The document provides an overview of various aspects of life during the Warring States period in ancient China, including social structure, housing, food, family life, marriage, and childhood. The period was one of ongoing war between seven major states as the imperial dynasty lost power. Society became more meritocratic and private land ownership emerged, though patriarchal social norms remained. Families typically lived simply but wealthier elites enjoyed more elaborate housing and diets. Education was growing but largely restricted to boys.

1. THE WARRING STATE PERIOD IN THE
HISTORY OF ANCIENT CHINA
By Timothy and Tommy X.

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Map of the Warring State Period
• Social Structure
• Housing
• Food
• Family life
• Marriage
• Childhood
• Comparisons about childhood in Canada
• Education
• Religion
• Common god
• Clothing
• Art, Music
• Festivals
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

3. INTRODUCTION
• The Warring State period is one of the warring period through out the history of
Ancient China. During this period, the official empire is the empire of East Zhou
but he was actually powerless to do anything. 7 states, the Qin, Zhao, Wei, Han，
Yan, Qi, and Chu are also known as the survivors of the Spring and Autumn
period. People, as in farmers, workers’ life was very harsh and difficult. Young
man were often forced to join the army and women at that time didn’t have any
power in politics, housing, and anything about making decisions.
• The technology of refining iron were very prospered and tools were made in a
more complex and useful way. This led to great changes in the history of China.
• During this period, there is one City-State who is in the West and reunited China:
the Qin. The king, Ying Zheng is only 13 when he become the king of Qin and
reunite Ancient China when he’s 39 years old.
Yellow River

4. This is a map of ancient
China in the period of the
Warring States Period.
This period lasted from
475-221 B.C.

5. SOCIAL STRUCTURE
• During this period, it’s a period of changes in tools, economic trade,
and social structure
• The structure from the Spring and Autumn period (King, Ministers,
Nobles, and other officials have most of the power) doesn’t apply to
the Warring State period anymore because every city states wanted
to solicit people who are talented and the ones who can help them
become the overlord of all City-State.
• Education is more common to citizens and people became to have
Confucius (Confucianism) their own land and farm instead of the Feudalism from West Zhou.
• The boundaries between nobles and citizens started to break
through.
• Also, the well-field system were replaced by private-land system
which means that people can buy and sell land as they wanted.
• Civilians can get rich by doing business or other ways to get rich and
they can even become a politician ( The hereditary system no more
apply in the Warring-States Period)
• Bureaucracy has changed
King of Wei, Hue

6. HOUSING
• At that time, the main structure of a family’s house would be wood,
mud brick, and imbrex or straw for the roof. Usually, for a family that
owns land and has a farm, they most likely live in a house about
2000-2050 square feet. During the warring state period, people’s
houses were simple and easy to construct due to the on-going wars
around them.
• Windows and doors were made out of wood, too, but windows back
then didn’t have glass or sliding doors. They were mostly openings to
town view in the city state of Chu
outside and there will be partitions, mostly squares made out of sticks
depending on the size of the window.
• At that time, houses became for common for citizens to own and
nobles became to live like normal citizens. This change led to the
growth of population the houses became more titter together.
• Also, some houses are constructed as manufacture factories for
ceramics, bronze product and iron product.
Most of the people would live in a
• Also, there are shed houses for horses, cows, ducks…. Et house like this

7. HOW THE WEALTHY LIVED
• During that time, a wealthy family would e nobles, ministers, army general/commander,
and rich business men. They can buy their land with money, or their land may be
rewarded by the King if you’ve done something extraordinary.
• The wealthy would most live in a big house with all different kinds of rooms. It includes,
main hall for greeting guests, at least 3 bedrooms, 1 studying room (mostly for the father)
bathroom, barn/woodshed, and kitchen…
• Houses that the wealthy live in have paintings on the wall unlike the normal citizens. The
paintings are beautiful with flowers, nature, and other things.
• During the Warring States period, not all city states abolished the well-field system so
landlords and wealthy people may still own large amount of fields and land. (The well-field
system is not completely abolished until Qin reunited China)

