Editing Spring and Autumn period (section)

==Early Spring and Autumn (771–685 BCE)==
[[File:春秋伎乐铜屋1.jpg|thumb|[[Yue (state)|Yue]] style bronze building and entertainers (Spring and Autumn period)]]

===Court moves east (771)===
After the Zhou capital was sacked by the [[Marquess of Shen]] and the [[Quanrong]] [[Hua-Yi distinction|barbarians]], the Zhou moved the capital east from the now desolated [[Zongzhou]] in [[Haojing]] near modern [[Xi'an]] to [[Wangcheng (Zhou dynasty)|Wangcheng]] in the [[Yellow River]] Valley{{Efn|The events immediately following the fall of Haojing are subject to debate due to the recent discovery of the Xinian Manuscript. See the page on the [[Eastern Zhou]] for details.}}.  The Zhou royalty was then closer to its main supporters,<ref>{{harvnb|Hsu|1999|p=546}}</ref> particularly Jin, and [[Zheng (state)|Zheng]];<ref name="Higham-p412">{{harvnb|Higham|2004|p=412}}</ref><ref name="Shaughnessy-p350">{{harvnb|Shaughnessy|1999|p=350}}</ref> the Zhou royal family had much weaker authority and relied on lords from these vassal states for protection, especially during their flight to the eastern capital.  In Chengzhou, Prince Yijiu was crowned by his supporters as [[King Ping of Zhou|King Ping]].<ref name="Shaughnessy-p350" />  However, with the Zhou domain greatly reduced to Chengzhou and nearby areas, the court could no longer support the six army groups it had in the past; Zhou kings had to request help from powerful vassal states for protection from raids and for resolution of internal power struggles.  The Zhou court would never regain its original authority; instead, it was relegated to being merely a figurehead of the regional states and ritual leader of the [[Ji (Zhou dynasty ancestral surname)|Ji clan]] ancestral temple. Though the king retained the [[Mandate of Heaven]], the title held little actual power.

With the decline of Zhou power, the Yellow River drainage basin was divided into hundreds of small, autonomous states, most of them consisting of a single city, though a handful of multi-city states, particularly those on the periphery, had power and opportunity to expand outward.<ref>{{harvnb|Lewis|2000|pp=359, 363}}</ref>  A total of 148 states are mentioned in the chronicles for this period,{{efn|The 148 states mentioned in the ''Spring and Autumn  Annals'' are not considered to comprise an exhaustive list.{{r|禮記}}}} 128 of which were absorbed by the four largest states by the end of the period.<ref name="Hsu-p567">{{harvnb|Hsu|1999|p=567}}</ref>

Shortly after the royal court's move to Chengzhou, a hierarchical alliance system arose where the Zhou king would give the title of hegemon ({{zh|c=霸|labels=no}}) to the leader of the state with the most powerful military; the hegemon was obligated to protect both the weaker Zhou states and the Zhou royalty from the intruding non-Zhou peoples:{{Sfn |Lewis|2000|p = 365}}{{Sfn |Hsu| 1999| pp= 549–50}} the [[Beidi|Northern Di]], the [[Nanman|Southern Man]], the [[Dongyi|Eastern Yi]], and the [[Xirong (people)|Western Rong]].  This political framework retained the ''[[fengjian|fēngjiàn]]'' power structure, though interstate and intrastate conflict often led to declining regard for [[fengjian#Zongfa|clan customs]], respect for the Ji family, and solidarity with other Zhou peoples.{{Sfn |Hsu|1999|pp=568, 570}}  The king's prestige legitimized the military leaders of the states, and helped mobilize collective defense of Zhou territory against "[[Hua–Yi distinction|barbarians]]".{{Sfn | Lewis |2000|p= 366}}

Over the next two centuries, the four most powerful states—[[Qin (state)|Qin]], [[Jin (Chinese state)|Jin]], [[Qi (Shandong)|Qi]] and [[Chu (state)|Chu]]—struggled for power.  These multi-city states often used the pretext of aid and protection to intervene and gain suzerainty over the smaller states.  During this rapid expansion,{{Sfn |Hsu|1999| p = 567}} interstate relations alternated between low-level warfare and complex diplomacy.{{Sfn | Lewis|2000|p= 367}}

===Zheng falls out with the court (722–685)===
[[Duke Yin of Lu]] ascended the throne in 722.<ref name="Shi Ji, chapter 4">{{ cite book
| author1= Sima Qian | author1-link= Sima Qian
| author2= Sima Tan| author2-link= Sima Tan
 | script-title=zh:史記
| title= [[Records of the Grand Historian]]
| orig-year= 90s BCE
| year = 1959 | publisher= Zhonghua Shuju
| chapter=[[:zh:s:史記/卷004|4: 周本紀]]
| ref={{sfnref|Shiji}}
}}</ref> From this year on, the state of [[Lu (state)|Lu]] kept an official chronicle, the [[Spring and Autumn Annals]], which along with its commentaries is the standard source for the Spring and Autumn period. Corresponding chronicles are known to have existed in other states as well, but all but the Lu chronicle have been [[Qin Shi Huang's biblioclasm|lost]].

In 717, [[Duke Zhuang of Zheng]] went to the capital for an audience with [[King Huan of Zhou|King Huan]]. During the encounter the duke felt he was not treated with the respect and etiquette which would have been appropriate, given that Zheng was now the chief protector of the capital.<ref name="Shi Ji, chapter 4"/> In 715, Zheng also became involved in a border dispute with Lu regarding the Fields of Xu. The fields had been put in the care of Lu by the king for the exclusive purpose of producing royal sacrifices for the sacred [[Mount Tai]].<ref name="Shi Ji, chapter 4"/> For Zheng to regard the fields as just any other piece of land was an insult to the court.

By 707, relations had soured enough that the king launched a punitive expedition against Zheng. The duke counterattacked and raided Zhou territory, defeating the royal forces in the [[Battle of Xuge]] and injuring the king himself.<ref name="Hsu-p567" /><ref name="Shi Ji, chapter 4"/><ref>{{harvnb|Pines|2002|p=3}}</ref> Zheng was the first vassal to openly defy the king, kicking off the centuries of warfare without respect for the old traditions which would characterize the period.

The display of Zheng's martial strength was effective until succession problems after Zhuang's death in 701 weakened the state.<ref name="Higham-p412"/>

In 692, there was a failed assassination attempt against [[King Zhuang of Zhou|King Zhuang]], orchestrated by elements at court.<ref name="Shi Ji, chapter 4"/>