Spring and Autumn period

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Spring and Autumn period (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin:
Chnqi Shdi) was a period in Chinese history from approximately 771 to 476 BC (or according to some
authorities until 403 BC[a])[2] which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou Period. The
period's name derives from the Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle of the state of Lu between 722 and 479
BC, which tradition associates with Confucius.

During this period, the Zhou royal authority over the various feudal states started to decline, as more and more
dukes and marquesses obtained de facto regional autonomy, defying the king's court in Luoyi, and waging wars
amongst themselves. The gradual Partition of Jin, one of the most powerful states, marked the end of the Spring
and Autumn period, and the beginning of the Warring States period.

Contents
1 Background
2 Early Spring and Autumn (771685 BC)
2.1 Court moves east (771 BC)
2.2 Zheng falls out with the court (722685 BC)
3 The Five Hegemons (685591 BC)
3.1 Hegemony of Qi (685643 BC)
3.2 Hegemony of Song (643637 BC)
3.3 Hegemony of Jin (636628 BC)
3.4 Hegemony of Qin (628621 BC)
3.5 Hegemony of Chu (613591 BC)
4 Late Spring and Autumn (591453 BC)
4.1 The Six Ministers (588 BC)
4.2 Rise of Wu (584 BC)
4.3 Attempts at peace (579 BC)
4.4 Hegemony of Wu (506496 BC)
4.5 Hegemony of Yue (496465 BC)
4.6 Partition of Jin
5 List of states
6 Important figures
7 Interstate relations
8 Nobility
9 Literature
10 Religion
11 Notes
12 References
12.1 Sources
12.2 Sources
13 Further reading
14 External links

Background
In 771 BC, the Quanrong invasion destroyed the Western Zhou and its capital Haojing, forcing the Zhou king to
flee to the eastern capital Luoyi (Chinese: ). The event ushered in the Eastern Zhou dynasty, which is
divided into the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods. During the Spring and Autumn period,
China's feudal system of fengjian () became largely irrelevant. The Zhou court, having lost its homeland in
the Guanzhong region, held nominal power, but had real control over only a small royal demesne centered on
Luoyi. 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.[3] As the power of the Zhou kings
waned, these fiefdoms became increasingly independent states.

The most important states (known later as the twelve vassals) came together in regular conferences where they
decided important matters, such as military expeditions against foreign groups or against offending nobles.
During these conferences one vassal ruler was sometimes declared hegemon (Chinese: ; pinyin: b; later,
Chinese: ; pinyin: b).

As the era continued, larger and more powerful states annexed or claimed suzerainty over smaller ones. By the
6th century BC most small states had disappeared and just a few large and powerful principalities dominated
China. Some southern states, such as Chu and Wu, claimed independence from the Zhou, who undertook wars
against some of them (Wu and Yue).

Amid the interstate power struggles, internal conflict was also rife: six lite landholding families waged war on
each other inside Jin, political enemies set about eliminating the Chen family in Qi, and the 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
lite families in Jin Zhao, Wei and Han partitioned the state.

Early Spring and Autumn (771685 BC)

Court moves east (771 BC)

After the Zhou capital was sacked by the Marquess of Shen and the Quanrong barbarians, the Zhou moved the
capital east from the now desolated Zongzhou in Haojing near modern Xi'an to Chengzhou in the Yellow River
Valley. The Zhou royalty was then closer to its main supporters,[4] particularly Jin, and Zheng;[5][6] the Zhou
royal family had much weaker authority and relied on lords from these vassal states for protection, especially
during their flight to the eastern capital. In Chengzhou, Prince Yijiu was crowned by his supporters as King
Ping.[6] However, with the Zhou domain greatly reduced to Chengzhou and nearby areas, the court could no
longer support the six army groups it had in the past; Zhou kings had to request help from powerful vassal
states for protection from raids and for resolution of internal power struggles. The Zhou court would never
regain its original authority; instead, it was relegated to being merely a figurehead of the feudal states. Though
the king de jure retained the Mandate of Heaven, the title held little actual power.