8. FOOD
• Wheat, millet, and beans are the main crop and food people eat in the Warring Wheat
States period. Those crops in the Yellow river basin and the Yangtze river basin
are very common and are cheat to buy.
• Dog is one of the earliest domestic animals human had. During this period, dog
has 3 main use to people: guard gods, hunting dogs, and food. Dog meat are
only for rich people only because it’s more expensive and dogs are commonly
used for sacrificial uses.
• Wild animals in the north (see map) are more populated and have more
species. Goat meat and beef were the common food for any family except rich
people have a higher percentage of eating meat than others.
• Growth of fruits and vegetables crossed a great step forward because of the
new technology: iron. This made farmers grow more and better crops and new Mountain goat
species are found and developed in the Warring States period.

9. FAMILY LIFE
• In the Warring States period, a family would include (most common family structure)
father, mother, a child(ren), grandfather and/or grandmother, and maybe a servant fields
from any circumstances.
• The father or grandfather would be the head of the family because Ancient China is a
patriarchy society.
• Most of the people in China thought families were very important. Children often also
lived with their grandparents, aunts and uncles, and their cousins. For richer people,
they may also live with servant or slaves
• People thought it’s really important to respect elders so the oldest male in the house
will be in charge of the family until they die.
farmer
• Men and women were treated very differently in many ways. For example, only boys
were allowed to go to school and girls had to stay at home to do chores and help out.
Only man can be involved with politics, business, and other things. Men had the right
to inherit the fortunes that their family have. Once a women is married, they are seen
as a part of the husband's family but they can still go back to their parents’ house for
visits.
• If your family wasn’t rich enough to afford paying field workers, teenagers and
adults had to go out and work in the fields during the days.
A girl weaving cloth

10. MARRIAGE
• Ever since ancient times, there has been a saying that the three
most delightful and important moments in your life is the
success in the imperial examination, marriage, and the birth of a
A modern wedding with son.
traditional ceremony
• From the last slide, we know that Ancient China is a patriarchy
society. When a men married a women, the bride would live in
the men’s house and become part of that family. This causes the
bride in the lowest position in the family besides slaves or
servant.
• During the marriage ceremony, the groom will go to the bride’s
house to greet her. Then, there will be a sedan chair carried by
The groom and the bride’s hamals and they’ll march around the town; the group of people
traditional costume would end up in the groom’s houses. This is the greeting
ceremony.
• The symbol: “囍” (xi) means joy, happiness, and love. This
symbol is the doubling word of word: “喜”. People double the
word together because they believe it will double the meaning;
then they’ll have double joy, happiness, and love.

11. CHILDHOOD
• People took good care of their children. They carried them all the
time, and gave the best food they possibly can. But if your family
wasn't rich, teenagers, strong man and/or women would have to work
in the fields or working for landlords from sunrise to sunset. In this
situation, lots of children would stay with their grandparents, uncle, If your family is rich, you would live in
aunt, or other older siblings. a house like this
• Children are considered to have the responsibility to continue the
family name (last name)
• They have to obey to what their parents told them to do and it’s really
important for them to respect elders.
• Only boys and rich people are allowed to go to school because the
ancient Chinese thought boys were more important than girls. Girls
would stay at home and help maintain the house.
If your family is poor, you would live in
• Boys in ancient time often live with their family even when they grow
a house like the one above
up and got married. On the other hand, when girls get married, they’ll
move to the groom’s house and do whatever she was told to do.
Once a girl is married, it means that their parents won’t see her for a
very long time. (In the Warring States period, people got married very
young, about 16-18 were considered the time to get married)

12. COMPARISON IN CHILDHOOD
戰國時代
Warring States Period Modern Canada
Most of the boys study at school and older teenagers All children have the right to be educated. There’s
studied for imperial exams. The imperial exam elementary school, highschool, and college or
determined whether you’ll be government officials. university. Other than school curriculum, there are
Girls wasn’t allowed to go to school during the period. many different programs such as basketball, soccer,
band….
If your family is really poor that they can’t afford to Child slavery is illegal in Canada and every child is
feed you, they might sell you to a landlord or have you protected under the children rights of UN.
work for landlords gain some money
The marriage was very important but the groom and In Canada, young people get close together and
the bride often met each other for the first time in the become boy and girlfriend to know each other. After
wedding ceremony. This is because the marriage was both people agree to get married, then they’ll arrange
arranged by the parents instead of themselves. the wedding ceremony.
Clothes that children wear are mostly made by their Kids mostly buy their clothes from stores with variety
mom, aunt, or servant. They didn’t have all sorts of of choices including color, fabric, style…et.
materials and styles but with uni-color or two and
similar style. (Rich people wears differently than
others)

