As we all know, during the Warring States period, there were seven great powers (Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Zhao, Wei, and Han) and called the "Seven Heroes of the Warring States", and the entire history of the Warring States was almost centered on the "Seven Heroes of the Warring States". However, what is less known is that in addition to the famous Warring States Seven Heroes, there were also many princely states that continued into the Warring States period. So which princely states continued from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period?
First of all, it should be explained that due to the lack of historical materials and many other reasons, the existence or non-existence of some Warring States princely states and the time of their demise are disputed, and the content of this article will definitely be omitted. In addition, there are many theories in the academic circles about the beginning of the Warring States period, and this article uses the official titles of the three families of Zhao Wei and Han as the beginning of the Warring States, that is, the twenty-third year of King Weilie of Zhou (403 BC).
Jin
In the twenty-third year of King Weilie of Zhou (403 BC), Zhou Tianzi made the three families of Zhao, Wei, and Han the great masters of the Jin Dynasty as princes, known in history as the "three families divided into Jin", and Chinese history officially entered the Warring States period. However, the Jin state did not perish in the "three branches of Jin", but was reduced to a small prince with only two cities. In the twenty-sixth year of King An of Zhou (376 BC), Zhao Weihan divided the last territory of the Jin state, and the Jin state fell.
Zhongshan Kingdom
The founding time of the Zhongshan State is disputed, with the mainstream view that the Zhongshan State was a princely state established after Bai Di entered the Central Plains. In the nineteenth year of King Weilie of Zhou (407 BC), Wei Wenhou once destroyed the Zhongshan Kingdom. However, in the twenty-second year of King An of Zhou (380 BC), the state of Zhongshan was restored again, and later he was proclaimed king together with Zhao and Yan. In the nineteenth year of King Hao of Zhou (296 BC), the State of Zhao destroyed the State of Zhongshan.
Song
The State of Song was an established prince in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and was once a first-class power during the Western Zhou Dynasty. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the Song State declined to a second-class prince because it did not keep up with the historical trend, but it was still strong enough to protect itself. By the Warring States period, the Song Dynasty had become one of the most powerful princes besides the Seven Heroes. In the 29th year of King Hao of Zhou (286 BC), the Song state was divided between the three kingdoms of Qi, Wei, and Chu.
Lu Guo
After the Duke of Zhou, the State of Lu held a very high status in Western Zhou. By the Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Lu declined to a second-class prince, but it was still strong enough to protect itself. During the Warring States period, the State of Lu was once strong through the "Public Ceremony Rest and Change Law", which basically solved the problem of the dictatorship of Qing Dafu. In the fifty-second year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin (255 BC), the State of Chu destroyed the State of Lu. Interestingly, in the same year, Zhou Tianzi also died.
Wei
The ancestor of the Wei state was King Wu of Zhou's younger brother Wei Kang. Wei Guo was once the "uncle of the princes" of the Western Zhou Dynasty. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the Wei state declined to a second-class prince, but was able to barely protect itself. In the fifty-third year of King Qin Zhao's reign (254 BC), the State of Wei was reduced from an independent prince to a vassal of the State of Wei, and the State of Wei was destroyed. However, Weijun was retained by the State of Wei and the Qin Dynasty, and was not abolished until the first year of Qin II (209 BC).
Zheng Guo
The ancestor of the State of Zheng was Prince You, the younger brother of King Xuan of Zhou, and the State of Zheng was not established until the Western Zhou Dynasty. In the early spring and autumn, Zheng Zhuanggong, who was the "shoulder of the king of arrows", once became a "small bully". However, due to civil strife, geographical location, and incomplete reforms, Zheng Guo was later reduced to a second-class prince. In the first year of king Zhou Lie's reign (375 BC), Korea destroyed the Zheng kingdom. After the destruction of Zheng, South Korea also moved the capital to the capital of Zhengxinzheng.
Vietnamese
It is rumored that yue guo was after Dayu. In the late Spring and Autumn Period, Yue Wang Gou Jian became the final victor of the southeast conquest and became the last overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period. However, the hegemony of the Yue kingdom was almost the end of a generation, and the Yue kingdom declined in the early years of the Warring States and failed to enter the ranks of the Seven Heroes. In the thirty-sixth year of King Xian of Zhou (333 BC), the State of Chu destroyed the State of Yue, and a small number of descendants of the State of Yue fled to the south to establish themselves, and were finally unified by the Han Dynasty.
Guo Guo (邹国)
According to historical records, the kingdom of Qi was a descendant of The Kingdom of Zou, also known as the "State of Zou", and was the hometown of Mencius. From the time of its founding, the state of Yi was a weak prince, so much so that it was designated as a vassal of the state of Lu, resulting in an unusually thin sense of existence in the Spring and Autumn period. But because the sense of existence is thin, the major princes do not care about the country. In the fifty-first year of King Hao of Zhou (255 BC), the State of Chu destroyed the State of Qi.
Shu Kingdom, Ba Kingdom
Due to the lack of historical records and archaeological relics, the establishment time and specific circumstances of the Shu Kingdom (ancient Shu State) and the Ba State are still controversial in the academic circles. What is now certain is that the Shu kingdom (ancient Shu state) and the ba state existed in the Spring and Autumn period and continued until the Warring States period. In the fifth year of King Shen of Zhou (316 BC), the State of Qin destroyed the States of Shu and Ba, expanding its power to the Yangtze River Valley.