With the decline of Zhou power, the Yellow River drainage basin was divided into hundreds of small,
autonomous states, most of them consisting of a single city, though a handful of multi-city states, particularly
those on the periphery, had power and opportunity to expand outward.[7] A total of 148 states are mentioned in
the chronicles for this period, 128 of which were absorbed by the four largest states by the end of the period.[8]

Shortly after the royal family's move to Chengzhou, a hierarchical alliance system arose where the Zhou king
would give the title of hegemon to the leader of the state with the most powerful military; the hegemon was
obligated to protect both the weaker Zhou states and the Zhou royalty from the intruding non-Zhou
peoples:[9][10] the Northern Di, the Southern Man, the Eastern Yi, and the Western Rong. This political
framework retained the fngjin power structure, though interstate and intrastate conflict often led to disregard
for feudal customs, respect for the Ji family, and solidarity with other Zhou peoples.[11] The king's prestige
legitimized the military leaders of the states, and helped mobilize collective defense of Zhou territory against
"barbarians."[12]
Over the next two centuries,
the four most powerful
statesQin, Jin, Qi and
Chustruggled for power.
These multi-city states often
used the pretext of aid and
protection to intervene and
gain suzerainty over the
smaller states. During this
rapid expansion,[13]
interstate relations
alternated between low-
level warfare and complex
diplomacy.[14]

Zheng falls out with

the court (722685
BC)
Late Spring and Autumn period, 5th century BC, before the breakup of Jin and the Qin move
Duke Yin of Lu ascended into Sichuan. The Wei on this map is Wey, not the other Wei that arose from the Partition of
the throne in 722 BC.[15] Jin
From this year on the state
of Lu kept an official
chronicle, the Spring and Autumn Annals, which along with its commentaries is the standard source for the
Spring and Autumn period. Corresponding chronicles are known to have existed in other states as well, but all
but the Lu chronicle have been lost.

In 717 BC, Duke Zhuang of Zheng went to the capital for an audience with King Huan. During the encounter
the duke felt he was not treated with the respect and etiquette which would have been appropriate, given that
Zheng was now the chief protector of the capital.[15] In 715 BC Zheng also became involved in a border
dispute with Lu regarding the Fields of Xu. The fields had been put in the care of Lu by the king for the
exclusive purpose of producing royal sacrifices for the sacred Mount Tai.[15] Zheng regarding the fields as just
any other piece of land was an insult to the court.

By 707 BC relations had soured enough that the king launched a punitive expedition against Zheng. The duke
counterattacked and raided Zhou territory, defeating the royal forces in The Battle of Xuge and injuring the
king himself.[8][15][16] Zheng was the first vassal to openly defy the king, kicking off the centuries of warfare
without respect for titles which would characterize the period.

The display of Zheng's martial strength was effective until succession problems after Zhuang's death in 701
weakened the state.[5]

In 692 BC there was a failed assassination attempt against King Zhuang, orchestrated by elements at court.[15]

The Five Hegemons (685591 BC)

Hegemony of Qi (685643 BC)

The first hegemon was Duke Huan of Qi (r. 685643 BC). With the help of his prime minister, Guan Zhong,
Duke Huan reformed Qi to centralize its power structure. The state consisted of 15 "townships" with the duke
and two senior ministers each in charge of five; military functions were also united with civil ones. These and
related reforms provided the state, already powerful from control of trade crossroads, with a greater ability to
mobilize resources than the more loosely organized states.[17]
By 667 BC, Qi had clearly shown its economic and military predominance, and Duke Huan assembled the
leaders of Lu, Song, Chen, and Zheng, who elected him as their leader. Soon after, King Hui of Zhou conferred
the title of b (hegemon), giving Duke Huan royal authority in military ventures.[18][19] An important basis for
justifying Qi's dominance over the other states was presented in the slogan 'supporting the king, and expelling
the barbarians' ( zun wang rang yi); the role of subsequent hegemons would also be framed in this
way, as the primary defender and supporter of nominal Zhou authority and the existing order. Using this
authority, Duke Huan intervened in a power struggle in Lu; protected Yan from encroaching Western Rong
nomads (664 BC); drove off Northern Di nomads after they'd invaded Wey (660 BC) and Xing (659 BC),
providing the people with provisions and protective garrison units; and led an alliance of eight states to conquer
Cai and thereby block the northward expansion of Chu (656 BC).[20]

At his death in 643 BC, five of Duke Huan's sons contended for the throne, badly weakening the state so that it
was no longer regarded as the hegemon. For nearly ten years, no ruler held the title.[21]

Hegemony of Song (643637 BC)

