Definition: The Warring States period in ancient Chinese history -- which followed the period known as Spring and Autumn (770-476 B.C.) during the Chou (Zhou) Dynasty -- ran from about 475-221 B.C. It was a period of violence and chaos during which the philosopher Sun-Tzu is said to have lived and culture to have flourished. There were about 7 states of China during the Warring States period, including Yen, which was not one of the contending states, and six that were, Ch'I, Ch'u, Ch'in, Wei, Han, and Chao. Two of these states, the Ch'in and Ch'u, came to dominate, and in 223, the Ch'in defeated the Ch'u, establishing the first unified Chinese state two years later. During the Spring and Autumn period, warfare was feudal, but during the Warring Period, military campaigns were directed by the states who fitted out their soldiers with individual weapons, instead of relying on war chariots.
Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica and The Oxford Companion to Military History.
Also Known As: Contending States
Alternate Spellings: Chan-kuo (Wade-Giles romanization), Zhanguo (Pinyin)
Examples: During the Warring States Period, Alexander the Great created an empire, Rome became the dominant force in Italy, and Buddhism spread to China.
