Warring States period The Warring States period ( ) , also known as the Era of Warring States , is a period in ancient China following the Spring and Autumn period and concluding with the victory of the state of Qin in 221 BC , creating a unified China under the Qin Dynasty . Different scholars use dates for the beginning of the period ranging between 481 BC and 403 BC , but Sima Qian ' s date of 475 BC is most often cited . Most of this period coincides with the second half of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty , although the Chinese sovereign ( king of Zhou ) was merely a figurehead . The name of the period was derived from the " Record of the Warring States " , a work compiled early in the Han Dynasty . Geography . The political geography of the era was dominated by the Seven Warring States , namely : Besides these seven major states , some minor states also survived into the period . History . Periodisation . Unlike the Spring and Autumn Period , which was initiated by the event of the Zhou court ' s eastward flight , there is no equivalent , clear starting point for the Warring States era . The political situation of the period was a culmination of historical trends of conquest and annexation which also characterised the Spring and Autumn period ; as a result there is some controversy as to when exactly the era began . Some proposed starting points are as follows : Background and Formation . The system of feudal states created by the Western Zhou Dynasty underwent enormous changes after 771 BC with the flight of the Zhou court to modern - day Luoyang and the diminution of its relevance and power . The Spring and Autumn Period led to the strengthening of a few states at the expense of many others , who could no longer depend on central authority or legitimacy for their protection . The struggle for hegemony eventually created a state system dominated by several large states , such as Jin , Chu , Qin and Qi , while the smaller states of the Central Plains tended to be their satellites and tributaries . Other major states also existed , such as Wu and Yue in the southeast . The last decades of the Spring and Autumn era were marked by increased stability , as the result of peace conferences between Jin and Chu which carved out their respective spheres of influence . This situation would end with the partition of Jin , whereby the state was divided between the houses of Han , Zhao and Wei , creating the situation of seven major warring states . The Partition of Jin ( 453 and 403 BC ) . Since the middle of the 6th century BC , the rulers of Jin had steadily lost political powers to their nominally subordinate nobles and military commanders , a situation arising from the traditions of the Jin which forbade the enfeoffment of relatives of the ducal house . This allowed other clans to gain fiefs and military authority , and decades of internecine struggle led to the establishment of four major families , the Han , Zhao , Wei and Zhi . In 453 BC , at the Battle of Jinyang , the Han , Zhao and Wei allied and destroyed the Zhi family , dividing its lands between them . With this , they became the de facto rulers of most of Jin ' s territory , though this situation would not be officially recognised until half a century later , by King Weilie of Zhou . The three Jins : alliance and conflict ( 453 – 368 BC ) . During the first 50 years the division of Jin allowed the other states to expand , Chu and Yue northward and Qi southward . Qin increased its control of the local tribes and began its expansion southwest to Sichuan . From before 405 until 383 the three Jins were united under the leadership of Wei and expanded in all directions . The most important figure was Marquess Wen of Wei ( 445 - 396 ) . In 408 - 406 he conquered the State of Zhongshan to the northeast on the other side of Zhao . At the same time he pushed west across the Yellow River to the Luo River taking the area of Xihe ( literally ' west of the [ Yellow ] river ' ) . The growing power of Wei caused Zhao to back away from the alliance . In 383 it moved its capital to Handan and attacked the small state of Wey . Wey appealed to Wei which attacked Zhao on the western side . Being in danger , Zhao called in Chu . As usual , Chu used this as a pretext to annex territory to its north , but the diversion allowed Zhao to occupy a part of Wei . This conflict marked the end of the power of the united Jins and the beginning a period of shifting alliances and wars on several fronts . In 370 BC , Marquess Wu of Wei died without naming a successor , which led to a war of succession . After three years of civil war , Zhao from the north and Han from the south invaded Wei . On the verge of conquering Wei , the leaders of Zhao and Han fell into disagreement about what to do with Wei , and both armies abruptly retreated . As a result , King Hui of Wei ( still a Marquess at the time ) was able to ascend the throne of Wei . By the end of the period Zhao extended from the Shanxi plateau across the plain to the borders of Qi . Wei reached east to Qi , Lu and Song . To the south , the weaker state of Han held the east - west part of the Yellow River valley , surrounded the Zhou royal domain at Luoyang and held an area north of Luoyang called Shangdang . Wei defeated by Qin ( 370 - 340 BC ) . King Hui of Wei ( 370 - 319 BC ) set