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 6 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 2 years later. During the Spring and Autumn period (before the Warring States), 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.
