Warring States Period (403 BCE- 221 BCE)

Warring States Period (403 BCE- 221 BCE)

As the king’s political authority declined, the states on the periphery of the old heartland gained the most power because they had room to expand their territory. During the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, brief periods of stability were achieved through alliances among states, under the domination of the strongest member. By the late 5th century BCE, however, the system of alliances had proved untenable. The years from 403 BCE to 221 BCE became known as the Warring States Period because the conflicts were particularly frequent and deadly.In addition to warring with and sometimes absorbing other Zhou states, the peripheral states of Chao, Yen, Qin, and Chu expanded outward, extending Chinese culture into a larger area. The southern state of Chu, for example, expanded rapidly in the Yangtze Valley. Chu also defeated and absorbed at least 50 small states as it extended its reach north to the heartland of the Zhou territory and east to absorb the old states of Wu and Yue. By the 3rd century BCE, Chu was on the forefront of cultural innovation. It produced the greatest literary masterpieces of the late Zhou period, which were later collected in the Chu ci (Songs of the South). The Chu ci is an anthology of fantastical poems full of images of elusive deities and shamans who can fly through the spirit world.