about restoring the state . In 362 - 359 BC he exchanged territories with Han and Zhao in order to make the boundaries of the three states more rational . In 344 BC he assumed the title of king . In 364 BC Wei was defeated by Qin at the Battle of Shimen and was only saved by the intervention of Zhao . Qin won another victory in 362 BC . In 361 BC the capital was moved east to Daliang to be out of the reach of Qin . In 354 BC , King Hui of Wei started a large - scale attack on Zhao . By 353 BC , Zhao was losing badly and its capital , Handan , was under siege . The State of Qi intervened . The famous Qi strategist , Sun Bin the great - great - great - grandson of Sun Tzu ( author of the Art of War ) , proposed to attack the Wei capital while the Wei army was tied up besieging Zhao . The strategy was a success ; the Wei army hastily moved south to protect its capital , was caught on the road and decisively defeated at the Battle of Guiling . The battle is remembered in the second of the Thirty - Six Stratagems , " besiege Wei , save Zhao " meaning to attack a vulnerable spot to relieve pressure at another point . In 341 BC , Wei attacked Han . Qi allowed Han to be nearly defeated and then intervened . The generals from the Battle of Guiling met again ( Sun Bin and Tian Ji versus Pang Juan ) , by using the same tactic , attacking Wei ' s capital . Sun Bin feigned a retreat and then turned on the overconfident Wei troops and decisively defeated them at the Battle of Maling . In the following year Qin attacked the weakened Wei . Wei was devastatingly defeated and ceded a large part of its territory in return for truce . With Wei severely weakened , Qi and Qin became the dominant states in China . The Period of Qi ( 301 - 284 BC ) . This is the most complex part of the Warring States period . It corresponds to the reign of King Min of Qi and the schemes of Lord Mengchang of Qi and Su Qin . 300 BC : Lord Mengchang of Qi , grandson of the former King Wei of Qi came to power when King Min acceeded to the throne . He made a westward alliance with the States of Wei and Han . In the far west , Qin , which had been weakened by a succession struggle in 307 , yielded to the new coalition and appointed Lord Mengchang its chief minister . This " horizontal " or east - west alliance might have secured peace except that it excluded the State of Zhao . 298 BC : Zhao offered Qin an alliance and Lord Mengchang was driven out of Qin . The remaining three allies , Qi , Wei and Han , attacked Qin , driving up the Yellow River below Shanxi to the Hangu Pass . After 3 years of fighting they took the pass and forced Qin to return territory to Han and Wei . They next inflicted major defeats on Yan and Chu . During the 5 - year administration of Lord Menchang , Qi was the major power in China . 294 BC : Lord Mengchang was implicated in a " coup d ' etat " and fled to Wei . His alliance system collapsed . Qi and Qin made a truce and pursued their own interests . Qi moved south against the State of Song whilst the Qin General Bai Qi pushed back eastward against a Han / Wei alliance , gaining victory at the Battle of Yique . In 288 BC the two rulers took the title of " Di " , ( 帝 " literally emperor " ) , of the east and west respectively . They swore a covenant and started planning an attack on Zhao . 287 BC : The diplomat Su Qin , possibly an agent of Yan , persuaded King Min that the Zhao war would only benefit Qin . King Min agreed and formed a ' vertical ' alliance with the other states against Qin . Qin backed off , abandoned the presumptuous title of " Di " , and restored territory to Wei and Zhao . In 286 Qi annexed the state of Song . 285 BC : The success of Qi frightened the other states ( some say that this was part of Su Qin ' s plan ) . Under the leadership of Lord Mengchang , who was exiled in Wei , Qin , Zhao , Wei and Yan formed an alliance . Yan had normally been a relatively weak ally of Qi and Qi feared little from this quarter . Yan ' s onslaught under general Yue Yi came as a devastating surprise . Simultaneously , the other allies attacked from the west . Chu declared itself an ally of Qi but contented itself with annexing some territory to its north . Qi ' s armies were destroyed and the King Min was slain . Qi was reduced to the two cities of Ju and Jimo . King Min himself was later captured and executed by his own followers . After 284 BC Tian Dan was able to restore much of the state ' s territory , but it never regained the influence it had under King Min . The period of Zhao ( 284 - 260 ) . After Chu was defeated in 278 , the remaining great powers were Qin in the west and Zhao in the north - center . There was little room for diplomatic maneuver and matters were decided by war in 265 - 260 . Zhao had been much strengthened by King Wuling of Zhao ( 325 - 299 ) . In 307 he enlarged his cavalry by copying the northern nomads . In 306 he took more land in the northern Shanxi plateau . In 305 he defeated the northeastern border state of Zhongshan . In 304 he pushed far to the northwest and occupied the east - west section of the Yellow River in the north of the Ordos Loop . King Huiwen of Zhao ( 298 - 266 ) chose able servants and expanded against the weakened Qi and Wei . In 296 his general Lian Po defeated two Qin armies . In 265 King Zhaoxiang of Qin made the first move by attacking the