Editing Spring and Autumn period (section)

===Partition of Jin===
{{Main |Partition of Jin}}
After the great age of Jin power, the Jin rulers began to lose authority over their ministerial lineages.  A full-scale civil war between 497 and 453 ended with the elimination of most noble lines; the remaining aristocratic families divided Jin into three successor states: [[Han (Warring States)|Han]], [[Wei (state)|Wei]], and [[Zhao (state)|Zhao]].{{Sfn | Hui | 2004| p = 186}} This is the last event recorded in the ''[[Zuozhuan]]''.

With the absorption of most of the smaller states in the era, this partitioning left seven major states in the Zhou world: the three fragments of Jin, the three remaining great powers of Qin, Chu and Qi, and the weaker state of [[Yan (state)|Yan]] ({{zh|labels=no|c=燕}}) near modern Beijing. The partition of Jin, along with the [[Usurpation of Qi by Tian]], marks the beginning of the [[Warring States period]].