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Zeng Houyi bells of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty unearthed in Hubei Province

In its early days, the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century-711BC) was powerful enough to control vassal states. In particular, the states were prevented from fighting each other to annex their neighbors. However, from the time that King Ping moved his court to Luoyi (today's Luoyang City of Henan Province), establishing the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou influence began to wane. Although the king retained his position as the nominal overlord he was no longer able to control the activities of his vassals. Economic imbalance meant that some states were stronger than others, which, in turn, led to stronger states declaring war on the weaker ones and annexing them despite the prohibition of such activities by the Zhou.

From the beginning of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the unification by the Qin, China was plagued by disunity and continuous conflict. Historically, this period is recorded as the Spring and Autumn Period (770- 476BC) and the Warring States Period (476- 221BC).

The Hundred Schools of Thought

Coins of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty

In this turbulent time, every regional lord competed in building strong and loyal armies and ensuring an advantage over rivals in the struggle for survival among warring regional wars in terms of economic production. Kingdom rulers sought the advice of teachers and strategists. Apart from teaching their disciples, thinkers and intellectuals were employed as advisors of various kingdom rulers concerning methods of government, war and diplomacy procedures. This fueled intensive activities and debates in the intellectual and ideological system. The five most influential schools of thought that evolved during this period were Confucianism, Taoism (Daoism), Mohism, legalism and militarism.

Among numerous schools, the oldest, and the most influential was Confucianism. It traced its origin to Confucius (551-479BC), a member of the lower nobility and a minor official in the small state of Lu, later extended by Mencius (372-289BC).Confuciustried to convince rulers that they should cultivate moral perfection to set a good example to the people, and that the ruler who governed benevolently would earn the respect of the people. He held the view that human nature was fundamentally good since everyone was born with the capacity to recognize what is right and act upon it. Contrary to this view, Xunzi (about 313-238BC), also a Confucian of the state of Chu, argued that people are born selfish and that it is only through education and ritual that they learn to give up evil and return to good. Xunzi also intensively negated the role of heaven, stressing the importance of the inner faith and belief that human beings exceed any other spiritual beings.