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Chur

'' Chur ( (locally) or ; Coira ; Cuera ; Cuoira ; Cuira ; Coira; Cuera or Cuira; Coire ) is the capital and largest town of the Swiss canton of the Grisons and lies in the Grisonian Rhine Valley, where the Rhine turns towards the north, in the northern part of the canton. The city, on the right bank of the Rhine, is reputedly the oldest town in Switzerland.

The official language of Chur is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of Alemannic, known as Grisonian German. Romansh and Italian are significantly spoken in the city as a result of the trilingual identity of the canton.

On 1 January 2020 the former municipality of Maladers merged into Chur and on 1 January 2021 Haldenstein also merged.

History
Archaeological evidence of settlement at the site, in the Eastern Alps, goes back as far as the Pfyn culture (3900-3500 BC), making Chur one of the oldest settlements in Switzerland. Remains and objects from the Bronze and Iron Ages have also been found in the eastern sector of the centre of the current city. These include Bronze Age Urnfield and Laugen-Melaun settlements from 1300 to 800 BC and Iron Age settlements from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC.

The Roman Empire conquered the area that then came to be known as the Roman province of Raetia in 15 BC. Under emperor Diocletian (late 3rd century AD), the existing settlement of Curia Raetorum (later Chur) was made the capital of the newly established province of Raetia prima.

In the 4th century Chur became the seat of the first Christian bishopric north of the Alps. Despite a legend assigning its foundation to an alleged British king, St Lucius, the first known bishop is one Asinio in AD 451. The bishop soon acquired great temporal powers, especially after 831 when his dominions were made dependent on the Empire alone.

After the invasion of the Ostrogoths it may have been renamed Theodoricopolis; in the 6th century it was conquered by the Franks. The city suffered several invasions, by the Magyars in 925–926, when the cathedral was destroyed, and by the Saracens (940 and 954), but afterwards it flourished thanks to its location where the roads from several major Alpine transit routes come together and continue down the Rhine. The routes had already been used under the Romans but acquired greater importance under the Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. Emperor Otto I granted the town the right to collect tolls in 952 and appointed his vassal Hartpert as bishop of Chur in 958, giving the bishopric further privileges. In 1170 the bishop became a prince-bishop and kept total control over the road between Chur and Chiavenna.

In the 13th century the town had some 1,300 inhabitants and was surrounded by a line of walls. In the 14th century at least six fires damaged or destroyed the monasteries of St Luzi and St Nicolai and St Martin's church and twice destroyed much of the town. The Gotteshausbund (League of the House of God) was formed in 1367 in Chur to resist the rising power of the Bishopric of Chur and the House of Habsburg. Chur was the chief town of the League and one of the places the League’s assemblies met regularly. A burgmeister (mayor) of Chur is first mentioned in 1413. The bishop's residence was attacked by the inhabitants in 1418 and 1422, when a series of concessions were wrung out of him.

On 27 April 1464 most of the town was destroyed in a fire, which only the bishop's estates and St Luzi monastery survived. With the bishop’s power waning as he came increasingly under the influence of the nearby Habsburg County of Tyrol, the citizens sent a delegation to Emperor Frederick III. The Emperor reconfirmed the historic rights of Chur and also granted them extensive new rights which freed the city from the bishop's power. In 1465 the citizens wrote a constitution that granted all governmental power to Chur's guilds. All government positions were restricted to guild members, allowing the guilds to regulate all aspects of life in Chur. Since guild membership had become the only route to political power, local patricians and nobles quickly became guild members, often joining the winemakers guild.

The Chur-led League of the House of God allied with the Grey League and the League of the Ten Jurisdictions in 1471 to form the Three Leagues. In 1489 Chur obtained the right to have a tribunal of its own but never had the title of Free Imperial City. In 1497–98, concerned about Habsburg expansion and with the Bishop of Chur quarrelling with Austria, the Three Leagues formed an alliance with the Swiss Confederation. In 1499 the Swabian War broke out between the Three Leagues and Austria and quickly expanded to include the Confederation. During the war troops from Chur fought under the Bishop's Vogt Heinrich Ammann in the Lower Engadin, in Prättigau and near Balzers. Troops from Chur also took part in the 1512 invasion of the Valtellina and the Second Musso War in 1530–31.

In 1523 Johannes (Dorfmann) Comander was appointed parish priest of St Martin's Church and began preaching the new faith of the Protestant Reformation. It spread rapidly and by 1525 the bishop had fled the city and Protestant services were taking place in the churches of St Martin and St Regula. The Ilanz articles of 1524 and 1526 allowed each resident of the Three Leagues to choose their religion and sharply reduced the political and secular power of the Bishop of Chur and all monasteries in League territory. By 1527 all of Chur except the bishop's estates had adopted the Reformation. On 1 January 1529 Abbot Theodore Schlegel was publicly beheaded. Bishop Thomas Planta, a friend of St Charles Borromeo, tried, but without success, to suppress Protestantism. He died, probably poisoned, on 5 May 1565.

During the 16th century the German language started to prevail over Romansh. In 1479 about 300 houses and stalls burned in another fire. Nearly a century later, on 23 July 1574, a fire destroyed 174 houses and 114 stalls, or about half the city. Two years later, on 21 October 1576, another 53 houses were burned. Two years after the 1576 fire, the perpetrator, Hauptmann Stör, was executed.

After the Napoleonic Wars the Three Leagues became the canton of Graubünden in 1803. The guild constitution of the city of Chur lasted until 1839 and in 1874 the Burgergemeinde was replaced by an Einwohnergemeinde. When Graubünden became a canton in 1803, Chur was chosen as its capital.

Chur's cemetery is in the centre of town, and in the middle of the cemetery is a 13-tonne (13,000 kg) stone monument that dwarfs the nearby gravestones. The huge monolithic block of granite was erected in 1938 and for decades was largely ignored by passers-by until in 2023 a controversy arose after a Swiss historian discovered that it was originally built as propaganda for the Nazi regime.

