History is always a hero, and in most historical records it describes the living conditions of the ruling class or rulers, and rarely describes the common people.
The root cause of this situation is that most of the artifacts excavated by later generations (whether tombs or historical works) are the property of the ruling class; the poor will neither leave their names in the writings nor leave valuable artifacts in the tombs. But we can glimpse this from the changes in power and political reforms during the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period.
During the uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, there was a saying that "the prince will have a kind of Hu" which is a true portrayal of the early Spring and Autumn Period
During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the power of the world was concentrated in the hands of a few people. Zhou Tianzi divided the princes of the world, and in the early stage, more than 50 of the more than 70 princes were his own people with the surname "Ji".
The ruling class is not only inherited from the throne, but also by the princes and the official positions of the scholars.
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, Zheng Guo (Zheng Zhuanggong), as the first person to "eat crabs", had the title of "Earl" in the Zhou Dynasty, and the position held by the Zhou Dynasty was Zuo Qingshi; after the King of Zhou Ping moved the capital to Luoyi, there was a great contradiction (that was the first time that the princes challenged the authority of Zhou Tianzi).
Zheng Zhuanggong
The civilian population at this stage is not in the ascendant.
They may be slaves of the ruling class, peasants working for the ruling class (protected by the ruling class), or self-sufficient "savages" (unprotected free men) outside the city.
With the development of the productive forces, the wars of annexation between the princes intensified, and the power declined; there was a cultural grandeur of a hundred schools of thought, and the commoners were given the opportunity to learn during this period.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was no opportunity for commoners to learn, and learning was a treatment only for nobles. In the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period, there were many people of insight who spread ideas, hoping that their ideas would be adopted by the ruling class, and they began to realize the power of the people. Confucius was one of them, teaching without prejudice; rich or poor, if they wanted to learn, they could come to class with two pieces of bacon. So Confucius became a saint!
During this period, the ruling class was changing, and the power of the princes began to descend to the butlers of the scholars and even the masters; some people began to have the opportunity to change their fate through the efforts of generations.
Map of the situation of the spring and autumn countries
What has really changed the fate and living conditions of civilians is the change of laws of various countries
At the beginning of the Warring States period, the three families were divided into Jin. The reason why the State of Wei became the strongest prince was because of Li Wu's change of law and Wu Qi's military reform. They have improved the treatment of civilians, and they have given them the opportunity to be "promoted and raised".
During this period, the ruling class needed to strengthen the country to cope with the complex international situation, so it introduced various policies to benefit the people to mobilize the enthusiasm of the common people; the living conditions of the common people were greatly improved during this period.
Later, Shang Martin came to the Qin State with Li Wu's reform ideas, and it can be seen from the policies pursued by Shang Martin that the civilians at this time had the opportunity to change their fate by killing the enemy.
It can be said that the civilian life of the Spring and Autumn Warring States was difficult, but it was improved step by step.