The Warring States Period, also known as the Era of Warring States, covers the period from about 475 BC to the unification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC. 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 BC, 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 BC (following the Spring and Autumn Period), 403 BC, the date of the tripartite Partition of Jin, is also considered as the beginning of the period.[citation needed]
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. Some add an eighth state: Yue in the far southeast, near Shanghai.
