The period from 770 BC to 476 BC was the first period of great national division in Chinese history, and historians call this period the Spring and Autumn Period, which has a very distinctive feature of "chaos".
Why is it messy? In 770 B.C., King Ping of Zhou moved the capital from Haojing to Luoyi under the protection of Zheng, Qin, Jin and other vassal states, and the Zhou royal family after moving east was weakened to the extreme, and the scope of his jurisdiction was less than 600 li.
In the end, they directly split the land and called the duke, and each went its own way, and many vassal states fought me and I beat you every day in order to grab the population and land, and they kept fighting back and forth, so the Spring and Autumn Period was not only a period of great division, but also a period of great chaos.
According to statistics, there were more than 140 large and small vassal states in the Spring and Autumn Period, which were Qi, Jin, Song, Chen, Zheng, Wei, Lu, Cao, Chu, Qin, Wu, Yue, Yan, Yan, Ren, Xing, Pi, Hu, Dai, Peng, Tho, Yu, Zhen, Xu, Hu, Xun, Tong, Ji, Jia, Yan, Lu, Yu, Zhou, and Zhou.
Zhou Laiguo, Lai Guo, Xiao Guo, Shu Guo, Tan Guo, Yun Guo, Rui Guo, Shen Guo, Yong Guo, Quan Guo, Xie Guo, Yan Guo, Yan Guo, Bi Guo, Shen Guo, Deng Guo, Tang Guo, Liu Guo, Huang Guo, Li Guo (later renamed Sui Guo), Chun Yu Guo, Zhong Liguo, Zhong Wu Guo, Ba Guo, Shu Guo, Xi Guo, and Yin Guo.
Zhu Guo, Yan Guo, Nie Guo, Gong Guo, Ye Guo, Xiang Guo, Jiang Guo, Ge Guo, Dai Guo, Su Guo, Luo Guo, Tateshi Guo, Jiao Guo, Mao Guo, Chao Guo, Yong Guo, Dun Guo, Li Guo, Fei Guo, Xun Guo, Yu Guo, Kui Guo, Yi Guo, Ying Guo, Fei Guo, Gu Guo, Deng Guo, Geng Guo, Su Guo.
Ji, Zhuguo, Gongguo, Jingguo, Jinguo, Yang, Mao, Yuan, Anhui, Yi, Gao, Xian, Yu, Liang, Xiang, Fan, Gu, Lai, Mu, Bai, Jiao, Sacrifice, Dao, Wei, Feng, Liuguo, Flaw, Guan, Qi, Ji.
Xin State, Yan State, Qiyang State, Xiaoyi State, Zhuqi State, Ni State, Abuse State, Sui State, Lu State, Yiqu State, Dali State, Guzhu State, Shanrong State, Suju State, Zhuan State, Dating State, Genmu State, Jiafu State, Yiyang State, Youpoor Country, etc.
At that time, although there were many countries on the land of China, but the scale was very small, and some countries could not even be found on the map, if the country of the Spring and Autumn Period was measured according to the current scale standard, it is estimated that many countries at that time were at best a village or a city now.
Although there were many countries in the Spring and Autumn Period, there were only a dozen powerful and influential countries, which were Qi, Jin, Lu, Chu, Qin, Yan, Zheng, Chen, Song, Wu, Yue, and Cao.
Qi country: The sea and the sky are the same, and the hegemony is emerging
Qi country, Jiang Ziya's fiefdom, the family surnamed Jiang, like a bright pearl inlaid in the Shandong Peninsula, facing the vast sea, the abundance of seafood is enough to make the world envious. This land not only gives birth to rich natural resources, but also nourishes the spirit of the people of Qi who dare to explore and pioneer. Qi is the first of the four great powers in the Spring and Autumn Period, and its rise is the crystallization of wisdom and courage. Duke Huan of Qi, the first tyrant of the Spring and Autumn Period, led the State of Qi on the road of hegemony with his outstanding leadership and profound strategic vision.
