Editing Spring and Autumn period (section)

===Hegemony of Wu (506–496)===
{{Main|King Helü of Wu}}
In 506, [[King Helü of Wu|King Helü]] ascended the throne of Wu. With the help of [[Wu Zixu]] and [[Sun Tzu]],{{sfn|Petersen|1992}} the author of ''The Art of War'', he launched major offensives against the state of Chu. They prevailed in five battles, one of which was the [[Battle of Boju]], and conquered the capital Ying. However, Chu managed to ask the state of Qin for help, and after being defeated by Qin, the vanguard general of Wu troops, Fugai, a younger brother of Helü, led a rebellion. After beating Fugai, Helü was forced to leave Chu. Fugai later retired to Chu and settled there. [[King Helü of Wu|King Helü]] died during an invasion of Yue in 496. Some sources such as the Confucian text ''[[Bai Hu Tong]]'' list him as one of the [[Five Hegemons]].<ref>{{cite book | chapter-url=https://ctext.org/bai-hu-tong/juan-yi#n52859 | chapter= vol. 1: Ranks, epithets, and posthumous names | language=lzh | title= Bai Hu Tong | script-title= zh:白虎通 | title-link= Bai Hu Tong }}</ref>

He was succeeded by his son [[King Fuchai of Wu]], who nearly destroyed the Yue state, imprisoning [[King Goujian of Yue]]. Subsequently, Fuchai defeated Qi and extended Wu influence into central China.

In 499, the philosopher [[Confucius]] was made acting prime minister of Lu. He is traditionally (if improbably) considered the author or editor of the ''Spring and Autumn annals'', from which much of the information for this period is drawn. After only two years he was forced to resign and spent many years wandering between different states before returning to Lu. After returning to Lu he did not resume a political career, preferring to teach. Tradition holds that it was in this time he edited or wrote the [[Four Books and Five Classics#Five Classics|Five Classics]], including the ''Spring and Autumn Annals''.