Warring States Period of China Timeline

The three clans of Han, Zhao, and Wei destroyed the Zhi clan and divided the state of Jin among themselves, a pivotal event traditionally seen as inaugurating the Warring States period. The Zhou king later recognized them as marquises, legitimizing the fragmentation of the old order.

Zhao relocated its capital to Handan, which flourished as a major commercial and cultural center. The move strengthened Zhao's administration and helped establish it as a formidable northern power.

Image source: Handan

Duke Xiao's accession began Qin's transformation. Determined to restore Qin's former glory, he issued an open call for talented advisors, attracting Shang Yang, whose radical reforms would set Qin on the path to eventual unification.

Image source: Duke Xiao of Qin

Qin annexed the fertile Ba and Shu kingdoms in Sichuan, gaining vast agricultural resources and a secure rear base. Under engineer Li Bing's later irrigation works at Dujiangyan, this conquest fueled Qin's economic superiority.

Image source: Qin (state)

The wealthy merchant Lü Buwei maneuvered his protégé onto the Qin throne as King Zhuangxiang and became chancellor, compiling the encyclopedic Lüshi Chunqiu. His patronage brought scholars together and stabilized Qin during the final prelude to unification.

Image source: Lü Buwei

Wei, under general Wu Qi, seized territory along the Yellow River from Qin, establishing the fortified commandery of Xihe. These campaigns demonstrated Wei's early dominance among the warring states under Marquis Wen.

Image source: Wei (state)

The brilliant general Wu Qi commanded Wei armies that repeatedly defeated Qin and expanded Wei power. He later served Chu and implemented sweeping reforms there before his assassination, exemplifying the era's itinerant military talent.

Image source: Wu Qi

Wei forces defeated Chu at Longhu, capturing key territory and demonstrating the shifting balance of power. Victories like this cemented Wei's position as the leading state in the early Warring States period.

Image source: Chu (state)

Qi strategist Sun Bin used deception and a feigned attack on Wei's capital Daliang to trap and crush the Wei army at Guiling, capturing its commander Pang Juan. The battle showcased Sun Bin's military genius recorded in the Art of War attributed to him.

Image source: Battle of Guiling

Sun Bin again outmaneuvered Wei, ambushing its army at Maling where Pang Juan died and the crown prince was captured. The devastating defeat ended Wei's supremacy and shifted the balance of power toward Qi and Qin.

Image source: Battle of Maling

Qin's fearsome general Bai Qi annihilated a joint Han-Wei army at Yique, reportedly killing 240,000 men and seizing extensive territory east of the passes. The victory opened the road into the heartland of the Central Plains.

Image source: Battle of Yique

Bai Qi led a deep strike into Chu, captured and flooded the ancient capital Ying, forcing Chu to relocate east to Chen. The catastrophic loss stripped Chu of its historic heartland and irreversibly weakened the southern giant.

Image source: Battle of Yanling

In the bloodiest battle of the era, Qin and Zhao massed enormous armies in a prolonged stalemate. After Zhao replaced the veteran Lian Po with the inexperienced Zhao Kuo, Bai Qi encircled and destroyed the Zhao host, allegedly burying alive some 400,000 surrendered soldiers. Zhao never recovered its strength.

Image source: Battle of Changping

Following Changping, Qin besieged Zhao's capital Handan. A desperate coalition of Wei and Chu, aided by Lord Xinling's daring seizure of Wei's army, lifted the siege and inflicted a rare defeat on Qin, briefly prolonging the six states' survival.

Image source: Battle of Handan

The thirteen-year-old Ying Zheng ascended the Qin throne, later asserting full personal rule and launching the final wars of conquest. He would become known to history as Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of unified China.

Image source: Qin Shi Huang

Li Si, a legalist scholar from Chu, rose to chancellorship and urged the young king to seize the moment to conquer all rival states. He also authored the famous memorial expelling foreign officials, securing openness to talent from across the realm.

Image source: Li Si

Qin's armies overran Han, the weakest of the six states and nearest to Qin's homeland, capturing its king and annexing its lands. This marked the beginning of the final decade-long campaign of unification.

Image source: Shu Han

General Wang Jian exploited internal treachery to break Zhao's defenses, capturing Handan and its king. Remnant Zhao forces fled north but the state effectively ceased to exist, removing a major obstacle to unification.

Image source: Zhao (state)

Sent by the crown prince Dan of Yan, assassin Jing Ke concealed a poisoned dagger in a map scroll and nearly killed the King of Qin in court. The failed assassination gave Qin a pretext to accelerate its attack on Yan.

Image source: Jing Ke

General Wang Ben diverted the waters of the Yellow River to flood the Wei capital Daliang, forcing its surrender after months. Wei, once the leading state of the early era, was extinguished.

Demanding a colossal army of 600,000 men, veteran general Wang Jian waged a patient campaign that crushed Chu's resistance, killed its general Xiang Yan's forces' morale, and captured the Chu king, ending the largest of the rival states.

Image source: Qin's wars of unification

Qin forces swept northeast and destroyed Yan, capturing its king and eliminating the state that had sponsored the Jing Ke assassination plot. Only Qi remained outside Qin's control.

Image source: Yan (state)

Qi surrendered almost without a fight as Qin armies approached from the north. With all six rivals conquered, Ying Zheng proclaimed himself Shi Huangdi, the First Emperor, founding imperial China and ending the Warring States period.

Image source: Qin's wars of unification