13. EDUCATION
• Education played a big role in this period. As the government innovate its
policies, people had different views than before.
• Most of the children didn’t go to school because of variety of factors. But if
you were a boy, you will most likely to be sent off to school. Kids study very
hard at school; when your young, your goal was to memorize the books
people had written down before. If your old enough for the imperial exam,
you would study all day long trying to get enrolled to become a government
official. Painting of a school
• To make the exam fair, only the test mark counted, it didn’t matter who’s (1200AD)
your father, are you poor or rich, or were you a good at Kongfu.
• School usually started around 6:00am and end at 4:00pm and it was free to
go to school because the government paid for you.
• At school, students would learn how to read & write poems and essays. You
would learn painting skills and you would have to memorize every word of
the Confusion Philosophy.
• If you were smart enough, you would do a special test to enter a gift
program. For others, you may stay in the same class doing the same thing
every day for 6-7 years.
Confucius

14. RELIGION
• During the Warring States period, people mostly believe in spiritual worship
and praying in supernatural beings. This is because the can’t explain the
scientific appearance of nature things such as earthquakes, lightning,
drought…et. They thought that it was the ghost who was manipulating the
weather.
• Sacrificing played an important role in the religion. Sacrificing and prying god,
Oracle bone script ghost, and their ancestors were considered an important ceremony for Kings,
nobles, and government official because they thought by doing this, they’ll get
good luck and keep them in power.
• Since the Shang Dynasty, sorcerers had been using oracle shells to divine
and pray. This developed to the writing: oracle bone script.
• The belief of different gods led to the root of Taoism in the future. Taoism
believe in many different gods like Earth, ocean, wind, sun, and heroic people
,too.
Symbol for Taoism
• Confucianism is the philosophy developed by a famous scholar: Confucius.
His belief was the way people treat each other and how people should
behave. This theory settled a foundation for modern education in humanity.

15. COMMON GODS
• Jade Emperor: He is the ruler of the heaven and all
realms of existence including Man and hell. This
god comes from the Taoism mythology. His position
is like the Greek god Zeus who rules everything in
Ancient Greek religion.
• Taiqing: He is one of the 3 pure gods in Taoism. Jade Emperor
He’s also known as “Daode Tianzun“, meaning the
universally honoured one of Tao and virtues. After
the Spring and Autumn period, people believed that
the Taoism philosopher: Laozi became Taiqing when
he died. He is still one of the most important god to
modern people.
• Guanyin is one of the top 3 gods in Buddhism,
Guanyin Amitabha, Guanyin, and Mahasthamaprapta. In the
classic Buddhism say, Quanyin has great mercy and
is very generous;she’ll forgive you if you repend
yourself.
Taiqing

16. CLOTHING
Poor: Dragon embroideries on a silk robe
• Poor man wore baggy tough fiber trousers and a loose shirt. They sometimes
wore a wool lined coat for winter. Women wore basic lining dresses like the one
on the left. They often wear wool for winter and cotton for summer. Both men
and women wore shoes made out of woven straws and sometimes cotton fabric
shoes. Clothes that poor people wore are usually plain and dirty because of the
hard laboring. Because they have to work so hard just to feed their family, any
A women’s dress kind of luxury was out of question.
Rich:
• Silk was considered a luxury fabric and wore by rich people, King, ministers,
nobles… Man would wear silk robes with big sash around their waist and women
would wear robes that show their undershirt of a different colored silk. For shoes,
they wore slippers with wool linings and other soft fabrics. On their robe, there’s
usually colorful and beautiful embroideries like flowers, symbols such as dragon,
nature sceneries…et.