Topography

Chur has an area (as of the 2004/09 survey) of. About 17.6% is used for agricultural purposes and 52.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 26.5% is settled (buildings or roads) and 3.9% is unproductive land. Over the past two decades (1979/85–2004/09) the amount of land that is settled has increased by 86 ha and the agricultural land has decreased by 87 ha.

Chur is situated at a height of 1949 ft above sea level, on the right bank of the torrent Plessur just as it issues from the valley Schanfigg and about a mile above its junction with the Rhine, almost entirely surrounded by the Alps, overshadowed by the Mittenberg (northeast) and Pizoggel (southwest), hills that guard the entrance to the deep-cut valley Schanfigg.

The altitude in the city area varies from 600 m above sea level to 1800 m above sea level and the Churer Hausberg Brambrüesch (accessible from the Old Town) is 2174 m above sea level.

The water of Chur's spring is exported and sold as Passugger mineral water.

Climate
Chur has an oceanic climate in spite of its inland position. Summers are warm and sometimes hot, normally averaging around 25 C during the day, whilst winter means are around freezing, with daytime temperatures being about 5 C. Between 1981 and 2010 Chur had an average of 104.6 days of rain per year and on average received 849 mm of precipitation. The wettest month was August, with an average of 112 mm of precipitation over an average of 11.2 days. The driest month of the year was February with an average of 47 mm of precipitation over 6.6 days.

Coat of arms
Blazon: Argent, a city gate gules with three merlons, within which a capricorn rampant sable, langued and viriled of the second.

Government
The City Council (Stadtrat) constitutes the executive government of the City of Chur and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of only three councilors (Stadtrat/ Stadträtin), each presiding over a department. In the mandate period 2021–2024 (Legislatur) the City Council is presided by Stadtpräsident Urs Marti. Departmental tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by the Municipal Council (parliament) are carried by the City Council. The regular election of the City Council by any inhabitant valid to vote is held every four years. Any resident of Chur allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the City Council. The current mandate period is from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2024. The delegates are elected by means of a system of Proporz. The mayor is elected as such by public election by means of a system of Majorz, while the heads of the other departments are assigned by the collegiate.

, Chur's City Council is made up of one representative of the FDP (FDP.The Liberals, who is also the mayor), one of the SP (Social Democratic Party), and one new member of The Centre (former CVP/PDC and BDP/PBD), giving the right parties a new majority of two out of three seats. The last regular election was held on 27 September 2020.

Parliament
The Municipal Council (Gemeinderat) holds legislative power. It is made up of only 21 members, with elections held every four years. The Municipal Council decrees regulations and by-laws that are executed by the City Council and the administration. The delegates are selected by means of a system of Proporz.

The sessions of the Municipal Council are public. Unlike members of the City Council, members of the Municipal Council are not politicians by profession, and they are paid a fee based on their attendance. Any resident of Chur allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Municipal Council. The parliament holds its meetings in the Rathaus (Town Hall).

The last regular election of the Municipal Council was held on 27 September 2020 for the mandate period (Legislatur) from January 2021 to December 2024. Currently the Municipal Council consist of 6 (-, no change) members of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), 4 (-) Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), 4 (+1) The Liberals (FDP/PLR), 3 (+1) The Centre (former CVP/PDC and BDP/PBD), 3 (+2) Green Liberal Party (GLP/PVL), 2 (-) Freie Liste & Grüne (Free List & Greens), while the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD) lost all their 3 seats due to Dissolution and merged with former CVP.

National Council
In the 2015 federal election the most popular party was the SVP/UDC with 26.43% of the vote followed almost equally by the SP/PS (25.96%), then the CVP/PDC (13.74%), the FDP/PLR (12.06%), the BDP/PBD (11.97), and the GLP/PVL (9.71). In the federal election, a total of 11,102 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 45.4%.

International relations
Chur is twinned with:

 * 🇩🇪 Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany
 * 🇫🇷 Cabourg, France
 * 🇦🇹 Mayrhofen, Austria
 * 🇱🇺 Mondorf-les-Bains, Luxembourg
 * 🇮🇹 Terracina, Italy

Population
Chur has a population (as of ) of. In 2008 17.8% of the population were foreign nationals and by 2014 that number was 19.2%. Over the last 4 years (2010–2014) the population has changed at a rate of 2.34%. The birth rate in the municipality in 2014 was 9.2 and the death rate was 10.0 per thousand residents. Most of the population speak German (81.0%), with Italian being second most common (6.4%) and Romansh being third (5.3%). the gender distribution of the population was 47.9% male and 52.1% female. The age distribution in Chur is; 3,087 children or 9.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 1,602 or 4.9% are 10 to 14 and 2,194 teenagers or 6.7% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 4,770 people or 14.5% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 5,517 or 16.7% are 30 to 39, 4,616 or 14.0% are 40 to 49 and 4,254 or 12.9% are 50 to 59. 3,090 people or 9.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 2,314 or 7.0% are 70 to 79, there are 1,307 or 4.0% who are 80 to 89, 233 or 0.7% who are 90 to 99 and 5 who are 100 or more.

In 2015 there were 15,557 single residents, 13,722 people who were married or in a civil partnership, 1,948 widows and widowers, 3,423 divorced residents and 2 people who did not answer the question.

In 2014 there were 16,970 private households in Chur with an average household size of 2.00 persons. Of the 3,792 inhabited buildings in the municipality in 2000, about 37.8% were single-family homes and 39.7% were multiple-family buildings. About 20.5% of the buildings dated from before 1919 and 8.8% were built between 1991 and 2000. In 2013 the rate of construction of new housing units per 1000 residents was 7.71. The vacancy rate for the municipality,, was 0.6%.

Historic population
The historical population is given in the following chart:

 * Language adds up to over 100% due to counting all languages, not just first language.

Religion
From the, 14,713 or 44.6% are Roman Catholic, while 12,199 or 37.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there are 15 individuals (or about 0.05% of the population) who belong to the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland, there are 589 individuals (or about 1.79% of the population) who belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church, and there are 532 individuals (or about 1.61% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 13 individuals (or about 0.04% of the population) who are Jewish, and 917 (or about 2.78% of the population) who are Muslim. There are 424 individuals (or about 1.29% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 1,998 (or about 6.06% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 1,589 individuals (or about 4.82% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education
In Chur about 70.3% of the population (between age 25 and 64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule). The town is home to the Cantonal School of Graubünden.