weak state of Han which held the Yellow River gateway into Qin . He moved northeast across Wei territory to cut off the Han exclave of Shangdang north of Luoyang and south of Zhao . The Han king agreed to surrender Shangdang , but the local governor refused and presented it to King Xiaocheng of Zhao . Zhao sent out Lian Po who based his armies at Changping and Qin sent out general Wang He . Lian Po was too wise to risk a decisive battle with the Qin army and remained inside his fortifications . Qin could not break through and the armies were locked in stalemate for three years . The Zhao king decided that Lian Po was not aggressive enough and sent out Zhao Kuo who promised a decisive battle . At the same time Qin secretly replaced Wang He with the notoriously violent Bai Qi . When Zhao Kuo left his fortifications , Bai Qi used a Cannae maneuver , falling back in the center and surrounding the Zhao army from the sides . After being surrounded for 46 days , the starving Zhao troops surrendered ( September 260 BC ) . It is said that Bai Qi had all the prisoners killed and that Zhao lost 400 , 000 men . Qin was too exhausted to follow up its victory . Some time later it sent an army to besiege the Zhao capital but the army was destroyed when it was attacked from the rear . Zhao survived , but there was no longer a state that could resist Qin on its own . The other states could have survived if they remained united against Qin , but they did not . The history of Chu . The general policy of Chu was to slowly annex the small states to its north . By late in the period it had a common border with Qi and Wei . " 389 : " Early in the Warring States Period , Chu was one of the strongest states in China . The state rose to a new level of power around 389 BC when King Dao of Chu ( 楚悼王 ) named the famous reformer Wu Qi as his chancellor . " 334 : " Chu rose to its peak in 334 BC , when it conquered Yue to its east on the Pacific coast . The series of events leading up to this began when Yue prepared to attack Qi to its north . The King of Qi sent an emissary who persuaded the King of Yue to attack Chu instead . Yue initiated a large - scale attack at Chu but was defeated by Chu ' s counter - attack . Chu then proceeded to conquer Yue . " 278 : " General Bai Qi of Qin attacked from Qin ' s new ( from 316 ) territory in Sichuan to the west of Chu . The capital of Ying was captured and Chu ' s western lands on the Han River were lost . The effect of 334 and 278 was to shift Chu significantly to the east . Royal titles . The title of " king " ( " wang " , 王 ) was held by figurehead rulers of the Zhou Dynasty , while the rulers of most states held the title of " duke " ( " gong " , 公 ) or " marquess " ( " hou " , 侯 ) . A major exception was Chu , whose rulers were called kings since King Wu of Chu started using the title c . 703 BC . In 344 BC King Hui of Wei changed his title from Marquess to King . In 334 BC his victorious enemy , King Wei of Qi adopted the same title . In 325 the rulers of Qin and Han declared themselves kings , followed by those of Zhao , Yan , and Zhongshan in 323 BC . In 318 BC , the ruler of Song , a relatively minor state , declared himself king . The ruler of Zhao held out until around 299 BC , and was the last to take the royal title . In 288 - 287 the kings of Qin and Qi briefly called themselves " emperor " ( " di " ) , before reverting to " king " . Horizontal and Vertical Alliances . Towards the end of the Warring States Period , the Qin state became disproportionately powerful compared to the other six states . As a result , the policies of the six states became overwhelmingly oriented towards dealing with the Qin threat , with two opposing schools of thought . One school advocated a ' vertical ' or north - south alliance called " hezong " ( 合縱 / 合纵 ) in which the states would ally with each other to repel Qin . The other advocated a ' horizontal ' or east - west alliance called " lianheng " ( 連橫 / 连横 ) in which a state would ally with Qin to participate in its ascendancy . There were some initial successes in " hezong " , though mutual suspicions between allied states led to the breakdown of such alliances . Qin repeatedly exploited the horizontal alliance strategy to defeat the states one by one . During this period , many philosophers and tacticians travelled around the states , recommending that the rulers put their respective ideas into use . These " lobbyists , " such as Su Qin ( who advocated vertical alliances ) and Zhang Yi ( who advocated horizontal alliances ) , were famous for their tact and intellect , and were collectively known as the School of Diplomacy , whose Chinese name ( 縱橫家 , literally ' the school of the vertical and horizontal ' ) was derived from the two opposing ideas . The rise of Qin . After the Zhou were driven out of the Wei River valley in 771 BC the house of Qin was given the task of restoring Zhou rule in the valley . This they did by slowly absorbing the local Rong tribes . The valley was bounded on the south by high mountains and on the north by dry country . Its great advantage was its location in the far west " within the passes " which tended to keep Qin out of needless wars with the other states . There is little information about the early history of Qin during the Spring and Autumn Period . Most of its interactions were with its