Duke Xiang of Song attempted to claim the hegemony in the wake of

Qi's decline, perhaps driven by a desire to restore the Shang Dynasty
from which Song had descended. He hosted peace confences in the
same style as Qi had done, and conducted aggessive military campaigns
against his rivals. Duke Xiang however met his end when, against the
advice of his staff, he attacked the much larger state of Chu. The Song
forces were defeated at the battle of Hong in 638 BC, and the duke
himself died in the following year from an injury sustained in the battle.
After Xiang's death his successors adopted a more modest foreign
policy, better suited to the country's small size.[22]

As Duke Xiang was never officially recognized as hegemon by the

King of Zhou, not all sources list him as one of the Five Hegemons.
Urbanization during the Spring and
Autumn period. Hegemony of Jin (636628 BC)

When Duke Wen of Jin came to power in 636 BC, he capitalized on the
reforms of his father, Duke Xian (r. 676651 BC), who had centralized the state, killed off relatives who might
threaten his authority, conquered sixteen smaller states, and even absorbed some Rong and Di peoples to make
Jin much more powerful than it had been previously.[23] When he assisted King Xiang in a succession struggle
in 635 BC, Xiang awarded Jin with strategically valuable territory near Chengzhou.

Duke Wen of Jin then used his growing power to coordinate a military response with Qi, Qin, and Song against
Chu, which had begun encroaching northward after the death of Duke Hun of Qi. With a decisive Chu loss at
the Battle of Chengpu (632 BC), Duke Wen's loyalty to the Zhou king was rewarded at an interstate conference
when King Xang awarded him the title of b.[21]

After the death of Duke Wen in 628 BC, a growing tension manifested in interstate violence that turned smaller
states, particularly those at the border between Jin and Chu, into sites of constant warfare; Qi and Qin also
engaged in numerous interstate skirmishes with Jin or its allies to boost their own power.[24]

Hegemony of Qin (628621 BC)

Duke Mu of Qin had ascended the throne in 659 BC and forged an alliance with Jin by marrying his daughter to
Duke Wen. In 624 BC, he established hegemony over the western Rong barbarians and became the most
powerful lord of the time. However he did not chair any alliance with other states nor was he officially
recognized as hegemon by the king. Therefore, not all sources accept him as one of the Five Hegemons.

Hegemony of Chu (613591 BC)

King Zhuang of Chu expanded the borders of Chu well north of the Yangtze River, threatening the Central
States in modern Henan. At one point the Chu forces advanced to just outside the royal capital of Zhou, upon
which King Zhuang sent a messenger to ask how heavy and bulky the Nine Cauldrons were; implying he might
soon arrange to have them moved to his own capital. In the end the Zhou capital was spared, and Chu shifted
focus to harassing the nearby state of Zheng. The once-hegemon state of Jin intervened to rescue Zheng from
the Chu invaders but were resolutely defeated, which marks the ascension of Chu as the dominant state of the
time.[25]

Despite his de facto hegemony, King Zhuang's self-proclaimed title of "king" was never recognized by the
Zhou states. In the Spring and Autumn Annals he is defiantly referred to by the Chu ruler's original title
"viscount" (the second-lowest noble rank), even at a time when he dominated most of south China. Later
historians however always include him as one of the Five Hegemons.

Late Spring and Autumn (591453 BC)

The Six Ministers (588 BC)

In addition to interstate conflict, internal conflicts between state leaders and local aristocrats also occurred.
Eventually the dukes of Lu, Jin, Zheng, Wey and Qi would all become figureheads to powerful aristocratic
families.[26]

In the case of Jin, the shift happened in 588 BC when the army was split into six independent divisions, each
dominated by a separate noble family: the Zhao, Wei, Han, Fan, Zhi and Zhongxing. The heads of the six
families were conferred the titles of viscounts and made ministers,[27] each heading one of the six departments
of Zhou Dynasty government.[28] From this point on, historians refer to "The Six Ministers" as the true power
brokers of Jin.

The same happened to Lu in 562 BC, when the Three Huan divided the army into three parts and established
their own separate spheres of influence. The heads of the three families were always among the department
heads of Lu.

Rise of Wu (584 BC)

Wu was a "barbarian" state in modern Jiangsu, where the inhabitants sported short hair and tattoos. Although
legend ascribed a Chinese origin to the ruling dynasty, Wu did not participate in the politics and wars of China
until the last third of the Spring and Autumn period.

