The Warring States period covers the period from sometime in the fifth century B.C.E. to the unification of China by the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C.E. It is nominally considered to be the second part of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, following the Spring and Autumn period, although the Zhou dynasty itself ended in 256 B.C.E., 35 years earlier than the end of the Warring States period. Like the Spring and Autumn Period, the king of Zhou acted merely as a figurehead.

The name“Warring States period”was derived from the Record of the Warring States compiled in early Han dynasty. The date for the beginning of the Warring States Period is somewhat in dispute. While it is frequently cited as 475 B.C.E. (following the Spring and Autumn Period), 403 B.C.E.—the date of the tripartition of the Jin state—is also sometimes considered as the beginning of the period.

Chinese polity developed a bias towards centralization and unity, which can be traced from this period. On the one hand, it was a time of rivalry between competing states. On the other, as states consolidated their rule, they annexed smaller dukedoms. Confucius had already established unity as an ideal, and the end of this period saw the ascendancy of the Qin dynasty and China as a single imperial state.