Economy
, there were a total of 32,448 people employed in the municipality. Of these, 108 people worked in 26 businesses in the primary economic sector. A majority (68.5%) of the primary sector employees worked in very small businesses (less than ten employees). The remainder worked in 2 small businesses with a total of 34 employees. The secondary sector employed 3,645 workers in 345 separate businesses. A minority (21.2%) of the secondary sector employees worked in very small businesses. There were 75 small businesses with a total of 1,731 employees and 12 mid sized businesses with a total of 1,141 employees. Finally, the tertiary sector provided 28,695 jobs in 3,375 businesses. In 2014 a total of 16,854 employees worked in 3,306 small companies (less than 50 employees). There were 65 mid-sized businesses with 9,093 employees and 4 large businesses which employed 2,748 people (for an average size of 687).

In 2014 a total of 7.7% of the population received social assistance.

In 2015 local hotels had a total of 152,629 overnight stays, of which 47.8% were international visitors.

There were two cinemas in the municipality in 2015, with a total of 4 screens and 736 seats.

Crime
In 2014 the crime rate, of the over 200 crimes listed in the Swiss Criminal Code (running from murder, robbery and assault to accepting bribes and election fraud), in Chur was 68.6 per thousand residents, only slightly higher than the national average of 64.6 per thousand. During the same period the rate of drug crimes was 15.7 per thousand residents, which is about one and a half times the national rate. The rate of violations of immigration, visa and work-permit laws was 2.4 per thousand residents, or about half the national rate.

Transportation
Chur is 120 km by rail from Zürich, and is the meeting-point of the routes from Italy over many alpine passes (Lukmanier Pass, Splugen Pass, and San Bernardino Pass), as well as from the Engadine (Albula Pass, Julier Pass), so that it is the centre of an active trade (particularly in wine from the Valtelline), though it also has a few local factories.

The city's main railway station is where the Swiss Federal Railways system link with that of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB). While the SBB lines serve most of Switzerland, most of Graubünden's internal rail traffic is served by RhB lines. One of the RhB lines (to Arosa) uses on-street running through streets in the centre of Chur and Sand in order to reach the station—see Chur Stadtbahn.

There are three other railway stations in Chur:

 * Chur Stadt (on the Chur-Arosa line)
 * Chur West
 * Chur Wiesental
 * Haldenstein

There is also a postbus station situated above the railway station.

Chur is linked by a motorway—the A13.

Main sights
Chur is home to many buildings or other sites that are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. There are two archeological sites in Chur, the old city which is a medieval city and Welschdörfli a prehistoric settlement and Roman Vicus. There are four archives or libraries; the bishop's palace (library and archive), the Cantonal Library, the Cantonal Archive of Graubünden and the city archive of Chur. There are also four museums on the list; the Bündner Kunstmuseum (Art Museum), Bündner Naturmuseum (Natural History Museum), the Dommuseum and the Rätisches Museum in the Haus Buol. Three churches are included in the list; The cathedral of the Assumption, the Catholic Church of St. Luzi and the Reformed church of St. Martin. There are 15 other buildings that are also heritage sites; these include the Alte Kaserne at Zeughaus 3 (the Old Armory), the Confederation Paper Mill, the Main Post Office, the new Town Hall, headquarters of the Rhätische Bahn and several old patrician houses. With the 2021 merger of Haldenstein into Chur, the Ruins of Haldenstein fortress and Haldenstein Castle became part of Chur.

Gallery
The first church on the cathedral site was built in the first half of the 5th century. The Romanesque crypt was probably built under Bishop Tello (758–73). It contains remarkable paintings by Albrecht Dürer and Hans Holbein. The current building was built between 1154 and 1270. In 1272 it was dedicated to Saint Mary of the Assumption. The round arch window along the center axis is the largest medieval window in Graubünden. The late-Gothic high altar was completed in 1492 by Jakob Russ.

The Church of St. Luzi was probably built in the 8th century, though the first record of it appears in 821 when the relics of St. Luzius were removed from the church. It may have been the site of a Carolingian scribes' school during the early middle ages. In 1149 it became the church of the Premonstratensian monastery.

The town is home to the Giger Bar designed by the Swiss artist H. R. Giger, the Old Town, the art gallery, and the natural history museum.

Sport
Chur is a hockeytown and its team, EHC Chur, currently plays in the Swiss League, the second tier of the Swiss ice hockey league system. They play their home games in the 6,500-seat Hallenstadion.

The American football team Calanda Broncos (formally the Landquart Broncos) moved to Chur in 2009, playing their home games at Ringstrasse Stadium. The Broncos currently play in the Nationalliga A and are the most successful Swiss American football team with the record for most Swiss Bowl wins (eight wins) as well as winning the EFAF Cup in 2010 and the Eurobowl in 2012. As of 2017 they finished first in the league, hosting Swiss Bowl XXXII in Ringstrasse Stadium where they defeated the Basel Gladiators 42–6 on 8 July.

The local football team are FC Chur 97 who play in the sixth division of Swiss football. They play home games at Ringstrasse.