Their first documented interaction with the Spring and Autumn states was in 584 BC, when a Wu force
attacked the small border state of Tan, causing some alarm in the various Chinese courts. Jin was quick to
dispatch an ambassador to the court of the Wu king, Shoumeng. Jin promised to supply Wu with modern
military technology and training in exchange for an alliance against Chu, a neighbour of Wu and Jin's nemesis
in the struggle for hegemony. King Shoumeng accepted the offer, and Wu would continue to harass Chu for
years to come.[29]

Attempts at peace (579 BC)

After a period of increasingly exhausting warfare, Qi, Qin, Jin and Chu met at a disarmament conference in 579
BC and agreed to declare a truce to limit their military strength.[30] This peace didn't last very long and it soon
became apparent that the b role had become outdated; the four major states had each acquired their own
spheres of control and the notion of protecting Zhou territory had become less cogent as the control over (and
the resulting cultural assimilation of) non-Zhou peoples, as well as Chu's control of some Zhou areas, further
blurred an already vague distinction between Zhou and non-Zhou.[31]
In addition, new aristocratic houses were founded with loyalties to
powerful states, rather than directly to the Zhou kings, though this
process slowed down by the end of the seventh century BC, possibly
because territory available for expansion had been largely
exhausted.[31] The Zhou kings had also lost much of their prestige[26]
so that, when Duke Dao of Jin (r. 572558 BC) was recognized as b,
it carried much less meaning than it had before.

Hegemony of Wu (506496 BC)

In 506 BC King Hel ascended the throne of Wu. With the help of Wu
Zixu and Sun Zi, the author of The Art of War, he launched major
offensives against the state of Chu. They prevailed in five battles, one
of which was the Battle of Boju, and conquered the capital Ying.
However, Chu managed to ask the state of Qin for help, and after
being defeated by Qin, the vanguard general of Wu troops, Fugai, a
younger brother of Hel, led a rebellion. After beating Fugai, Hel
was forced to leave Chu. Fugai later retired to Chu and settled there. Chinese pu vessel with interlaceddragon
King Hel died during an invasion of Yue in 496 BC. Some sources design, Spring and Autumn period.
list him as one of the Five Hegemons.

He was succeeded by his son King Fuchai of Wu, who nearly destroyed the Yue state, imprisoning King
Goujian of Yue. Subsequently, Fuchai defeated Qi and extended Wu influence into central China.

In 499 BC, the philosopher Confucius was made acting prime minister of Lu. He is traditionally (if improbably)
considered the author or editor of the Spring and Autumn annals, from which much of the information for this
period is drawn. After only two years he was forced to resign and spent many years wandering between
different states before returning to Lu. After returning to Lu he did not resume a political career, preferring to
teach. Tradition holds that it was in this time he edited or wrote the Five Classics, including the Spring and
Autumn.

Hegemony of Yue (496465 BC)

In 482 BC, King Fuchai of Wu held an interstate conference to solidify his power base, but Yue captured the
Wu capital. Fuchai rushed back but was besieged and died when the city fell in 473 BC. Yue then concentrated
on weaker neighbouring states, rather than the great powers to the north.[32] With help from Wu's enemy Chu,
Yue was able to be victorious after several decades of conflict. King Goujian destroyed and annexed Wu in 473
BC, after which he was recognized as hegemon.

The Zuo Commentary, Guoyu and Shiji provide almost no information about Goujian's subsequent reign or
policies. What little is said is told from the perspective of other states, such as Duke Ai of Lu trying to enlist
Yue's help in a coup against the Three Huan. Sima Qian notes that Goujian reigned on until his death, and that
afterwards his descendants -for whom no biographical information is given- continued to rule for six
generations before the state was finally absorbed into Chu during the Warring States period.

Partition of Jin

After the great age of Jin power, the Jin dukes began to lose authority over their nobles. A full-scale civil war
between 497 and 453 BC ended with the elimination of most noble lines; the remaining aristocratic families
divided Jin into three successor states: Han, Wei, and Zhao.[32] This is the last event recorded in the Zuo
Commentary.

With the absorption of most of the smaller states in the era, this partitioning left seven major states in the Zhou
world: the three fragments of Jin, the three remaining great powers of Qin, Chu and Qi, and the weaker state of
Yan near modern Beijing. The partition of Jin, along with the Usurpation of Qi by Tian, marks the beginning of
the Warring States period.

List of states
A total of 148 states are mentioned in the chronicles for this period.[8]
 Chinese
Name Capital (s) Established Dissolved
(Trad./Simp.)

