Spring and Autumn Period

The Spring and Autumn Period (Chinese: 春秋时代, 春秋時代, Chūn–Qiū Shídài) was a period in Chinese history that took place from approximately 771 until 476 BC (or by some authorities until 403 BC) in the alluvial plain of the Yellow River, the Shandong Peninsula and the river valleys of the Huai and Han. It roughly corresponds to the first half of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Its name comes from the Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle of the state of Lu between 722 and 479 BC, which tradition associates with Confucius. The period can also be further divided into three sub-periods:

• Age of regional cultures (Early): 771 BC–643 BC, up to the death of Duke Huan of Qi
• Age of encroachments (Middle): 643 BC–546 BC, up to the peace conference between Jin and Chu
• Age of reforms (Late): 546 BC–403 BC, up to the partition of Jin

During the Spring and Autumn period, China's feudal system of fēngjiàn became largely irrelevant. The Zhou Dynasty kings held nominal power, but only had real control over a small royal demesne centered on their capital Luoyi near modern-day Luoyang. During the early part of the Zhou Dynasty period, royal relatives and generals had been given control over fiefdoms in an effort to maintain Zhou authority over vast territory, many of these broke up into smaller states when the dynasty weakened.

The most important feudal princes (known later as the twelve vassals), met during regular conferences where important matters, such as military expeditions against foreign groups or offending nobles, were decided. During these conferences, one vassal leader was sometimes declared hegemon (伯, bó; later, 霸, bà) and given leadership over the armies of all Zhou states.

As the era unfolded, larger and more powerful states annexed or claimed suzerainty over smaller ones. By the 6th century BC, most small states had disappeared and only a few large and powerful principalities dominated China. Some southern states, such as Chu and Wu, claimed independence from the Zhou. Wars were undertaken to oppose some of these states (Wu and Yue).

Amid the interstate power struggles, internal conflict was also rife: six elite landholding families waged war on each other in Jin; the Chen family was eliminating political enemies in Qi; and legitimacy of the rulers was often challenged in civil wars by various royal family members in Qin and Chu. Once all these powerful rulers had firmly established themselves within their respective dominions, the bloodshed focused more fully on interstate conflict in the Warring States Period, which began in 403 BC when the three remaining elite families in Jin – Zhao, Wei and Han – partitioned the state.