17. ART & MUSIC Bronze vase (278 BCE)
• In the warring state period. The bronze industry development is the A traditional “band”
most important one. In same time, the smelting of iron, lacquer
ware, pottery, were in the development, too. During this period,
most common art pieces such as pots, bowls were all hand made.
• In ancient Chinese paintings, people liked to draw themes about Painting of a
nature, animals, trees, mountains, flowers, water…et. There were mountain
different influence from India, and Western Asia. (City State of
Wei)
• During the Zhou Dynasty, Chinese artists also began to make all
kinds of lacquered boxes, and to paint landscapes and people on
silk cloth.
• In Hubei, Suizhou unearthed about 15000 art pieces including:
Bronze sacrificial utensils, clocks, weapons, lacquer, and wood, and
bamboo pieces.
• Musicians were seen much lower than painters, writers, and
philosopher although people believed that music was the
harmonization with god. Also, to determine whether music was
popular would be whether if the King liked the subject or not.
erhu
• There are categories of instrument: woodwind such as dizi,
percussion such as bell, bowed strings like erhu, and struck and
plucked strings like pipa

18. FESTIVALS
• The biggest celebration of the year is the New Year
celebration. It is often called Lunar Ne Year or
Chinese New Year. In ancient China, people used
the Lunar calendar usually 20-30 days later than our
calendar. Ex. 6/3 would be 5/2 in Lunar calendar.
• According to the myth, this tradition started with the Red lanterns on New Year Day
fight against a beast called Nian. It would come to
town on the first day of New Year and eat, animals,
crops, and even people, especially children. To
protect themselves, they would put food in front of
their house the first day of New Year. They believed
that Nian will eat the food they prepared so it won’t
eat anyone. Also people found out that Nian was
afraid of the color red so they would put red lanterns,
red spring rolls on their doors and windows. It is also
a tradition that people used firecrackers to scare
away Nian. Although Nian did not come back. It
became a tradition of the New Year celebration. Red Spring rolls
Traditional firecracker

19. CONCLUSION
• The Warring States Period is a great change for the history of China including:
technology, arts and music, government, the way people think, and the great change of
education. It is a period of time when war, education, politics, reform… are all mixed
together and people are having new views about both in life and material things.
• At the end of the Warring States period, Qin reunited China and created the 1 st Imperial
dynasty in the history of Ancient China. A lot of things that the Qin dynasty use came from
the Warring States period such as measurements, writing, political policies.
• Others say that the most important thing Qin dynasty did was setting guidelines for the
other dynasties; so I guess we could say that the Warring States period settle a guideline
for Qin dynasty.

20. • http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hukou_Waterfall.jpg
PICTURE BIBLIOGRAPHY • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EN-WarringStatesAll260BCE.jpg
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21. INFO BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Cotterel, Arthur. “Eyewitness, Ancient China”. New York, DK Children Publishing, July 1, 2000
• Rees, Rosemary.” The Ancient Chinese”. Chicago, Reed Educational & Professional Publishing, 2002.
• Ancient Chinese marriage custom: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/marriage/
• Daode Tianzun: http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%AA%E4%B8%8A%E8%80%81%E5%90%9B
• Dog meat: http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kz=368341222
• East Zhou: http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%9C%E5%91%A8
• Eric W ancient china Qin Dynasty: http://www.slideshare.net/RidgeviewGrade7/eric-w-ancient-china-qin-
dynasty
• History of China: http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/china/history/index.htm
• History Timeline: http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/time_line.html
• Jade Emperor: http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8E%89%E7%9A%87%E5%A4%A7%E5%B8%9D
• Starting of Taoism: http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kz=31316600
• Warring States period:
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%88%B0%E5%9C%8B#.E6.88.B0.E5.9C.8B.E5.89.8D.E6.9C.9F.E5.90.8
4.E5.9C.8B.E7.9A.84.E8.AE.8A.E6.B3.95.E6.94.B9.E9.9D.A9
• Well field system: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Well-field_system
• What did the ancient Chinese Eat?: http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/136673847