Early times

 * George Blaurock (c. 1492–1529), Grisonian Catholic pater and leading personality of the Radical Reformation, one of the founders of Anabaptism
 * Johannes Fabricius Montanus (1527–1577), German theologian and poet
 * Jörg Jenatsch (1596–1639), Grisonian politician during the Thirty Years' War, assassinated in Chur.
 * Soloman Sprecher von Bernegg (1697–1758), Habsburg field marshal in the Seven Years' War

18th century

 * Jerome, 2nd Count de Salis (1709–1794), a Fellow of the Royal Society and sometime British Resident in the Grisons.
 * Jeremiah Theus (1716–1746), Swiss-American painter, primarily of portraits.
 * Angelica Kauffman, RA (1741–1801), Austrian Neoclassical painter, successful career in London and Rome.
 * Richard La Nicca (1794–1883 in Chur), a Swiss engineer, planned and implemented the Jura water correction project in the Swiss Jura

19th century

 * Alexander Moritzi (1806–1850), a Swiss naturalist and early proponent of evolution
 * Gottfried Ludwig Theobald (1810–1869 in Chur), a German-Swiss geologist and cartographer, taught in Chur 1854–1869.
 * Johann Baptista von Tscharner (1815–1879), born and died in Chur, lawyer and politician
 * Philip Schaff (1819–1893), Protestant theologian and church historian, lived and taught in the United States
 * Johann Coaz (1822– 1918), a forester, topographer and mountaineer from Graubünden
 * Simeon Bavier (1825–1896), a politician, member of the Swiss Federal Council 1878–1883
 * Eduard Killias (1829–1891), a Swiss physician, naturalist and balneologist
 * Carl Hilty (1833–1909), a philosopher, writer and worked as a lawyer in Chur for 20 years
 * Adolfo Kind (1848–1907), a chemical engineer and one of the fathers of skiing in Italy
 * Clara Ragaz (1874–1957), feminist, pacifist and supporter of the temperance movement
 * Jakob Buchli (1876–1945), engineer in the field of locomotive design
 * Alfred Heuß (1877–1934), German musicologist
 * Josias Braun-Blanquet (1884–1980), a phytosociologist and botanist
 * Rosa Gutknecht (1885–1959), a German-born Swiss theologian and cleric, in 1918 she was one of the first two women to graduate in theology and be ordained as pastors
 * Harry Clarke (1889–1931 in Chur), an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator
 * Kurt Huber (1893–1943), a university professor and resistance fighter with the anti-Nazi group White Rose
 * Maurice Conradi (1896–1947 in Chur), a Russian White officer who fought in World War I and the Civil War in Russia

20th century

 * Robert Platow (1900–1982 in Chur), German journalist, founder and publisher of the Platow Brief
 * Heinrich Willi (1900–1971), pediatrician who co-discovered Prader–Willi syndrome
 * Andreas Walser (1908–1930), a Swiss painter in Paris
 * Gustav Guanella (1909–1982), a Swiss inventor, developed high-frequency electronics
 * Meinrad Schütter (1910–2006), a Swiss composer
 * Rudolf Olgiati (1910–1995), local architect, of the New Objectivity movement
 * H. R. Giger (1940–2014), visual artist, painter and Oscar winner
 * Peter Zumthor (born 1943), an uncompromising and minimalist Swiss architect, works in Chur
 * Alex P. Schmid (born 1943), a Swiss-born Dutch scholar in terrorism studies and former Officer-in-Charge of the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations
 * Mario Illien (born 1946), engineer, specialising in motorsport engine design
 * Robert Indermaur (born 1947), a Swiss painter and sculptor
 * Hans Danuser (born 1953), a Swiss artist and photographer
 * Corin Curschellas (born 1956), a Swiss singer-songwriter, vocalist, free improvisation, actress and voice actress
 * Valerio Olgiati (born 1958), renowned architect of Grisonian buildings
 * Raphael Zuber (born 1973), renowned architect
 * Adrian J. Meier (born 1976), politician of local council and explorer
 * Rebecca Indermaur (born c. 1977), a Swiss film and television actress

Sport

 * Rico Bianchi (born 1930), a Swiss rower, competed in the 1952 and 1960 Summer Olympics
 * Yvonne Rüegg (born 1938), a Swiss former alpine skier, gold medallist in giant slalom at the 1960 Winter Olympics
 * Renato Tosio (born 1964), former ice hockey goaltender of EHC Chur
 * Mario Frick (born 1974), a Swiss-born Liechtensteiner retired professional footballer was the manager for FC Vaduz between 2018 and 2021; 664 team games and 125 for his national team
 * Giorgio Rocca (born 1975), an Italian former alpine skier
 * Thierry Paterlini (born 1975), a Swiss professional ice hockey defenceman
 * Binia Feltscher (born 1978), Swiss curler, silver medallist at the 2006 Winter Olympics
 * Nino Schurter (born 1986), mountain biker and Olympic gold medallist, lives in Chur
 * Nino Niederreiter (born 1992), second highest NHL-drafted Swiss-born hockey player

Literature

 * A. Eichhorn, Episcopatus Curiensis (St Blasien, 1797)
 * W. von Juvalt, Forschungen fiber die Feudalzeit im Curischen Raetien, two parts (Zürich, 1871)
 * C. Kind, Die Reformation in den Bistumern Chur und Como (Coire, 1858)
 * Conradin von Moor, Geschichte von Curraetien (2 vols., Coire, 1870–1874)
 * P. C. you Planta, Des alte Raetien (Berlin, 1872); Idem, Die Curraetischen Herrschaften in der Feudalzeit (Bern, 188i); Idem, Verfassungsgeschichte der Stadt Cur im Mittelalter (Coire, 1879); Idem, Geschichte von Graubünden (Bern, 1892).
 * Principality of Liechtenstein homepage on religion
 * Principality of Liechtenstein homepage on religion
 * Principality of Liechtenstein homepage on religion
 * Principality of Liechtenstein homepage on religion

title: Chur


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Spring and Autumn period

The Spring and Autumn period in Chinese history lasted approximately from 770 to 481 BCE which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives from the Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle of the state of Lu between 722 and 481 BCE, which tradition associates with Confucius (551–479 BCE).

During this period, royal control over the various local polities eroded as regional lords increasingly exercised political autonomy, negotiating their own alliances, waging wars amongst themselves, up to defying the king's court in Luoyi. The gradual Partition of Jin, one of the most powerful states, is generally considered to mark the end of the Spring and Autumn period and the beginning of the Warring States period. This periodization dates back to late Western Han, c. 48 BCE.