powerful eastern neighbor , Jin . In 632 Duke Mu of Qin ( 660 - 621 ) helped Jin win the Battle of Chengpu against Chu . In 579 Qin , Jin , Chu and Qi held a peace conference and agreed to limit the size of their armies . During the early Warring States period Qin generally avoided conflicts with the other states . It began to become aggressive after the Shang Yang reforms of about 356 and then played a very active role in the final 180 years ( 300 - 221 BC ) . Qin conquers the other states ( 230 - 221 ) . In 230 BC , the Qin state conquered the Han state . Han , the weakest of the Seven Warring States , was adjacent to the much stronger Qin , and had suffered continuous assaults by Qin in earlier years of the Warring States Period . This went on until Emperor Qin Shi Huang sent general Wang Jian to attack Zhao . King An of Han , frightened by the thought that Han would be the next target of the Qin state , immediately sent diplomats to surrender the entire kingdom without a fight , saving the Han populace from the terrible potential consequences of an unsuccessful resistance . In 225 BC , Qin conquered Wei . The Qin army led a direct invasion into Wei by besieging its capital Daliang but soon realized that the city walls were too tough to break into . They devised a new strategy in which they utilized the power of a local river that was linked to the Yellow River . The river was used to flood the city ' s walls , causing massive devastation to the city . Upon realizing the situation , King Jia of Wei hurriedly came out of the city and surrendered its city to the Qin army in order to avoid further bloodshed of his people . In 223 BC , Qin invaded the relatively strong Chu state . However , the first invasion was an utter disaster when 200 , 000 Qin troops , led by the inexperienced general , Li Xin , were defeated by 500 , 000 Chu troops in the unfamiliar territory of Huaiyang , modern - day northern Jiangsu and Anhui provinces . Xiang Yan , the Chu commander , had lured Qin by allowing a few initial victories , but then counterattacked and burnt two large Qin camps . The following year , Wang Jian was recalled to lead a second invasion with 600 , 000 men . High in morale after their victory in the previous year , the Chu forces were content to sit back and defend against what they expected to be a siege of Chu . However , Wang Jian decided to weaken Chu ' s resolve and tricked the Chu army by appearing to be idle in his fortifications whilst secretly training his troops to fight in Chu territory . After a year , the Chu defenders decided to disband due to apparent lack of action from the Qin . Wang Jian invaded at that point , with full force , and overran Huaiyang and the remaining Chu forces . Chu lost the initiative and could only sustain local guerrilla - style resistance until it too was fully conquered with the destruction of Shouchun and the death of its last leader , Lord Changping of Chu , in 223 BC . At their peak , the combined armies of Chu and Qin are estimated to have ranged from hundreds of thousands to a million soldiers , more than those involved in the campaign of Changping between Qin and Zhao 35 years earlier . In 222 BC , Qin conquered Yan and Zhao . After the conquest of Zhao , the Qin army then turned its attention towards Yan . Realizing the danger and gravity of this situation , Crown Prince Dan of Yan had sent the assassin Jing Ke to kill the Qin king , but this failure only helped to fuel the rage and determination of the Qin king , and he increased the number of troops to conquer the Yan state . In 221 BC , Qin conquered Qi . Qi was the final unconquered warring state . It had not previously contributed or helped other states when Qin was conquering them . As soon as Qin ' s intention to invade it became clear , Qi swiftly surrendered all its cities , completing the unification of China and ushering in the Qin Dynasty . Military Theory and Practice . Increasing Scale of Warfare . The chariot remained a major factor in Chinese warfare long after it went out of fashion in the Middle East . Near the beginning of the Warring States Period there is a shift from chariots to massed infantry , possibly associated with the invention of the crossbow . This had two major effects . First it led the dukes to weaken their chariot - riding nobility so they could get direct access to the peasantry who could be drafted as infantry . This change was associated with the shift from aristocratic to bureaucratic government . Second , it led to a massive increase in the scale of warfare . When the Zhou overthrew the Shang at the Battle of Muye they used 45 , 000 troops and 300 chariots . For the Warring States Period the following figures for the military strengths of various states are reported : For major battles , the following figures are reported : Most scholars think these numbers are exaggerated ( they are much larger than those from similar societies , soldiers were paid by the number of enemies they killed and the Han Dynasty had an interest in exaggerating the bloodiness of the age before China was unified ) . Regardless of exaggeration , it seems clear that warfare had become excessive during this period . The bloodshed and misery of the Warring States Period goes a long way in explaining China ' s traditional preference for a united throne . Military developments . The