Literature of China and the Warring States Period

Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese. The introduction of widespread woodblock printing during the Tang Dynasty (618–907) and the invention of movable typeprinting by Bi Sheng (990–1051) during the Song Dynasty (960–1279) rapidly spread written knowledge throughout China. In more modern times, the author Lu Xun(1881–1936) is considered the founder of baihua literature in China.

The Warring States Period (simplified Chinese: 战国时代; traditional Chinese: 戰國時代; pinyin: Zhànguó Shídài), also known as the Era of Warring States, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BCE to the unification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BCE. It is nominally considered to be the second part of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, following the Spring and Autumn Period, although the Zhou Dynasty ended in 256 BCE, 35 years earlier than the end of the Warring States period. During these periods, the Chinese sovereign (king of the Zhou Dynasty) was merely a figurehead.

The name Warring States Period was derived from the Record of the Warring States, a work compiled early in the Han Dynasty. The date for the beginning of the Warring States Period is disputed. While it is frequently cited as 475 BCE (following the Spring and Autumn Period), 403 BCE, the date of the tripartite Partition of Jin, is also considered as the beginning of the period.

The Seven Warring States were: Qin in the west, in the lower Wei River valley "within the passes"; Chu, on the southern frontier around the middle Yangzi River;Qi to the east in Shandong; Yan, in the far northeast near Beijing; and in the center, from south to north, Han, Wei, and Zhao.