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the eastern capital of Luoyang, bringing an end to the Western Zhou period, and beginning the
Eastern Zhou period.10

The Eastern Zhou period itself is divided into two separate periods, the Spring and
Autumn and the Warring States period. By now the Zhou dynasty, a mere shell of its former self,
began to rely more on the support of its feudal lords. By this point, fifteen of Zhou’s feudal states
began to gather power, causing the Zhou to appoint loyal lords to a new position in the court
called a hegemon to counter the growing threat of its own feudal lords. During this time, these
feudal states began to fight against other states and against themselves in multiple interstate wars
and civil wars. These wars are rumored to be in the number of 540 interstate wars and 130 civil
wars. These wars were fought primarily through the warrior nobility, a social class whose only
concerns were honor and prestige. They utilized rituals and battle to increase the glory of
themselves, lineage, ancestor, and local deities. War became more ceremonial for the warrior
nobility than outright conquest of nations.11 However, this form of warfare began to diminish
and be replaced with a new form of war, started by the works of a famed military strategist,
Sunzi. Battles began to consist of large armies of infantrymen supported by cavalry units.
Sunzi’s Art of War greatly affected the change in warfare during the period.12 In fact, a portion
of the Spring and Autumn Annals contains a battle in which Art of War is explicitly mentioned.
In the Battle between Jin and Chu, a section of Sunzi’s text is mentioned: “The Art of War says,
‘Move first, and rob your opponent of his will.’”. This change in warfare and other factors led to
the second period of the Eastern Zhou, the Warring States period.13

10 Tanner, China: A History, vol. 1, 50-56.
11 Dr. Larry Israel, “TCSPRINGAUTUMN”, Lecture, 2018.
12 Tanner, China: A History, vol. 1, 66.
13 "The Battle Between Jin and Chu," in Chinese Civilization, 14.

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