Confucius, Laozi & Chinese Philosophy

By the fifth century BCE, the Zhou dynasty had been dying for a long time. The kings still reigned from their capital at Luoyang, still performed the sacred rituals, still claimed the Mandate of Heaven. But nobody was listening anymore. The real power belonged to a dozen or more rival states — Qi, Chu, Wei, Zhao, Han, Yan, Qin — and they were tearing China apart.

The Spring and Autumn period (770--476 BCE) had been bad. The Warring States period (475--221 BCE) that followed was worse. Armies numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Entire populations were conscripted. Cities were besieged, starved, and sacked. At the Battle of Changping in 260 BCE, the state of Qin reportedly buried 400,000 surrendered Zhao soldiers alive. Even if the number is inflated, the scale of slaughter was real enough.

The Chinese called this era the The flourishing of philosophy, political theory, and intellectual debate during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (roughly 770–221 BCE). "Hundred" is a figure of speech meaning "many." Major schools included Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, Mohism, and the School of Names, among others.. "Hundred" was a figure of speech — the actual number of distinct philosophical schools is debated — but the point was clear: ideas were everywhere, competing fiercely for attention.