The military of the Warring States refers primarily to the military apparatuses of the Seven Warring States which fought from to 221 BC, when the state of Qin conquered the other six statesforming the Qin dynasty, the first imperial dynasty in Chinese history.
Wu Qi (440–381 BC)
Wu Qi was a general born in the state of Wei who went on to serve in the state of Chu. He is traditionally credited with the authorship of the Wuzi, one of the Seven Military Classics, in which he described the military merits of six of the Warring States.
Qin
Soldiers sometimes discarded armour in favor of fast charges. According to Xun Qing (c. 314 – c. 217 BC), the people of Qin were "simple and unsophisticated", and their officials performed their tasks conscientiously without displaying partiality or forming cliques. Almost complete absence of literati.
Qi
Chu
Invented the repeating crossbow. Early adopter of iron and steel weapons. Wore shark skin and rhinoceros hide armour even until its demise Elite armoured crossbowmen capable of marching 160 km "without resting".
Yan
Early adopter of iron and steel weapons.
Han and Zhao
Han made the best weapons. Han was an early adopter of iron and steel weapons. Han soldiers made use of face masks. Zhao was an early adopter of mounted archers and crossbowmen.
Wei
Wu Qi did not mention the military merits of Wei.
According to the Book of Xunzi on Military Affairs, elite armoured soldiers known as the Wei Wuzu from the state of Wei were capable of marching 100 li (41.6 km, based on the Eastern Zhou li) in one day while equipped with heavy armour, a helmet, a halberd(Gē), swords(Jiàn), a crossbow with 50 bolts, and three days of rations.
Other states Lu Earliest archaeological evidence of crossbows, crossbow trigger locks have been found in Tombs 3 and 12 at Qufu, Shandong, previously the capital of Lu, and date to the 6th century BC.
History
The Warring States period comprises the latter half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, by which point the Zhou kings had become nearly politically irrelevant. Their vassals began to adopt the title of king and were functionally independent of any other power.
Periodization There is no agreed upon starting point for the Warring States period. According to one definition, it began in 481 BC when the House of Tian eliminated the House of Jiang and usurped the throne of Qi. Another defines the start as the Battle of Jinyang in 453 BC when the lords of Han, Zhao, and Wei eliminated the Lord of Zhi, thereby becoming the most powerful families in the state of Jin. Although the Usurpation of Qi by Tian and Partition of Jin are the two most salient political events used to determine the boundary between the two halves of the Eastern Zhou, other starting points for the Warring States period include the death of Confucius in 479 BC, the accession of King Yuan of Zhou in 476 or 475 BC, or the formal recognition by King Weilie of Zhou of the rulers of Han, Zhao, and Wei as vassal lords in 403 BC. Not all historians will accept a single year as a clean cutoff date, and some will choose arbitrarily.
Partition of Jin (453–376 BC) In the beginning of the 5th century BC, the state of Jin was dominated by five noble houses. In 453 BC, the three houses of Han, Zhao, and Wei defeated their rivals at the Battle of Jinyang and began the tripartite division of the old state of Jin. In 424 BC, they mutually recognized each other's independence; however, it was not until 403 BC when King Weilie of Zhou recognized this political reality and bestowed upon them the title of hou. In 376 BC, they formally divided the territory of Jin between themselves.
Partition of Zhou (441 BC) In 441, King Ai of Zhou was killed by his brother Shuxi, who became King Si of Zhou. King Si was killed five months later by his brother Wei, who became King Kao of Zhou. Fearing another usurpation, King Kao decided to split the territory of Zhou in half, with his brother, Prince Jie, ruling as the Duke Huan of Henan in Wangcheng (present-day Xi'an), while he himself resided in Gong or Chengzhou (present-day Luoyang). During the reign of King Xian of Zhou (r. 369-320 BC), Duke Hui declared independence for West Zhou, formally dividing Zhou into two territories. This bipartite situation persisted until 314, when King Nan of Zhou moved back to Wangcheng in West Zhou. In 256, the state of Qin annexed West Zhou and demoted King Nan. The remnants of West Zhou fled to East Zhou where they proclaimed Duke Wen as king. East Zhou's army was defeated by the Qin in 251 and was annexed two years later, ending the Zhou dynasty.
Rise and decline of Wei (424–341 BC) Under the reign of Marquess Wen of Wei and Marquess Wu of Wei, the state of Wei expanded in all directions. In 408, Wei conquered Zhongshan and its generals Li Kui and Wu Qi dealt several defeats to the forces of Qin. In 405, Zhao, Wei, and Han defeated the army of Qi, capturing thousands of chariots and soldiers. In 402, the Three Jins defeated a Chu army at Shengqiu and again in 391 destroyed a Chu army at Daliang. Although a succession struggle in Wei allowed Zhongshan to regain its independence in 380, Wei had become the strongest power in China, attacking the states of Song, Wey, Han, and Zhao. The Qin returned in 366 and defeated Wei and Han at the Battle of Luoyin. Han and Zhao had a falling out, resulting in their defeat by Wei forces under at the Battle of River Kuai. In 353, Wei sacked the capital of Zhao, Handan, but was then defeated in battle at Guiling by the state of Qi.