Background

In 771 BCE, a Quanrong invasion in coalition with the states of Zeng and Shen—the latter polity being the fief of the grandfather of the disinherited crown prince Yijiu—destroyed the Western Zhou capital Haojing, killing King You and establishing Yijiu as king at the eastern capital Luoyi. The event ushered in the Eastern Zhou dynasty, which is divided into the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods. During the Spring and Autumn period, China's feudal system of fengjian (封建) became largely irrelevant. The Zhou court, having lost its homeland in the Guanzhong region, held nominal power, but had real control over only a small royal demesne centered on Luoyi. During the early part of the Zhou dynasty period, royal relatives and generals had been given control over fiefdoms in an effort to maintain Zhou authority over vast territory. As the power of the Zhou kings waned, these fiefdoms became increasingly independent states.

The most important states (known later as the twelve vassals) came together in regular conferences where they decided important matters, such as military expeditions against foreign groups or against offending nobles. During these conferences one vassal ruler was sometimes declared hegemon (later, ).

As the era continued, larger and more powerful states annexed or claimed suzerainty over smaller ones. By the 6th century BCE most small states had disappeared and just a few large and powerful principalities dominated China. Some southern states, such as Chu and Wu, claimed independence from the Zhou, who undertook wars against some of them (Wu and Yue).

Amid the interstate power struggles, internal conflict was also rife: six élite landholding families waged war on each other inside Jin, political enemies set about eliminating the Chen family in Qi, and the legitimacy of the rulers was often challenged in civil wars by various royal family members in Qin and Chu. Once all these powerful rulers had firmly established themselves within their respective dominions, the bloodshed focused more fully on interstate conflict in the Warring States period, which began in 403 BCE when the three remaining élite families in Jin—Zhao, Wei, and Han—partitioned the state.

Court moves east (771)
After the Zhou capital was sacked by the Marquess of Shen and the Quanrong barbarians, the Zhou moved the capital east from the now desolated Zongzhou in Haojing near modern Xi'an to Wangcheng in the Yellow River Valley. The Zhou royalty was then closer to its main supporters, particularly Jin, and Zheng; the Zhou royal family had much weaker authority and relied on lords from these vassal states for protection, especially during their flight to the eastern capital. In Chengzhou, Prince Yijiu was crowned by his supporters as King Ping. However, with the Zhou domain greatly reduced to Chengzhou and nearby areas, the court could no longer support the six army groups it had in the past; Zhou kings had to request help from powerful vassal states for protection from raids and for resolution of internal power struggles. The Zhou court would never regain its original authority; instead, it was relegated to being merely a figurehead of the regional states and ritual leader of the Ji clan ancestral temple. Though the king retained the Mandate of Heaven, the title held little actual power.

With the decline of Zhou power, the Yellow River drainage basin was divided into hundreds of small, autonomous states, most of them consisting of a single city, though a handful of multi-city states, particularly those on the periphery, had power and opportunity to expand outward. A total of 148 states are mentioned in the chronicles for this period, 128 of which were absorbed by the four largest states by the end of the period.

Shortly after the royal court's move to Chengzhou, a hierarchical alliance system arose where the Zhou king would give the title of hegemon to the leader of the state with the most powerful military; the hegemon was obligated to protect both the weaker Zhou states and the Zhou royalty from the intruding non-Zhou peoples: the Northern Di, the Southern Man, the Eastern Yi, and the Western Rong. This political framework retained the fēngjiàn power structure, though interstate and intrastate conflict often led to declining regard for clan customs, respect for the Ji family, and solidarity with other Zhou peoples. The king's prestige legitimized the military leaders of the states, and helped mobilize collective defense of Zhou territory against "barbarians".

Over the next two centuries, the four most powerful states—Qin, Jin, Qi and Chu—struggled for power. These multi-city states often used the pretext of aid and protection to intervene and gain suzerainty over the smaller states. During this rapid expansion, interstate relations alternated between low-level warfare and complex diplomacy.

Zheng falls out with the court (722–685)
Duke Yin of Lu ascended the throne in 722. From this year on, the state of Lu kept an official chronicle, the Spring and Autumn Annals, which along with its commentaries is the standard source for the Spring and Autumn period. Corresponding chronicles are known to have existed in other states as well, but all but the Lu chronicle have been lost.

In 717, Duke Zhuang of Zheng went to the capital for an audience with King Huan. During the encounter the duke felt he was not treated with the respect and etiquette which would have been appropriate, given that Zheng was now the chief protector of the capital. In 715, Zheng also became involved in a border dispute with Lu regarding the Fields of Xu. The fields had been put in the care of Lu by the king for the exclusive purpose of producing royal sacrifices for the sacred Mount Tai. For Zheng to regard the fields as just any other piece of land was an insult to the court.

By 707, relations had soured enough that the king launched a punitive expedition against Zheng. The duke counterattacked and raided Zhou territory, defeating the royal forces in the Battle of Xuge and injuring the king himself. Zheng was the first vassal to openly defy the king, kicking off the centuries of warfare without respect for the old traditions which would characterize the period.

The display of Zheng's martial strength was effective until succession problems after Zhuang's death in 701 weakened the state.

In 692, there was a failed assassination attempt against King Zhuang, orchestrated by elements at court.

Hegemony of Qi (685–643)
The first hegemon was Duke Huan of Qi (r. 685–643). With the help of his prime minister, Guan Zhong, Duke Huan reformed Qi to centralize its power structure. The state consisted of 15 "townships" with the duke and two senior ministers each in charge of five; military functions were also united with civil ones. These and related reforms provided the state, already powerful from control of trade crossroads, with a greater ability to mobilize resources than the more loosely organized states.

By 667, Qi had clearly shown its economic and military predominance, and Duke Huan assembled the leaders of Lu, Song, Chen, and Zheng, who elected him as their leader. Soon after, King Hui of Zhou conferred the title of bà (hegemon), giving Duke Huan royal authority in military ventures. An important basis for justifying Qi's dominance over the other states was presented in the slogan 'Revere the King, Expel the Barbarians'. The role of subsequent hegemons would also be framed in this way: as the primary defender and supporter of nominal Zhou authority and the existing order. Using this authority, during the first eleven years of his hegemony, Duke Huan intervened in a power struggle in Lu; protected Yan from encroaching Western Rong nomads; drove off Northern Di nomads after their invasions of Wey and Xing, providing the people with provisions and protective garrison units; and led an alliance of eight states to conquer Cai and thereby block the northward expansion of Chu.

