The Spring And Autumn Period

Every country has been subjected to its share of violence and conflict, and China is no exception.

The Spring and Autumn Period ran between 770 BC and 476 BC. Towards the last years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the northwestern nomadic people, moved eastward, threatening the central area of the Zhou Empire. As a result, the Zhou’s territory steadily decreased. After King You was killed by the nomad armies, the Zhou royal house found it difficult to remain in Guanzhong, so King Ping moved to the capital to Luoyi in 770 BC and founded the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. However, this didn’t put an end to his problems. The Zhou royal house now controlled an area much smaller than before and its influence was limited to only several hundreds of kilometers

The battle for power between the Jin and the Chu lasted almost the entirety of the Spring and Autumn Period. By the end, King Fuchai of the Wu and King Goujian of the Yue reigned supreme. Still, not all changes took place on the battlefield. There was also an impact on society as a whole. For many years, nobles, commoners and slaves were the three major social classes in ancient societies. The rulers selected officials mainly on the basis of their births. There were the alleged hereditary minister and emolument systems in the Zhou political and social structure, by which the nobles could enjoy the honor of becoming officials for generations without having to earn or prove themselves in any way. On the other hand, the minor nobles and commoners had little chance of pursuing anything having to do with politics. In the late Spring and Autumn Period, that all began to change. Soon people were appointed according to their experience and ability. Some average or minor nobles, and even some commoners, through hard work, won the approval of the monarch and were trusted with important tasks and duties. The so-called intelligentsia class gradually

The king was especially aggravated; how could he keep his small empire together if two figures of such high standing were constantly at each other’s throats? He needed to find a way to exploit them both and ultimately strengthen his position. Luckily this was also around the same time as the rising status of “virtuous people.” Since the Spring and Autumn Period, the demand for virtuous people had gained increasing momentum. The distinguishing quality of a virtuous person was that they were not necessarily born into a noble or privileged family. However, they possessed a great moral demeanor and housed great wisdom. An example of such a person was, Xunzi, who retained substantial influence in every state. Lord Chunshen, the king of Chu, was made aware of this, and jumped at the chance to have him under his control. If he had such a person by his side not only would it secure his position, it would also make it so that he held more power over his