Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This book is a general history of the Warring States period (481–221 bce) of ancient China. That era, contemporary with the Persian Wars and the conquests of Alexander the Great in the Mediterranean world, the lives of the later Hebrew Prophets in the Middle East, and the inception of Buddhism, Jainism, and many of the richest scriptural traditions of classical Hindu philosophy in India, is a seminal moment in the global “Axial Age.” The narrative begins at the end of the life of Confucius (551–479 bce), when the realm controlled by the Zhou dynasty (ca. 1045–256 bce) was breaking up into contending regional states. Seven wealthy, technologically advanced, organizationally sophisticated, and militarily powerful kingdoms emerged from that contest. These “Seven Heroes” remained locked in a state of almost constant total war with one another for more than two centuries. The book follows the lives and struggles of the key political, social, and cultural leaders who navigated and responded to that existential crisis of civilization. It outlines the invention of new forms of bureaucratic government and routine military organization, as well as the creation of new technologies and new intellectual traditions such as Confucianism and Daoism. The narrative concludes with the story of the First Emperor of Qin (r. 221–206 bce), whose armies conquered those of his six rival kingdoms, founding China’s first imperial dynasty and establishing a new, enduring institutional order that shaped both China and the world for more than two millennia.</jats:p>