Ancient Chinese states

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 37. Chapters: Warring States Period, Chu, Qin, Shen, Shu, Zheng, Zhao, Wei, Han, Wu, Yan, Yue, Ba, Ruo, Sui, Song, Xu, Zhongshan, Gugong Danfu, Quan, Pi, Gongliu of Zhou, Zou, Chen, Seven Warring States, Lai, Gan, Ju, Teng, Rui, Qiao. Excerpt: The Warring States Period (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; 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. The Warring States Period was an era when regional warlords annexed smaller states around them and consolidated their power. The process began in the Spring and Autumn Period, and by the 3rd century BCE, seven major states had emerged as the dominant powers in China. Another indicator for the shift in power was the change in the title used by the rulers of the states. They were initially addressed as "dukes" (¿), a sign that they were vassals of the Chinese sovereign (the King of the Zhou Dynasty), but later they called themselves "kings" (¿), putting them on par with the Chinese sovereign. The Warring States Period saw the proliferation of iron working in China, replacing bronze as the dominant type of metal used in warfare. Areas such as Shu (present-day