Jin State: The state of the surname Ji, the hegemony is inherited
The Jin Kingdom, the bloodline of the Zhou royal family continues, and the family surnamed Ji has a vast territory across Shanxi and Shaanxi. In this land, heroes have emerged, heroes have risen together, and Duke Wen of Jin, following Duke Qi Huan, once again took the crown of the overlord of the Central Plains into his arms. His cultural and martial arts not only made the Jin State strong, but also ushered in a short period of peace and prosperity in the Central Plains. The history of the Jin Kingdom is a magnificent epic, and every page is engraved with the indomitable and self-improvement spirit of the Jin people.
Lu country: the country of etiquette and music, there are many saints
The state of Lu, the closest state of the Zhou Dynasty, the family surnamed Ji, is famous for preserving and implementing the Zhou rites. In this land deeply infiltrated by the culture of ritual music, generations of saints such as Confucius, Mencius, Zengzi, and Lu Ban were born. Their thoughts, like bright stars, illuminate the sky of Chinese civilization. The history of Lu is a legend about culture and education, which interprets the profound connotation of "the use of rites and harmony is precious" with practical actions, making Lu a cultural holy place admired by later generations.
Chu Country: Nankokunoo, Takuji Chisato
The State of Chu, surnamed Xiong, the country of the viscounts, although it was poor and weak at the beginning, it finally rose to become a southern giant in the Spring and Autumn Period with the hard work of several generations of leaders. King Chuzhuang, this eloquent monarch, with his extraordinary courage and outstanding military talents, dominated the Central Plains and shocked the Quartet. The history of the state of Chu is an epic about struggle and rise, which tells us that even if we come from humble backgrounds, as long as we have the courage to struggle, we can create our own glory.
Qin: The shield of Xirong, the road to rise
The state of Qin, a small border country that was originally guarded by the Shang Dynasty and Xirong, later became the horse breeding place of the Zhou royal family. However, it was this seemingly humble starting point that forged the indomitable and enterprising character of the Qin State. Qin Xianggong escorted King Zhou Ping to the east, and was made a prince, which opened the way for the rise of Qin. During the Qin Mugong period, the Qin State annexed the twelve Rong countries, and its national strength increased greatly, and finally became one of the four great powers of the Spring and Autumn Period. The history of the Qin State is an epic of tenacity and expansion, and it has written its own legend with iron and blood.
Yan Guo, Zheng Guo, Chen Guo, Song Guo......
Yan State, the fiefdom of Ji Zheng, although its territory was limited at the beginning, it continued to expand outward with its indomitable will, and eventually became a great power in the north. Zhengguo, located in the central part of Henan, has a developed economy and an advanced legal system, and is an important birthplace of Legalist thought. Chen Guo, although he has experienced the pain of losing the country twice, has returned to the country twice, showing tenacious vitality. The Song Kingdom was a special existence in the Spring and Autumn Period, and its high status and cultural prosperity attracted the attention of the world.
And Wu and Yue, the twin stars in the southeast, have added a strong touch to the history of the Spring and Autumn Period with the grievances and hatred between them. Under the leadership of Lu Lu and Fucha, the state of Wu reached its peak; And the Yue Kingdom, under the hard work of Gou Jian, has achieved a gorgeous turn from humiliation to glory. In the end, although the Yue State was destroyed by the Chu State, its remnants were scattered in all directions and continued to write the legend belonging to the Yue people.
The state of Cao, a state that was once glorious during the Western Zhou Dynasty, gradually declined by the Spring and Autumn period, and eventually became a vassal of the Jin State and was destroyed by the Song State. However, the history of the Cao Kingdom did not end there, and the descendants of its monarchs, such as Cao Shen, still played a pivotal role in later generations.
Each of these twelve vassal states has its own unique history and culture, and together they constitute the richness and diversity of the Spring and Autumn Period. In this ancient and mysterious land, heroes and heroes rise together, wisdom and courage coexist, and together they write breathtaking historical chapters.