China’s Warring States Period, in contrast to…

China’s Warring States Period, in contrast to the Spring and Autumn Period, is a period when regional warlords annex smaller states around them and consolidate their rule.

The process had begun in the Spring and Autumn Period, and by the third century BCE, seven major states will have risen to prominence.

These Seven Warring States are the Qi, the Chu, the Yan, the Han, the Zhao, the Wei, and the Qin.

Another sign of this shift in power is a change in title: warlords still consider themselves dukes of the Zhou dynasty king; but the warlords now begin to call themselves kings, meaning they are equal to the Zhou king.