We all know that the first two sentences of "Song of Historical Dynasties":
Tang Yao, Shun Yu, Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Spring and Autumn and Warring States Chaos Youyou.
The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period lasted for more than 500 years. Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period each occupied half of the time.
The Spring and Autumn Period was actually more chaotic than the Warring States Period. During the Warring States Period, the frequency of wars was actually lower than that of the Spring and Autumn Period.
It is easy to understand. In the late Warring States period, there were only seven major kingdoms. As for the Spring and Autumn Period states, according to historical records, there were 12 major princes. The actual number may be more.
Therefore, it was common for the vassal states to fight with each other and fight in groups during the Spring and Autumn Period. No one would obey the other, because the leader Emperor Zhou did not have high prestige and it was difficult to lead the team!
If the fights between vassal states can also be regarded as wars, the frequency of wars in the Spring and Autumn Period will naturally be higher than that in the Warring States Period.
The Warring States Period, referred to as the Warring States Period, refers to the period in Chinese history from the late Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the Qin Dynasty when the Central Plains was unified. Countries were at war endlessly, so it was called the "Warring States" by later generations.
The Warring States Period generally refers to the year that started in 475 BC (the year when the Six Kingdoms Chronology in "Historical Records" began) and ended with the unification of China in 221 BC by Qin Shihuang, a total of 255 years.
After more than 200 years of the Warring States Period, wars raged and storms surged. The top priority of all countries was to seek change, survival, and strength!
Historians divided the 255-year history of the Warring States into five stages.
☞The first stage, (475 BC - 385 BC), about 90 years.
At that time, the first-class powerful country belonged to Wei State .
The early stage of this stage is still at the tail end of the Spring and Autumn Period.
The vassal states under the emperor of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty include Yan Kingdom , Qi Kingdom , Zhao, Wei, Han, Lu Kingdom , Qin Kingdom , Song Kingdom, Chu Kingdom , Wu Kingdom Yue Kingdom.
A landmark event in the transition period between the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In 473 BC, the State of Yue (Shaoxing, Zhejiang) destroyed the State of Wu (Suzhou, Jiangsu).
During the Wu-Yue conflict, many characters and stories appeared, such as Gou Jian's "Lie on firewood and taste gall", Fan Li, the originator of Confucian businessmen, Wu Zixu, the famous prime minister through the ages, and so on.
In the early Warring States period, the most dazzling vassal state was Wei (Xia County, Shanxi). The Wei state separated from the three Jin was undoubtedly the contemporary overlord.
Wei Wenhou built Wei into a first-class power and maintained its hegemony for more than 100 years. In its heyday,
experienced two generations of monarchs, Wei Wenhou and Wei Wuhou .
After the death of Wei Wuhou, the Wei state began to decline from its peak.
The first stage of the Warring States Period is over.
☞The second stage, (385-348 BC), a total of 37 years.
Wei and Qi share the hegemony equally!
During this period, Wei State was still a powerful country. At this time, another powerful country emerged, Qi State.
Two powerful countries are fighting each other , and other weak countries are trying to develop through reform and opening up. ( Qin Xiaogong succeeded to the throne in 361 BC)
At that time, the Wei State was King Hui of Wei , also called King Hui of Liang.
Wei began to look down upon Qi.
Why?
The king of Qi State at that time was Tian Qi Huangong , and later he was King Wei of Qi .
The Tian family's throne of Qi was obtained by usurping the Jiang family in 375 BC.
In order to gain the recognition of Emperor Zhou, the Tian family needed to ask the relatively powerful Wei State at the time to help Qi State correct its name.
King Wei reigned for a relatively long time. In 37 years, he appointed the wise men Zou Ji and Sun Bin.
King Liang Huiwen made a mistake, he overestimated himself! He always wanted to reunite the three Jin Dynasties and destroy Han and Zhao.
As a result, he began to attack Zhao. With the help of Sun Bin, the people of Qi came to rescue Zhao, and the Battle of Guiling broke out, leaving an idiom "Surround Wei and save Zhao" for future generations.
Ten years later, King Liang Hui of Wei did not give up and went to destroy Han again, and Qi took action again. This battle was called the Battle of Maling, and another story was left behind, which is known to everyone as "Sun Bin Dou Pang Juan ".
In these two wars, the hegemony of the Wei State for more than a hundred years was almost wiped out, and the Wei State declined from then on.
King Hui of Liang was greatly hit, so he had to ask King Qi to meet in Xuzhou , calling each other "king" and sharing the hegemony equally.
Therefore, in the second stage of the Warring States Period, the prime minister of Qi and Wei Xuzhou was the landmark event.
☞The third stage, a total of 48 years (348 BC - 300 BC)
Qi State was strong from the period of King Wei, continued to King Xuan, and finally to King Min of Qi State, the hegemony declined.
King Min of Qi did a stupid thing and destroyed the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was located in the Shangqiu area of Henan Province. It was an old country established by the survivors of the Yin Shang Dynasty and the nobles of the Yin Shang Dynasty.
The king of Qi destroyed the Song Dynasty, which aroused the anger of all the princes in the world. The countries of Qin, Yan, Han, Zhao, and Wei united to fight against Qi.
In the end, King Qi Min died because of this incident. Qi State's destruction of Song Dynasty is also known as the landmark event of Qi State's gradual decline from a strong country.
During this period, Qin State had risen. After Qin Xiaogong succeeded to the throne, he appointed Shang Yang to reform . He worked for 18 years and created a national system for Qin suitable for the competition and annexation of countries during the Warring States Period.
During the period of King Qin Huiwen, the commercial law continued to be used in governing the country, and the military adopted expansion.
appointed Zhang Yi to oppress the state of Chu.
During this period, Qin and Chu were both very powerful.
Qi State declined, but Qin State has maintained a strong momentum of development. This process lasted 48 years.
☞The fourth stage, a total of 29 years. (300 B.C. - 271 B.C.) The State of Qin stood out and conquered Zhao State .
The subsequent successor of the Qin State was King Wu of Qin. The young man worked for four years and died holding the tripod.
Later, King Zhao of Qin succeeded to the throne. King Qin Zhao's mother, Queen Mother Qin Xuan, assisted his son for 41 years, and King Qin Zhao worked for more than ten years. It lasted more than 50 years in total. During this period, Qin had a smooth journey, getting wind and rain whenever it wanted.
Looking at the six eastern countries, Qi has declined, Wei is also weak, Korea Yan has never been stronger, and only one Zhao has some strength.
Because the State of Zhao once had military reforms involving Hufu, riding and shooting, at this stage, King Zhao Huiwen and King Qin Zhao were in confrontation for a period of time.
King Xiaocheng of Zhao succeeded to the throne and fought a battle with the State of Qin. The Battle of Changping resulted in the defeat of the State of Zhao. Three years later, Handan, the capital of the State of Zhao, was besieged by the State of Qin again.
The princes in the East all know the truth of the death of lips and teeth. The countries formed a coalition to relieve Handan and even launched a counterattack against Qin.
Qin suffered a temporary defeat on the battlefield.
Zhao Guo’s vitality has been severely damaged since then.
, the Handan rescue incident, is a landmark event in the fourth stage. This stage of
lasted for 29 years. After
☞
, the final stage, the fifth stage, totals 50 years. (271 BC - 221 BC) Qin destroyed the six kingdoms.
After Qin Shihuang succeeded to the throne, it took him 36 years to dominate the world!
Reference " A Brief History of China in Fifty Thousand Years "
