In 1040 BC, after King Wu of Zhou defeated the King of Shang at the Battle of Muye, he established the Shang Dynasty, and then he enfeoffed more than a hundred princes. At the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, the prestige of Zhou Tianzi such as King Wu of Zhou and King Cheng of Zhou was very high, and no one in the princes of the world dared to challenge their authority. After the Zhou Dynasty entered the middle and late period, the prestige and strength of Zhou Tianzi continued to decline, and the world entered an era of collapse and happiness, and a hundred schools of thought contended, and the princes no longer respected Zhou Tianzi, and they began to attack and annex other princes for their own interests.
After the Zhou Dynasty had gone through the Spring and Autumn Period of domination and annexation and attack wars, by the Warring States period, most of the princely states divided by Zhou Tianzi had been annexed by other princely states, leaving only Qin, Chu, Yan, Han, Qi, Zhao, and Wei, and dozens of small princely states.
The stage of the Warring States also became a stage for the struggle between the seven powerful powers of Qin, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, and Qi, and Zhou Tianzi and dozens of other small princely states became insignificant roles. Let's take a look at the capital of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States, which cities are now?
1. The State of Qin
The State of Qin was not an old vassal state divided by King Wu of Zhou. During the reign of King Xiao of Zhou, Qin Feizi, the ancestor of the Qin state, was divided into Qin lands (present-day Tianshui, Gansu) by the Zhou royal family because of his meritorious horse breeding. In 771 BC, after King You of Zhou was killed by Marquis Shen and Inu Rong, Duke Xiang of Qin sent troops to protect King Ping of Zhou from moving east, and was given the title of prince by King Ping of Zhou for his merits. At this point, the State of Qin, like the States of Yan and Qi, had become a princely state.
The capital of the Qin state was Xianyang. Xianyang is strategically located, because of the barrier of Hangu Pass, so historically, Xianyang has rarely been breached by other princely states. After the rise of the State of Qin, the States of the Central Plains often joined forces to attack the State of Qin, but only the famous general Kuang Zhang of the State of Qi led his troops to break through the Hangu Pass, and the other princes' combined forces were all blocked by the State of Qin. Qin Shi Huang was also in Xianyang and completed the great cause of reunification.
After Qin Shi Huang established the Qin Dynasty, the capital was Xianyang. Xianyang is a bustling metropolis. Later, Xiang Yu destroyed the Qin state and after entering Xianyang, a fire destroyed Xianyang, which caused Xianyang to decline from then on. Xianyang has not changed its name, and is now the prefecture-level city of Xianyang in Shaanxi.
2. Zhao Guo, Wei Guo, And South Korea
The predecessor of the Zhao State was the Jin State, an old power in the Spring and Autumn Period. In 403 BC, the three families of Han, Zhao, and Wei were divided into Jin, and the State of Zhao appeared. During the reign of King Wuling of Zhao, after the reform of Hufu riding and shooting, the State of Zhao became a powerful country in the Warring States period. During the reign of Zhao Xiaocheng, the State of Zhao was killed by the famous Qin general Bai Qi in the Battle of Changping, killing 450,000 Zhao pawns, and the State of Zhao declined from then on. In 222 BC, Zhao was destroyed by Qin.
The capital of the Zhao state was Handan, one of the most prosperous large cities in the Warring States period, and the name of Handan has not changed, which is now Handan, Hebei.
The predecessor of the State of Wei was the State of Jin. In 403 BC, King Zhou Kaolie recognized its status as a vassal state. In 409 BC, after Wu arrived in the State of Wei, he began to implement reforms in the State of Wei, which made the State of Wei quickly strong, and Wu Qi also created a well-known Wei Wu pawn for the State of Wei, which was later eliminated by the State of Qi. The State of Wei had a number of capitals, the most famous being Da liang, which is now Kaifeng, Henan.
The predecessor of South Korea was jinguo. South Korea has always been a weak country, never really strong. In 230 BC, Korea was destroyed by Qin, and it was the first princely state to be destroyed by Qin. The capital of South Korea is Xinzheng, whose name has not changed, and is now a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Zhengzhou, Henan.
3. The State of Qi
The State of Qi was a vassal state divided by King Wu of Zhou, and the first monarch of the State of Qi was Taigong Jiang. Under the rule of Jiang Taigong, the State of Qi soon became a rich and powerful country. Later, several mediocre monarchs appeared in succession in the State of Qi, which eventually led to the State of Qi with the surname of Lü of Jiang being replaced by the Tian clan. During the Warring States period, the State of Qi was also a powerful country, but finally met Wang Jian, the Emperor of Qi. When the State of Qin destroyed the other 5 kingdoms, he chose to stand by and watch, resulting in the destruction of the five kingdoms of Han, Wei, Zhao, Yan, and Chu, and the State of Qi was isolated and helpless, and was also destroyed by Qin.
The State of Qi had several capitals, the most famous being Linzi. Linzi was a bustling metropolis during the Warring States period, in the Linzi District of present-day Zibo City, Shandong Province.
4. YanGuo
The State of Yan was an old princely state divided by King Wu of Zhou, and the first monarch was Duke Zhao of Yan, the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou. The State of Yan was weak in strength because it rarely annexed the surrounding princely states. In 227 BC, after Qin destroyed the State of Zhao, Prince Dan of Yan was afraid that Yan would be destroyed by Qin, so he sent Jing Ke to the State of Qin to assassinate the King of Qin. After the defeat, the King of Qin sent a large army to destroy the Yan state. The capital of the Yan kingdom was Jicheng, now Beijing.
5. The State of Chu
During the reign of King Cheng of Zhou, he made Xiong Xuan, the leader of the Chu people, a viscount, and thus had the State of Chu. The State of Chu has always been a great southern power. During the Warring States period, Wu Qi went to the Chu state to implement the change of law, but due to Wu Qi's reforms, which harmed the interests of the nobles of the Chu state, after the death of the King of Chu who supported his change of law, Wu Qi was killed by the nobles of the Chu state, which also made Wu Qi's change of law fail, so that the Chu state missed the last opportunity to rise.
In 223 BC, the State of Chu was destroyed by the famous Qin general Wang Qi, who led an army of 600,000. The capital of the Chu state was Yingdu, now the Jingzhou region of Hubei.