In 344, Marquis Hui of Wei invited other rulers to Mengjin under the pretense of paying tribute to the Zhou king. At the same time he proclaimed himself king. Wei's power did not last much longer. In 342, its army was ambushed at the Battle of Maling (Fanxian) by the army of Qi led by Tian Ji and Sun Bin. Soon after, Wei also lost its advantage in the west against a resurgent Qin under Shang Yang, who saw the return of previously lost territories and even forced Wei to shift its capital further east to Daliang.
Qin ascendant (356–257 BC) Under the reign of Duke Xiao of Qin (r. 361–338 BC) and the implementation of Shang Yang's reforms, Qin became a major military power in China. Shang Yang's reforms emphasized agriculture and war over all other occupations. In Shang Yang's eyes, only tillers and soldiers were deserving of ranks and offices, while merchants, artisans, and intellectuals should be barred from official careers.
After Wei's disastrous defeat at the Battle of Maling in 342, Shang Yang invited the Wei general for a meeting, during which he arrested Gongzi Ang and destroyed his army. Qin went on to defeat Wei again in 339 at the Battle of Anmen and in 333 at the Battle of Diaoyin.
In 325, Duke Huiwen (r. 338–311 BC) declared himself king. Supreme commander defected to Wei and opposed Qin's rise by forging an alliance with Zhao, Han, Yan, and Chu. Together they attacked Qin in 318, but were defeated at the Battle of Xiuyu. Qin came to be known as the "wolf" from the west, carrying out annual attacks on neighboring peoples. In 316, Qin took advantage of a quarrel between the states of Ba, Shu, and Ju to their southwest, and annexed them, although normal commanderies would not be instituted until 285. In 312, Qin defeated the Chu army at Huayang and Lantian. In 308, Qin killed 60,000 Han troops. Chu lost another battle in 300, forcing King Huai of Chu to visit Qin for negotiations. He was imprisoned and died in captivity. Only a new alliance between Qi, Wei, and Han initiated by Lord Mengchang was able to drive Qin back to the eastern border at Hangu Pass.
The Qin returned again in 293 under the leadership of Bai Qi. His troops defeated the armies of Han and Wei at the Battle of Yique, allegedly killing 260,000 enemy soldiers. In 280, Qin forces advanced on Chu in three directions. In 278, Bai Qi took the city of Yan from Chu and followed that up a year later by taking Ying, the Chu capital. In 275, led Qin forces to victory against Han, Wei, and Qi, killing 40,000 troops. In 272, Bai Qi defeated Zhao and Wei at Huayang, allegedly killing 150,000 enemy soldiers. At the same time Qin forces annexed the Yiqu on their northwestern border, transforming their territory into the commanderies of Longxi, Beidi, and Shang. However, in 270, Qin forces were defeated by the Zhao General Lian Po at Eyu, halting their advance for the moment.
In 265, Qin invaded Han and cut off 17 districts from Shangdang. The king of Han decided to cede those to Qin, but the local governor refused and instead defected to Zhao.
In 260, Qin and Zhao stood deadlocked in a stalemate at Changping. In 259, King Xiaocheng of Zhao became impatient was persuaded that his general Lian Po was avoiding combat. He recalled Lian Po and replaced him with a less experienced commander, Zhao Kuo, who immediately ordered his forces to attack the Qin. Bai Qi cut off the enemy supply line and surrounded them. After 46 days, the Zhao army was on the brink of starvation. Zhao Kuo made a final attempt to break out but was killed in the assault. The Battle of Changping ended with the surrender of Zhao forces; however, the Qin buried them alive, reportedly killing 400,000 enemy soldiers. Zhao never recovered this loss. Due to Bai Qi's immense success, high minister Fan Ju grew jealous and persuaded the king to slow down the pace of military operations. Two years later, the Qin army was defeated by relief forces from Wei and Chu at the siege of Handan, the capital of Zhao. Bai Qi feigned sickness and refused to lead the siege due to Fan Ju's machinations at court. In response, Fan Ju suggested demoting Bai Qi to a common soldier. Bai Qi committed suicide while on his way back to the capital.
Dukes to kings (344–325 BC) In 344, Marquis Hui of Wei became the first ruler of the Warring States to proclaim himself king. However, it was not until 325, when Duke Huiwen of Qin declared himself king, that the other rulers joined in unison and also declared themselves kings.
Rise and fall of Song (318–286 BC) In 318, Lord Yan of Song declared himself King Kang of Song. King Kang embarked on campaigns of conquest against its neighbors, conquering Xue and Teng in 297, and was even able to defeat the forces of Qi, Chu, and Wei in battle. In 286, these three states formed an alliance and defeated Song, splitting its territory between themselves.
Yan-Qi conflict (314–281 BC) In 314, a succession in Yan incited King Xuan of Qi to invade Yan. However, Qi was ultimately forced to withdraw two years later. In 284, Yan successfully invaded Qi and annexed all its territory except for Ju and Jimo. In 281, Qi counterattacked by driving cows with burning tails into the Yan camp and defeated them.
Zhao adopts cavalry (306 BC) In the mid to late 4th century BC, the state of Zhao adopted cavalry tactics from the northern nomads. Using their new cavalry forces, Zhao conquered Zhongshan in 306. Zhao general Li Mu went on to successfully defeat the Xiongnu several times after he took control of Zhao's frontier forces in 265.
Chu conquest of Lu (255 BC) In 255, Chu annexed Lu.
Qin conquest of Zhao (236–222 BC)