Ychng ()
Pngd ()
Zh ()
B unknown 316 BC
Jangzhu ()
Dinjang ()
Lnzhng (/)

Shngci ()
Ci Xnci () Before 1043 BC 447 BC
Xici ()

Co Toqi () Before 1043 BC 487 BC

Chao Chaohu or near Huainan Before 1046 BC c. 580 BC

Chn / Wnqi () c. 1046 BC 479 BC

(Western Zhou Period 1066 770 BC) In the

Chng vicinity of the Zhou capitalHaojing c. 1100 BC unknown
(Chng), Shandong

Dnyng/c. 1030 c. 680 BC

Yng () c.680 278 BC
Ch c. 1030 BC 223 BC
Chn (/) 278 241 BC
Shuchn (/) from 241 224 BC

Do (possibly north of modern-dayQushn

Do unknown unknown
County, Henan or south of X County, Henan)

Dngzhu, Henan Province or Xingyng,

Dng / c. 1200 BC 678 BC
Hubei Province

Dng Gu
(Eastern / unknown 1046 BC 767 BC
Guo)

Xiangning County, Shanxi Province,

Nanyang, Henan Province, Ezhou Hubei c. 1200 BC 863 BC
Province

Gun Guancheng Hui District, Zhengzhou 1046 BC 1040 BC

Hu Fi ( / ) unknown 627 BC

Ji (/), located south of Shouguang,

J / unknown 690 BC
Shandong Province

Tng (), renamed Jnyng (/)

Qw ()
Jn / Jing (/) also known as Y () 11th century BC 376 BC
Xntin (), renamed Xnjing (/
)

Jiegen (), south west of modern-day

Jiaozhou, Shandong Province
J 11th century BC 431 BC
Ju (), modern day Ju County, Shandong
Province

Changle (), modern day Changle County,

Li / 11th century BC 567 BC
Shandong Province

Ling Hnchng () unknown 641 BC

Lio or or Tanghe County (), Henan unknown unknown

 or / Liao town, northeast ofGushi County (
Lio unknown 622 BC
), Henan

Lshn ()
L / Ynchng () 11th century BC 256 BC
Qf ()

early Spring
L / West of modern Nanyang, Henan unknown and Autumn
period

Xuecheng (), 30 km south of Tengzhou,

Shandong Province
Lower Pi (), North east of Pizhou City,
P 11th century BC unknown
Shandong Province
Upper Pi (), West of the Xuecheng
District, Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province

Q / Yngqi ( / ) 1046 BC 221 BC

Q Q () 16th century BC 445 BC

Xchu ()
Qn Yng () ? 350 BC 9th century BC 206 BC
Xinyng () 350 206 BC

Qun / South east of Dangyang, Hubei Province unknown 704 BC

Shngru ()/Shngm ()
Ru unknown unknown
Xaru ()

between 688
Shn Nnyng (/) unknown
and 680 BC

unknown, early Western Zhou

Shn Shn () c. 500 BC
dynasty

Sh possibly Snxngdu () Before 1046 BC 316 BC

Sng Shngqi () 11th century BC 286 BC

Early Spring and Autumn

Su / Suzhu ( / ) unknown
period

mid 4th
Tng Tng () Before 1043 BC
century BC

Anyi (), north west of modern-dayXia

County, Shanxi Province
Wi (Wei) 403 BC 225 BC
Daliang (), modern day Kaifeng City,
Henan Province

Zhog ()
Co ()
Wi (Wey) / Chqi () 11th century BC 209 BC
Dqi ()
Ywng ()

W (/), sometimes referred to as Gs

W / 11th century BC 473 BC
(/)

Between 684
X X Xin (/) 1122 BC
and 680 BC

X Gu Yngd () 1046 BC 687 BC

(Western Shngyng (/)
 Guo) Xiyng (/)

Xian, modern-day Qishui (), Huangzhou

Xian unknown 655 BC
District

Xng Modern day Xingtai (/) City 11th century BC 632 BC

X Tangcheng () c. 20th century BC 512 BC

X (/ or )
/ (or Y (/) c. 5th century
X c. 11th century BC
) Biy () BC
Rngchng ()

Yn J (/) 11th century BC 222 BC

Kuj (/) 489 468 BC

c. 11th century BC (38
Lngy () 468 379 BC
Yu generations before King 306 BC
W (/) 379 334 BC
Goujian of Yue)
Kuj (/) 333 306 BC

Zhng (/)
Zhng / 806 BC 375 BC
Xnzhng (/)

Zhngshn Lingshou County, Hebei Province 6th century BC 325 BC

Zhoulai Zhoulai (), Fengtai County, Anhui 8th century BC 528 BC

Zh (), south east of modern-dayQufu,

Shandong Province
Zu or Zh / or 11th century BC 4th century BC
Zu (/), south east of modern-day
Zoucheng City, Shandong Province

Key:

Hegemon

Note: Capitals are shown in their historical sequence.

