High Level Overview of Chinese History: Zhou Dynasty VIII
Late Spring and Autumn Period I
By Mountain - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=658566
The Late Spring and Autumn Period covered the years from 591-453 BCE and can be further subdivided into four parts. The first part is dominated by Six Ministers. As noted, the Five Hegemons was defined by both internal and external conflicts including among the leading families. From this time, dukes of Lu, Jin, Zhen, Wey, and Qi became the dominant leaders. Within the state of Jin, the 'army was split into six independent divisions, each dominated by a separate noble family: Zhi (智), Zhao (趙), Han (韓), Wei (魏), Fan (范) and Zhonghang (中行)' for which the heads of these families then received the title of viscount and were then made ministers, heading six departments of the Zhou government, becoming 'the true power brokers of Jin'. This then occurred in Lu, though the army there divided into three parts and the leaders of those parts were then elevated.
The state of Wu was considered to be 'barbarian' as they were 'outside the Zhou cultural sphere'. They 'sported short hair and tattoos and spoke an unintelligible language' even though they also 'claimed to be a senior lineage in the Ji ancestral temple' even though they didn't participate in Chinese politics until the Late Spring and Autumn Period, around 584 BCE, during which they attacked the small state of Tan, 'causing some alarm'. Jin ambassadors were dispatched, offering to trade military training and technology for an alliance against Chu, who was also a neighbor of Wu, which they would continue to do for years.
In 579 BCE, after years of warfare, Qi, Qin, Jin, and Chu agreed to a truce and limits to their military strength. It soon became apparent that the hegemon system was no longer working, and the most powerful states had their spheres of influence. Aristocratic houses were now being founded based on loyalty to the state rather than by the Zhou kings, though this slowed down in the 6th century BCE, though likely due to a lack of places to expand into. The addition of people who had not been previously been under Zhou rule meant that the idea of protecting Zhou territory became less important. Because of these reasons, the peace didn't last very long.
