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Warring States Period

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Jul 30th, 2016
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  1. As the Spring and Autumn Period ended, out of its ashes came another time period; the Warring States Period. The Warring States Period did not have one distinct dynasty or ruling family, they had many different rulers vying for the spot of the main warlord. The Warring States Period consisted of many powerful states, all seperate from one another. There were 5 that were the most popular and we're all battling each other: Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and the Three Jin. The Three Jin were the smaller, successor states of Jin: Han, Wei, Zhao. Some of the smaller, yet still powerful, states were Yue, Sichuan, and Zhongshan. All of these states coexisted with each other, making alliances and having battles. They're main goal; to conquer all the others.
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  3. In the year 497 BC, a full scale civil war broke out between the empire of Jin and it lasted until 453 BC. The Jin rulers no longer were listened to by their nobles and they lost power. After the Jin rulers were disposed of, it's land was broken down into Han, Wei, and Zhao. As Jin broke apart, the smaller states rose into greater power. Qin, Chu, Qi, Yan, Yue, Sichuan, and Zhonshan all gained more power and land, marking the end of the Spring and Autumn Period and beginning the Warring States Period in 453 BC.
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  5. In the year 403 BC, the Three Jins were accepted as vassals and were risen to the rank of the other warring states. Noticing that they were all powerful, in 405 BC, the Three Jins created an alliance so that they could fight the other warring states. This alliance was a strong one, guided by the ruler of Wei; Marquess Wen of Wei. Marquess Wen was a strong ruler, having conquered Zhongshan in the previous year of 406. As Wei became stronger under Marquess, Zhao and Han began to back away, fearing Wei's strength.
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  7. In the year 453 BC, the Battle of Jinyang took place. The result of it gave Han, Wei, and Zhao complete control over the used to be Jim empire, ceasing all Jin to exist. During the first 50 years of Three Jin rule, expansion by many other states took place. Chu and Yue began to move north and take territory while Qi began to move south. Qin, the now largest of them all began its take of Sichuan and expansion over all the others.
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  9. One record of magical use during the Warring States time period that we have is by a man named Dzou Yen. Some of you may recognize that name. Dzou Yen is a man on a copy of chocolate frog cars that you can find. Dzou Yen was a famous alchemist, making breakthroughs with his studies. One great achievement of his was refining the theories of the Five Elements. He also did extensive research and wrote about Ying and Yang. Sadly, his writings are now lost. His most amazing achievement by far is his work in the field of alchemy. He did amazing work into the world of immortality and was the breakthrough researcher about the Elixer of Life. His studies helped pave the way for Nicholas Flamel's creation of the Elixer of Life using the Philosophers Stone.
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  11. As times went on, the fighting continued throughout the individual states. Each one wanted to conquer the others and control all of China. Not until 230 BC did the state of Qin begin that goal. The ruler of Qin who would achieve this is King Zhuangxiang of Qin. He gained the throne at age 13 but would grow to be a spectacular general. In 230 BC, Qin began its conquest with Han. In fear of Qin, the Han nobles quickly surrendered because they feared destruction. Moving onto the next state to be conquered; Wei. In 225 BC the Qin used a nearby river and flooded the Wei capital, forcing the ruler of Wei to surrender. Qin continued its conquest with Chu in 223 BC. The first attack on Chu was lost but the second caused the fall of Chu's capital and the death of their leader. Losing these, they were forced to surrender. With the combined armies of Chu and Qin, they're number of soldiers peaked in the millions. With this huge army, Qin moved towards Zhao; conquering them in 222 BC. Afraid of being captured, the Yan leader sent a man named Jing Ke to assassinate Qin's leader. The attempt failed and Qin destroyed Yan easily. As they turned their attention to Qi in 221 BC, the Qi quickly became aware of what was about to come. To avoid this loss, they surrendered all their cities and land, giving the state of Qin total control of China. This unification signaled the ending of the Warring States Period and beginning of a new dynasty; the Qin Dynasty.
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