Warring States Period saw the introduction of many innovations to the art of warfare in China , such as the use of iron and of cavalry . Warfare in the Warring States Period evolved considerably from the Spring and Autumn Period , as most armies made use of infantry and cavalry in battles , and the use of chariot s became less widespread . The use of massed infantry made warfare more bloody and reduced the importance of the aristocracy which in turn made the kings more despotic . From this period onward , as the various states competed with each other by mobilizing their armies to war , nobles in China belonged to the literate class , rather than to the warrior class as had previously been the case . The various states fielded massive armies of infantry , cavalry , and chariots . Complex logistical systems maintained by efficient government bureaucracies were needed to supply , train , and control such large forces . The size of the armies ranged from tens of thousands to several hundred thousand men . Iron became more widespread and began to replace bronze . Most armour and weapons of this period were made from iron . The first official native Chinese cavalry unit was formed in 307 BC during the military reforms of King Wuling of Zhao , who advocated ' Nomadic dress and horse archery ' . But the war chariot still retained its prestige and importance , despite the tactical superiority of cavalry . The crossbow was the preferred long - range weapon of this period , due to several reasons . The crossbow could be mass - produced easily , and mass training of crossbowmen was possible . These qualities made it a powerful weapon against the enemy . Infantrymen deployed a varieties of weapons , but the most popular was the dagger - axe . The dagger - axe came in various lengths , from 9 to 18 feet ; the weapon consisted of a thrusting spear with a slashing blade appended to it . Dagger - axes were an extremely popular weapon in various kingdoms , especially for the Qin who produced 18 - foot - long pikes . Military thought . The Warring States was a great period for military strategy ; of the Seven Military Classics of China , four were written during this period : Culture and Society . The Warring States Period was an era of intensive warfare , as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation ; the major states , ruling over large territories , quickly sought to consolidate their powers , leading to the final erosion of the Zhou court ' s prestige . As a sign of this shift , the rulers of all the major states ( except for Chu , which had claimed kingly title much earlier ) abandoned their former feudal titles for the title of 王 , or King , claiming equality with the rulers of the Zhou . At the same time , the constant conflict and need for innovative social and political models led to the development of many philosophical doctrines , later known as the Hundred Schools of Thought . The most notable schools of thought include Mohism , expounded by Mozi ; Confucianism , represented by Mencius and Xunzi ; Taoism , represented by Zhuangzi , and Legalism , represented by Shang Yang and Han Feizi . This period is most famous for the establishment of complex bureaucracies and centralized governments , as well as a clearly established legal system . The developments in political and military organization were the basis of the power of the Qin state , which conquered the other states and unified them under the Qin Empire in 221 BC . Nobles , Bureaucrats and Reformers . The phenomenon of intensive warfare , based on mass formations of infantry rather than the traditional chariots , was one major trend which led to the creation of strong central bureaucracies in each of the major states . At the same time , the process of secondary feudalism which permeated the Spring and Autumn period , and led to such events as the partition of Jin and the usurpation of Qi by the Tian clan , was eventually reversed by the same process of bureaucratisation . The reforms of Shang Yang in Qin , and of Wu Qi in Chu , both centred around increased centralisation , the suppression of the nobility , and a vastly increased scope of government based on Legalist ideals , which were necessary to mobilise the large armies of the period . Economic Developments . The Warring States Period saw the proliferation of iron working in China , replacing bronze as the dominant type of metal used in warfare . Areas such as Shu ( present - day Sichuan ) and Yue ( present - day Zhejiang ) were also brought into the Chinese cultural sphere during this time . Trade also became important , and some merchants had considerable power in politics , the most prominent of which was Lü Buwei , who rose to become Chancellor of Qin and was a key supporter of the eventual Qin Shihuang . At the same time , the increased resources of consolidated , bureaucratic states , coupled with the logistical needs of mass levies and large - scale warfare , led to the proliferation of economic projects such as large - scale waterworks . Major examples of such waterworks include the Dujiangyan Irrigation System , which controlled the Min River in Sichuan and turned the former backwater region into a major Qin logistical base , and the Zhengguo Canal which irrigated large areas of land in the Guanzhong Plain , again increasing Qin ' s agricultural output .