Editing Spring and Autumn period (section)

==Background==
[[File:Horse Armor, Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (10170676483).jpg|thumb|Leather horse armour from the [[Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng]], 5th century&nbsp;BCE]]

In 771&nbsp;BCE, a [[Quanrong]] invasion in coalition with the states of [[Zeng (state)|Zeng]] and [[Shen (state)|Shen]]—the latter polity being the fief of [[Marquess of Shen (King Ping's grandfather)|the grandfather]] of the disinherited crown prince [[Yijiu]]—destroyed the [[Western Zhou]] capital at [[Haojing]], killing [[King You of Zhou|King You]] and establishing Yijiu as king at the eastern capital [[Luoyi]].{{sfn|Chen and Pines|2018|p=4}} The event ushered in the Eastern Zhou dynasty, which is divided into the Spring and Autumn and the [[Warring States]] periods.  During the Spring and Autumn period, China's feudal ''[[fengjian]]'' system became largely irrelevant. The Zhou court, having lost its homeland in the [[Guanzhong]] region, held nominal power, but had real control over only a small royal [[demesne]] centered on Luoyi. During the early part of the Zhou dynasty period, royal relatives and generals had been given control over fiefdoms in an effort to maintain Zhou authority over vast territory.{{sfn|Chin|2007|p=43}} As the power of the Zhou kings waned, these fiefdoms became increasingly independent [[Ancient Chinese states|states]].

The most important states (known later as the twelve vassals) came together in regular conferences where they decided important matters, such as military expeditions against foreign groups or against offending nobles. During these conferences one vassal ruler was sometimes declared [[hegemony|hegemon]].

As the era continued, larger and more powerful states annexed or claimed [[suzerainty]] over smaller ones. By the 6th century&nbsp;BCE, most small states had disappeared and just a few large and powerful principalities dominated China. Some southern states, such as Chu and [[Wu (state)|Wu]], claimed independence from the Zhou, who undertook wars against some of them (Wu and [[Yue (state)|Yue]]).

Amid the interstate power struggles, internal conflict was also rife: six elite landholding families waged war on each other inside Jin, political enemies set about eliminating the Chen family in Qi, and the legitimacy of the rulers was often challenged in civil wars by various royal family members in Qin and Chu. Once all these powerful rulers had firmly established themselves within their respective dominions, the bloodshed focused more fully on interstate conflict in the Warring States period, which began in 403&nbsp;BCE when the three remaining elite families in Jin—Zhao, Wei, and Han—partitioned the state.