vassals of

14880-530: Was killed defending King Zhou of Shang during the rebellion led by Ji Fa that established the Zhou dynasty. The Ying clan was, however, allied with the politically influential marquesses of Shen , whom the Zhou monarch relied upon heavily to manage the Rong people and was thus allowed to retain their lands and continued serving as an attached vassal under the Zhou dynasty. Feizi , a younger son of Elai's fourth-generation descendant Daluo, impressed King Xiao of Zhou so much with his horse breeding skills, that he

15004-433: Was strictly enforced, and the troops were trained to adapt more effectively to various battle situations. Qin's military strength increased significantly with the full support of the state. In 318 BC, the states of Wei , Zhao, Han , Yan, and Chu formed an alliance and attacked Qin, but failed to advance beyond Hangu Pass , and were defeated by counter-attacking Qin forces. The alliance crumbled due to mistrust, suspicion, and

15128-539: Was the first hydraulic engineer of China to have created a large irrigation canal system. As the main focus of his grandiose project, his canal work eventually diverted the waters of the entire Zhang River to a spot further up the Yellow River . The early Western Zhou supported a strong army, split into two major units: "the Six Armies of the west" and "the Eight Armies of Chengzhou". The armies campaigned in

15252-465: Was the only rival state left. Qin advanced into the heartland of Qi via a southern detour, avoiding direct confrontation with the Qi forces on Qi's western border and arrived swiftly at Qi's capital city of Linzi. The Qi forces were taken by surprise and surrendered without putting up resistance. Following the fall of Qi in 221 BC, China was unified under the rule of Qin. Ying Zheng declared himself " Qin Shi Huang " (meaning "First Emperor of Qin"), founded

15376-531: Was wielded by rulers of smaller domains and local community leaders. In traditional Chinese astrology, Zhou is represented by two stars, Eta Capricorni ( 週一 ; Zhōu yī ; 'first star of Zhou') and 21 Capricorni ( 週二 ; Zhōu'èr ; 'second star of Zhou'), in "Twelve States" asterism. Zhou is also represented by the star Beta Serpentis in asterism "Right Wall", Heavenly Market enclosure . State of Qin Qin ( / tʃ ɪ n / , or Ch'in )

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