Important figures
The Five Hegemons ():

Traditional history lists five hegemons during the Spring and Autumn
period:[33]

Duke Huan of Qi
Duke Xiang of Song
Duke Wen of Jin
Duke Mu of Qin
King Zhuang of Chu A large bronze tripod vessel from the
Spring and Autumn period, now
Alternatively: located at the Henan Museum

Duke Huan of Qi
Duke Wen of Jin
King Zhuang of Chu
King Fuchai of Wu
King Goujian of Yue

Bureaucrats or Officers

Guan Zhong, advisor of Duke Huan of Qi

 Baili Xi, prime minister of Qin.
Wu Zixu(Wu Yun), Duke of Shen and important adviser of King Hel
Bo Pi, bureaucrat under King Hel who played an important diplomatic role in Wu-Yue relations.
Fan Li and Wen Zhong, two advisors of King Goujian of Yue in his war against Wu
Zi Chan, leader of self-strengthening movements in Zheng

Influential scholars

Confucius or Kongzi, leading figure in Confucianism

Lao-tse or Laozi, teacher of Taoism
Mo-tse, Mozi, or Micius, founder of Mohism
Sun Tzu or Sunzi, author of The Art of War

Other people

Lu Ban
Yao Li, sent by King Hel to kill Qing Ji
Zhuan Zhu, sent by Hel to kill his cousin King Liao
Bo Ya

Interstate relations
Ancient sources such as the Zuo Zhuan and the eponymous Chunqiu record the various diplomatic activities,
such as court visits paid by one ruler to another (Chinese: ; pinyin: cho), meetings of officials or nobles of
different states (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: hu), missions of friendly inquiries sent
by the ruler of one state to another (Chinese: ; pinyin: pn), emissaries sent from one state to another
(Chinese: ; pinyin: sh), and hunting parties attended by representatives of different states (Chinese: ;
pinyin: shou).

Because of Chu's non-Zhou origin, the state was considered semi-barbarian and its rulers beginning with
King Wu in 704 BC proclaimed themselves kings in their own right. Chu intrusion into Zhou territory was
checked several times by the other states, particularly in the major battles of Chengpu (632 BC), Bi (595 BC)
and Yanling (575 BC), which restored the states of Chen and Cai.

Nobility
King Wu abolished the Shang dynasty title "emperor" (di), making the king the highest office of the Zhou
dynasty.

Below the king were five ranks of vassals, which from top to bottom rank were:

1. duke gng ()
2. marquis or marquess hu ()
3. count or earl b ()
4. viscount z ()
5. baron nn ()

The ranks had been assigned by King Wu upon the foundation of the dynasty and were usually not revised to
reflect changing levels of military strength. In the Spring and Autumn Period this led to contradictory situations
such as the relatively insignificant state of Song being a duchy while a great power like Chu was only a
viscounty.

Literature
Some version of the Five Classics existed in Spring and Autumn period, as characters in the Zuo Commentary
and Analects frequently quote the Book of Poetry and Book of Documents. On the other hand, the Zuo
Commentary depicts some characters actually composing poems that would later be included in the received
text of the Book of Poetry. In the Analects there are frequent references to "The Rites",[34] but as Classical
Chinese does not distinguish book titles from regular nouns it is not possible to know if what is meant is the
Etiquette and Ceremonial (known then as the Book of Rites) or just the concept of ritual in general. The
existence of the Book of Changes on the other hand is well-attested in the Zuo Commentary, as multiple
characters use it for divination and correctly quote the received text.

Sima Qian claims that it was Confucius who, towards the close of the Spring and Autumn period, edited the
received versions of the Book of Poetry, Book of Documents and Book of Rites, wrote the "Ten Wings"
commentary on the Book of Changes and wrote the entirety of the Spring and Autumn Annals.[35] This was
long the predominant opinion in China, but modern scholarship considers it unlikely that all five classics could
be the product of one man.

