Intro

The Warring States Period of China began around 475BC till the unification of China under the Qin in 221 BC.The Period involved 7 sates: Qin, Chu, Qi, Yan. Han, Wei, and Zhao. These states were constantly trying to gain control of the land and in doing so they subjected the land to hundreds of years of war.Throughout the Warring States Period, or Era of Warring States, there was an emperor from the previous Zhou Dynasty. He was merely a figurehead and held no real power. This lack of power caused warlords to basically create their own kingdoms where they lived, consolidating power with themselves and raising armies.

There were many social changes that came with this new era of constant war. Bureaucrats were given salaries and peasants were expected to pay taxes to the government on their landholdings. Armies of the Warring States Period differed from the previous period's armies. Between the 4th and 3th century BC China experienced a huge population growth. The introduction of the ox-drawn iron-tipped plow and the development of irrigation improved the productivity of agriculture allowing for a boom in the population. This affected the structure of the army by way mass foot soldiers. The ability to mass produce weapons and armor shifted the core of the army from privileged aristocrats to the peasantry. Peasants in the army had the ability to move through the ranks even in a stratified society with a caste system, much like the Aztec warriors in Central Mexico as explained by my colleague Mumford. This was a stratified society so like Aztec society the nobility had a greater advantage when it came to being armed with weapons and armor and training in the military arts.

Weapons