At his death in 643, five of Duke Huan's sons contended for the throne, badly weakening the state so that it was no longer regarded as the hegemon. For nearly ten years, no ruler held the title.

Hegemony of Song (643–637)
Duke Xiang of Song attempted to claim the hegemony in the wake of Qi's decline, perhaps driven by a desire to restore the Shang dynasty from which Song had descended. He hosted peace conferences in the same style as Qi had done, and conducted aggressive military campaigns against his rivals. Duke Xiang's ambitions met their end when, against the advice of his staff, he attacked the much larger state of Chu. The Song forces were defeated at the battle of Hong (泓) in 638, and the duke himself died in the following year from an injury sustained in the battle. After Xiang's death his successors adopted a more modest foreign policy, better suited to the country's small size.

As Duke Xiang was never officially recognized as hegemon by the King of Zhou, not all sources list him as one of the Five Hegemons.

Hegemony of Jin (636–628)
When Duke Wen of Jin came to power in 636 after extensive peregrinations in exile, he capitalized on the reforms of his father, Duke Xian (r. 676–651), who had centralized the state, killed off relatives who might threaten his authority, conquered sixteen smaller states, and even absorbed some Rong and Di peoples to make Jin much more powerful than it had been previously. When he assisted King Xiang in a succession struggle in 635, the king awarded Jin with strategically valuable territory near Chengzhou.

Duke Wen then used his growing power to coordinate a military response with Qi, Qin, and Song against Chu, which had begun encroaching northward after the death of Duke Huán of Qi. With a decisive Chu loss at the Battle of Chengpu in 632, Duke Wen's loyalty to the Zhou king was rewarded at an interstate conference when King Xīang awarded him the title of bà.

After the death of Duke Wen in 628, a growing tension manifested in interstate violence that turned smaller states, particularly those at the border between Jin and Chu, into sites of constant warfare; Qi and Qin also engaged in numerous interstate skirmishes with Jin or its allies to boost their own power.

Hegemony of Qin (628–621)
Duke Mu of Qin had ascended the throne in 659 and forged an alliance with Jin by marrying his daughter to Duke Wen. In 624, he established hegemony over the western Rong barbarians and became the most powerful lord of the time. However he did not chair any alliance with other states nor was he officially recognized as hegemon by the king. Therefore, not all sources accept him as one of the Five Hegemons.

Hegemony of Chu (613–591)
King Zhuang of Chu expanded the borders of Chu well north of the Yangtze River, threatening the Central States in modern Henan. At one point the Chu forces advanced to just outside the royal capital of Chengzhou, upon which King Zhuang sent a messenger to inquire into the heft and bulk of the Nine Cauldrons – the symbols of royal ritual authority – implying he might soon arrange to have them moved to his own capital. In the end the Zhou capital was spared, and Chu shifted focus to harassing the nearby state of Zheng. The once-hegemon state of Jin intervened to rescue Zheng from the Chu invaders but were resolutely defeated, which marks the ascension of Chu as the dominant state of the time.

Despite his de facto hegemony, King Zhuang's self-proclaimed title of "king" was never recognized by the Zhou states. In the Spring and Autumn Annals he is defiantly referred to as Zi (, ruler; unratified lord), even at a time when he dominated most of south China. Later historians however always include him as one of the Five Hegemons.

The Six Ministers (588)
In addition to interstate conflict, internal conflicts between state leaders and local aristocrats also occurred. Eventually the dukes of Lu, Jin, Zheng, Wey and Qi would all become figureheads to powerful aristocratic families.

In the case of Jin, the shift happened in 588 when the army was split into six independent divisions, each dominated by a separate noble family: Zhi (智), Zhao (趙), Han (韓), Wei (魏), Fan (范), and Zhonghang (中行). The heads of the six families were conferred the titles of viscounts and made ministers, each heading one of the six departments of Zhou dynasty government. From this point on, historians refer to "The Six Ministers" as the true power brokers of Jin.

The same happened to Lu in 562, when the Three Huan divided the army into three parts and established their own separate spheres of influence. The heads of the three families were always among the department heads of Lu.

Rise of Wu (584)
Wu was a state in modern Jiangsu outside the Zhou cultural sphere, considered "barbarian", where the inhabitants sported short hair and tattoos and spoke an unintelligible language. Although its ruling house claimed to be a senior lineage in the Ji ancestral temple, Wu did not participate in the politics and wars of China until the last third of the Spring and Autumn period.

Their first documented interaction with the Spring and Autumn states was in 584, when a Wu force attacked the small border state of Tan (郯) causing some alarm in the various Chinese courts. Jin was quick to dispatch an ambassador to the court of the Wu king, Shoumeng. Jin promised to supply Wu with modern military technology and training in exchange for an alliance against Chu, a neighbour of Wu and Jin's nemesis in the struggle for hegemony. King Shoumeng accepted the offer, and Wu would continue to harass Chu for years to come.

Attempts at peace (579)

After a period of increasingly exhausting warfare, Qi, Qin, Jin and Chu met at a disarmament conference in 579 and agreed to declare a truce to limit their military strength. This peace did not last very long and it soon became apparent that the bà role had become outdated; the four major states had each acquired their own spheres of control and the notion of protecting Zhou territory had become less cogent as the control over (and the resulting cultural assimilation of) non-Zhou peoples, as well as Chu's control of some Zhou areas, further blurred an already vague distinction between Zhou and non-Zhou.

In addition, new aristocratic houses were founded with loyalties to powerful states, rather than directly to the Zhou kings, though this process slowed down by the end of the seventh century, possibly because territory available for expansion had been largely exhausted. The Zhou kings had also lost much of their prestige so that, when Duke Dao of Jin (r. 572–558) was recognized as bà, it carried much less meaning than it had before.