While many philosophers such as Lao Zi and Sun Zi were active in the Spring and Autumn period, their ideas
were probably not put into writing until the following Warring States period.

Religion
While sources such as the Book of Poetry contain passing references to "The Emperor Above" (Shang Di),
there is no proper mythology around supernatural entities preserved in the Confucian Classics. The mythology
is instead focused around the founders of the dynasty, kings Wen and Wu, who were worshipped as gods.

The various states also worshipped their respective founders as local patron deities. As such the rulers of Qi
worshipped Yu the Great and Song worshipped Tang long after the Xia and Shang dynasties had ceased to exist
on a national level.

Notes
a. The Partition of Jin, the watershed between the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods took
several decades, thus there is some debate between scholars as to the exact date. 481 BC, 475 BC, and
468 BC are other common dates selected by historians.[1]

References
Sources

1. Kiser & Cai 2003.

2. Hsu 1990, p. 547.
3. Chinn 2007, p. 43.
4. Hsu (1990:546)
5. Higham (2004:412)
6. Shaughnessy (1990:350)
7. Lewis (2000:359, 363)
8. Hsu (1999:567)
9. Lewis 2000, p. 365.
10. Hsu 1990, pp. 54950.
11. Hsu 1999, pp. 568, 570.
12. Lewis 2000, p. 366.
13. Hsu 1990, p. 567.
14. Lewis 2000, p. 367.
15. Shi Ji, chapter 4
16. Pines (2002:3)
 17. Hsu 1999, pp. 55354.
18. Hsu 1999, p. 555.
19. Lewis 2000, pp. 366, 369.
20. Hsu 1999, pp. 55556.
21. Hsu 1990, p. 560.
22. Zuo Zhuan; Duke Xi years 1823.
23. Hsu 1990, p. 559.
24. Hsu 1990, pp. 56061.
25. Zuo Zhuan, Duke Xuan
26. Pines 2002, p. 4.
27. Shi Ji chapter 39
28. Zhou Li
29. Zuo Commentary, Duke Cheng year 8
30. Hsu 1999, p. 561.
31. Hsu 1999, p. 562.
32. Hui 2004, p. 186.
33. Ye (2007:3435)
34. E.g. Analects 17:10
35. Shi Ji, chapter 17

Sources
Blakeley, Barry B (1977), "Functional disparities in the socio-political traditions of Spring and Autumn
China: Part I: Lu and Ch'i", Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 20 (2): 20843,
doi:10.2307/3631778
Chinn, Ann-ping (2007), The Authentic Confucius, Scribner, ISBN 0-7432-4618-7
Higham, Charles (2004), Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations, Infobase
Hsu, Cho-yun (1990), "The Spring and Autumn Period", in Loewe, Michael; Shaughnessy, Edward L,
The Cambridge history of ancient China: from the origins of civilization to 221 BC, Cambridge
University Press, pp. 54586
Hui, Victoria Tin-bor (2004), "Toward a dynamic theory of international politics: Insights from
comparing ancient China and early modern Europe", International Organization, 58 (1): 175205,
doi:10.1017/s0020818304581067
Kiser, Edgar; Cai, Young (2003), "War and bureaucratization in Qin China: Exploring an anomalous
case", American Sociological Review, 68 (4): 51139, doi:10.2307/1519737
Lewis, Mark Edward (2000), "The City-State in Spring-and-Autumn China", in Hansen, Mogens
Herman, A Comparative Study of Thirty City-State Cultures: An Investigation, 21, Copenhagen: The
Royal Danish Society of Arts and Letters, pp. 35974
Pines, Yuri (2002), Foundations of Confucian Thought: Intellectual Life in the Chunqiu Period (722453
BCE), University of Hawaii Press
Shaughnessy, Edward L (1990), "Western Zhou History", in Loewe, Michael; Shaughnessy, Edward L,
The Cambridge history of ancient China: from the origins of civilization to 221 BC, Cambridge
University Press, pp. 292351
Ye, L (2007), China: five thousand years of history and civilization, Hong Kong: University of Hong
Kong Press

Further reading
Ebrey, Patricia Buckley (1999). The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. ISBN 0-521-66991-X (paperback).

External links
"Rulers of the states of Zhou", Dynasty, C text linked to their occurrences in classical Chinese texts.
Media related to Art of the Spring and Autumn Period at Wikimedia Commons
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