The feudal states were not contiguous but rather were scattered at strategic locations surrounded by potentially dan- gerous and hostile lands. The fortified city of the feudal lord was often the only area that he controlled directly; the state
feudal structure and familial ties fell apart, continuing in several of the Chunqiu states for various lengths of time, with various degrees of modifica- tion. Over the next two centuries the feudal-familial system gradually declined and disappeared.
In the first half of the Chunqiu period, the feudal system was a stratified society, divided into ranks as follows: the ruler of a state; the feudal lords who served at the ruler’s court as ministers; the shi (roughly
translated as “gentlemen”) who served at the households of the feudal lords as stewards, sheriffs, or simply warriors; and, finally, the commoners and slaves. The state ruler and the ministers were clearly a superior class, and the common- ers and slaves were an inferior class; the class of shi was an intermediate one in
which the younger sons of the ministers, the sons of shi, and selected commoners
all mingled to serve as functionaries and officials. The state rulers were, in theory, divided into five grades; in reality, the importance of a ruler was determined by the strength of his state. The ministerial feudal lords, however, often had two or three grades among themselves, as determined by the lord-vassal relation- ship. In general, each state was ruled by a group of hereditary feudal lords who might or might not be of the same sur- name as the state ruler. The system was not stable in the Chunqiu period, and everywhere there were changes.
The first important change occurred with the advent of interstate leadership. For several decades after 722 BC, the In 841 BC the nobles jointly expelled
Liwang, a tyrant, and replaced him with a collective leadership headed by the two most influential nobles until the crown prince was enthroned. In 771 BC the Zhou royal line was again broken when Youwang was killed by invading barbar- ians. The nobles apparently were split at that time, because the break gave rise to two courts, headed by two princes, each of whom had the support of part of the nobility. One of the pretenders, Pingwang, survived the other (thus inau- gurating the Dong [Eastern] Zhou period), but the royal order had lost pres- tige and influence. The cohesion of the feudal system had weakened. Thereafter, it entered the phase traditionally known as Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn).
The familial relationship among the nobles gradually was diluted during the Chunqiu period. A characteristic of the Zhou feudal system was that the extended family and the political structure were identical. The line of lordship was regarded as the line of elder brothers, who therefore enjoyed not only political superiority but also seniority in the fam- ily line. The head of the family not only was the political chief but also had the unique privilege of offering sacrifice to and worshipping the ancestors, who would bestow their blessings and guar- antee the continuity of the mandate of heaven. After the weakening of the posi- tion of the Zhou king in the feudal structure, he was not able to maintain the position of being the head of a large fam- ily in any more than a normal sense. The
the meetings became regular, and the vol- untary contribution was transformed into a compulsory tribute to the court of the overlord. The new system of states under the leadership of an overlord developed not only in northern China under Jin but also in the south under Chu. Two other states, Qin and Qi, though not command- ing the strength of the formidable Jin and Chu, each absorbed weaker neighbours into a system of satellite states. A balance of power thus emerged among the four states of Qi, Qin, Jin, and Chu. The bal- ance was occasionally tipped when two of them went to war, but it was subsequently restored by the transference of some small states from one camp to another.
A further change began in the 5th century BC, when the states of Wu and Yue far to the south suddenly challenged Chu for hegemony over the southern part of China, at a time when the strong state of Jin was much weakened by an internecine struggle among powerful magnates. Wu got so far as to claim over- lordship over northern China in an interstate meeting held in 482 BC after defeating Chu. But Wu’s hegemony was short-lived; it collapsed after being attacked by Yue. Yue held the nominal overlordship for only a brief period; Jin, Qin, and Qi were weakened by internal disturbances (Jin split into three con- tending powers) and declined; and a series of defeats paralyzed Chu. Thus, the balance-of-power system was rendered unworkable.
A half century of disorder followed. Small states fell prey to big ones, while in records chiefly show battles and diplo-
matic maneuvers among the states on the central plain and in the middle and lower reaches of the Huang He valley. These states, however, were too small to hold the leadership and too constricted in the already crowded plain to have poten- tiality for further development. The leadership was soon taken over by states on the peripheral areas.
The first to achieve this leadership was Huangong (reigned 685–643 BC), the ruler of the state of Qi on the Shandong Peninsula. He successfully rallied around him many other Chinese states to resist the pressure of non-Chi- nese powers in the north and south. While formally respecting the suzer- ainty of the Zhou monarchy, Huangong adopted a new title of “overlord” (ba). He
convened interstate meetings, settled disputes among states, and led cam- paigns to protect his followers from the intimidation of non-Chinese powers.
After his death the state of Qi failed to maintain its leading status. The leader- ship, after a number of years, passed to Wengong of Jin (reigned 636–628 BC), the ruler of the mountainous state north of the Huang He. Under Wengong and his capable successors, the overlordship was institutionalized until it took the place of the Zhou monarchy. Interstate meetings were held at first during emer- gencies caused by challenges from the rising southern state of Chu. States answering the call of the overlord were expected to contribute and maintain a certain number of war chariots. Gradually
The Zhou feudalism suffered from a con- tinual dilution of authority. As a state expanded, its nobility acquired vassals, and these in turn acquired their own vas- sals. The longer this went on, the more diluted the family tie became and the more dependent the ruler became on the combined strength of the vassals. At a cer- tain point, the vassals might acquire an advantageous position, and the most dominant figures among them might eclipse the king. The Zhou royal house perhaps reached the turning point earlier than the other feudal states. As a result, the Zhou royal domain and its influence shrank when Pingwang moved his court to the east. The ruling houses of other states suffered the same fate. Within a century after the Zhou court had moved to the east, the ruling houses in most of the feudal states had changed. In some cases a dominating branch replaced the major lineage, and in others a powerful minister formed a strong vassaldom and usurped the authority of the legitimate ruler. Bloody court intrigues and power strug- gles eliminated many established houses. The new power centres were reluctant to see the process continue and therefore refused to allow further segmentation and subinfeudation. Thus, the feudal system withered and finally collapsed.