Hegemony of Wu (506–496)
In 506, King Helü ascended the throne of Wu. With the help of Wu Zixu and Sun Tzu, the author of The Art of War, he launched major offensives against the state of Chu. They prevailed in five battles, one of which was the Battle of Boju, and conquered the capital Ying. However, Chu managed to ask the state of Qin for help, and after being defeated by Qin, the vanguard general of Wu troops, Fugai, a younger brother of Helü, led a rebellion. After beating Fugai, Helü was forced to leave Chu. Fugai later retired to Chu and settled there. King Helü died during an invasion of Yue in 496. Some sources list him as one of the Five Hegemons.

He was succeeded by his son King Fuchai of Wu, who nearly destroyed the Yue state, imprisoning King Goujian of Yue. Subsequently, Fuchai defeated Qi and extended Wu influence into central China.

In 499, the philosopher Confucius was made acting prime minister of Lu. He is traditionally (if improbably) considered the author or editor of the Spring and Autumn annals, from which much of the information for this period is drawn. After only two years he was forced to resign and spent many years wandering between different states before returning to Lu. After returning to Lu he did not resume a political career, preferring to teach. Tradition holds that it was in this time he edited or wrote the Five Classics, including the Spring and Autumn Annals.

Hegemony of Yue (496–465)
In 482, King Fuchai of Wu held an interstate conference to solidify his power base, but Yue captured the Wu capital. Fuchai rushed back but was besieged and died when the city fell in 473. Yue then concentrated on weaker neighbouring states, rather than the great powers to the north. With help from Wu's enemy Chu, Yue was able to be victorious after several decades of conflict. King Goujian destroyed and annexed Wu in 473, after which he was recognized as hegemon.

The Zuozhuan, Guoyu, and Shiji provide almost no information about Goujian's subsequent reign or policies. What little is said is told from the perspective of other states, such as Duke Ai of Lu trying to enlist Yue's help in a coup against the Three Huan. Sima Qian notes that Goujian reigned on until his death, and that afterwards his descendants—for whom no biographical information is given—continued to rule for six generations before the state was finally absorbed into Chu during the Warring States period.

Partition of Jin
After the great age of Jin power, the Jin rulers began to lose authority over their ministerial lineages. A full-scale civil war between 497 and 453 ended with the elimination of most noble lines; the remaining aristocratic families divided Jin into three successor states: Han, Wei, and Zhao. This is the last event recorded in the Zuozhuan.

With the absorption of most of the smaller states in the era, this partitioning left seven major states in the Zhou world: the three fragments of Jin, the three remaining great powers of Qin, Chu and Qi, and the weaker state of Yan near modern Beijing. The partition of Jin, along with the Usurpation of Qi by Tian, marks the beginning of the Warring States period.

Interstate relations
Ancient sources such as the Zuo Zhuan and the eponymous Chunqiu record the various diplomatic activities, such as court visits paid by one ruler to another, meetings of officials or nobles of different states , missions of friendly inquiries sent by the ruler of one state to another , emissaries sent from one state to another , and hunting parties attended by representatives of different states.

Because of Chu's non-Zhou origin, the state was considered semi-barbarian and its rulers—beginning with King Wu in 704 BCE—proclaimed themselves kings in their own right. Chu intrusion into Zhou territory was checked several times by the other states, particularly in the major battles of Chengpu (632 BCE), Bi (595 BCE) and Yanling (575 BCE), which restored the states of Chen and Cai.

Literature
Some version of the Five Classics existed in Spring and Autumn period, as characters in the Zuozhuan and Analects frequently quote the Book of Poetry and Book of Documents. On the other hand, the Zuozhuan depicts some characters actually composing poems that would later be included in the received text of the Book of Poetry. In the Analects there are frequent references to "The Rites", but as Classical Chinese does not employ punctuation or any markup to distinguish book titles from regular nouns it is not possible to know if what is meant is the Etiquette and Ceremonial (known then as the Book of Rites) or just the concept of ritual in general. On the other hand, the existence of the Book of Changes is well-attested in the Zuozhuan, as multiple characters use it for divination and accurately quote the received text.

Sima Qian claims that it was Confucius who, towards the close of the Spring and Autumn period, edited the received versions of the Book of Poetry, Book of Documents, and Book of Rites; wrote the "Ten Wings" commentary on the Book of Changes; and wrote the entirety of the Spring and Autumn Annals. This was long the predominant opinion in China, but modern scholarship considers it unlikely that all five classics could be the product of one man. The transmitted versions of these works all derive from the versions edited by Liu Xin in the century following Sima Qian.

While many philosophers such as Lao Tzu and Sun Tzu were active in the Spring and Autumn period, their ideas were probably not put into writing until the following Warring States period.

Aristocracy
While the aristocracy of the Western Zhou frequently interacted via the medium of the royal court, the collapse of central power at the end of the first half of the dynasty left in its wake hundreds of autonomous polities varying drastically in size and resources, nominally connected by bonds of cultural and ritual affiliation increasingly attenuated by the passage of time. Whole lineage groups moved around under socioeconomic stress, border groups not associated with the Zhou culture gained in power and sophistication, and the geopolitical situation demanded increased contact and communication.

Under this new regime, an emergent systematization of noble ranks took root. Where the Western Zhou had concerned itself with politics, the ancestral temples, and legitimacy, in the Eastern Zhou politics came to the fore. Titles which had previously reflected lineage seniority took on purely political meanings. At the top of the bunch were Gong and Hou, favoured lineages of old with generally larger territories and greater resources and prestige at their disposal. The majority of rulers were of the middling but tiered grades Bo and Zi. The rulers of two polities maintained the title Nan. A 2012 survey found no difference in grade between Gong and Hou, or between Zi and Nan. Meanwhile, a new class of lower-tier aristocrats formed: the Shi, gentlemen too distantly related to the great houses to be born into a life of wielding power, but still part of the elite culture, aiming at upward social mobility, typically through the vector of officialdom.

One individual well attested in the process of fixing the ranks of rulers into a coherent scheme was Zichan of Zheng, who both submitted a memorial to the king of Chu informing him of the proposed new system in 538 BCE, and argued at a 529 BCE interstate conference that tributes should be graded based on rank, given the disparity in available resources.

