Sociopolitical Context: Problems and Opportunities

This chapter explores the sociopolitical backdrop for the intellectual flowering of the Warring States era. It shows how the “soft power” methods of rule adopted early in the Zhou era could no longer stem the forces of disintegration and the devolution of the state's power during the aristocratic Springs-and-Autumns period. Thinkers and statesmen in the Warring States period acted, with considerable success, to reverse the tide and reconstruct a powerful state. They also successfully addressed new developments in agriculture and warfare to further strengthen the state apparatus and improve its capacity to extract a maximum of material and human resources. Yet, much like their predecessors, they failed to stabilize the multistate system. Eventually, they came to the conclusion that only the unification of All-under-Heaven would ensure lasting peace and stability.