Alongside this development, there was precedent of Zhou kings "upgrading" noble ranks as a reward for service to the throne, giving the recipients a bit more diplomatic prestige without costing the royal house any land. During the decline of the royal house, although real power was wrested from their grasp, their divine legitimacy was not brought into question, and even with the king reduced to something of a figurehead, his prestige remained supreme as Heaven's eldest son.

Archaeologically excavated primary sources and received literature agree to a high degree of systematization and stability in noble titles during the Eastern Zhou, indicating an actual historical process. A 2007 survey of bronze inscriptions from 31 states found only eight polities whose rulers used varying titles of nobility to describe themselves.

Important figures

The Five Hegemons (春秋五霸): With the royal house of Zhou lacking the military strength to defend itself, and with the various states experiencing tension and conflict, certain very powerful lords took the position of hegemon, ostensibly to uphold the house of Zhou and maintain the peace to the degree possible. They paid tribute to the royal court, and were owed tribute by the other rulers. Traditional history lists five hegemons during the Spring and Autumn period:
 * Duke Huan of Qi (r. 685–643 BCE)
 * Duke Xiang of Song (r. 650–637 BCE)
 * Duke Wen of Jin (r. 636–628 BCE)
 * Duke Mu of Qin (r. 659–621 BCE)
 * King Zhuang of Chu (r. 613–591 BCE)

Alternatively:
 * Duke Huan of Qi (r. 685–643 BCE)
 * Duke Wen of Jin (r. 636–628 BCE)
 * King Zhuang of Chu (r. 613–591 BCE)
 * King Fuchai of Wu (r. 495–473 BCE)
 * King Goujian of Yue (r. 496–465 BCE)

Bureaucrats or Officers
 * Guan Zhong, advisor of Duke Huan of Qi
 * Baili Xi, prime minister of Qin
 * Wu Zixu, Duke of Shen, important adviser of King Helü, early culture hero, sometimes considered "the single best recorded individual in the history of the Spring and Autumn period"
 * Bo Pi, bureaucrat under King Helü who played an important diplomatic role in Wu–Yue relations
 * Wen Zhong, advisor of King Goujian of Yue in his war against Wu
 * Fan Li, another advisor to Goujian, also renowned for his incredible business acumen
 * Zichan, leader of self-strengthening movements in Zheng
 * Yan Ying or Yanzi, central figure of the Yanzi Chunqiu

Influential scholars
 * Confucius or Kongzi, leading figure in Confucianism
 * Lao-tse or Laozi, teacher of Taoism
 * Mo Di, Mozi, or Mo-tse, founder of Mohism
 * Sun Tzu or Sunzi, author of The Art of War

Other people
 * Lu Ban, master builder
 * Yao Li, sent by King Helü to kill Qing Ji
 * Zhuan Zhu, sent by Helü to kill his cousin King Liao
 * Bo Ya, outstanding musician
 * Ou Yezi, swordsmaker

List of states
The Liji claims that the Eastern Zhou was divided into 1773 states, of which 148 are known by name.

title: Spring and Autumn period


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LL Cool J

James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip hop acts Beastie Boys and Run-DMC.

Signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1984, LL Cool J's breakthrough came with his single "I Need a Beat" and his landmark debut album, Radio (1985). He achieved further commercial and critical success with the albums Bigger and Deffer (1987), Walking with a Panther (1989), Mama Said Knock You Out (1990), Mr. Smith (1995), and Phenomenon (1997). His twelfth album, Exit 13 (2008), was his last in his long-tenured deal with Def Jam.

LL Cool J has appeared in numerous films, including Halloween H20, In Too Deep, Any Given Sunday, Deep Blue Sea, S.W.A.T., Mindhunters, Last Holiday, and Edison. He played NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna in the CBS crime drama television series NCIS: Los Angeles. LL Cool J was also the host of Lip Sync Battle on Paramount Network.

A two-time Grammy Award winner, LL Cool J is known for hip hop songs such as "Going Back to Cali", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin' System", "Rock the Bells", and "Mama Said Knock You Out", as well as R&B hits such as "Doin' It", "I Need Love", "Around the Way Girl" and "Hey Lover". In 2010, VH1 placed him on their "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time" list. In 2017, LL Cool J became the first rapper to receive the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2021, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with an award for Musical Excellence.

Early life and family
James Todd Smith was born on January 14, 1968, in Bay Shore, on Long Island, New York to Ondrea Griffith (born January 19, 1946) and James Louis Smith Jr, also known as James Nunya. According to the Chicago Tribune, "[As] a kid growing up middle class and Catholic in Queens, life for Smith was heart-breaking. His father shot his mother and grandfather, nearly killing them both. When 4-year-old Smith found them, blood was everywhere." In 1972, Smith and his mother moved into his grandparents' home in St. Albans, Queens, where he was raised. He suffered physical and mental abuse from his mother's ex-boyfriend Roscoe.

Smith began rapping at the age of 10, influenced by the hip-hop group The Treacherous Three. In 1984, sixteen-year-old Smith was creating demo tapes in his grandparents' home. His grandfather, a jazz saxophonist, bought him $2,000 worth of equipment, including two turntables, an audio mixer and an amplifier. During this time, Smith reconciled with his father who "made amends for a lot of things" by offering him guidance at the start of his music career. His mother was also supportive of his musical endeavors, using her tax refund to buy him a Korg drum machine. Smith has stated that by the time he received musical equipment from his relatives, he "was already a rapper. In this neighborhood, the kids grow up in rap. It's like speaking Spanish if you grow up in an all-Spanish house." This was at the same time that NYU student Rick Rubin and promoter-manager Russell Simmons founded the then-independent Def Jam label. By using the mixer he had received from his grandfather, Smith produced and mixed his own demos and sent them to various record companies throughout New York City, including Def Jam.

Musical career
In the VH1 documentary Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation, Smith revealed that he initially called himself J-Ski, but did not want to associate his stage name with the cocaine culture (The rappers who use "Ski" or "Blow" as part of their stage name, e.g., Kurtis Blow and Joeski Love, were associated with the rise of the cocaine culture, as depicted in the 1983 remake of Scarface.) Under his new stage name LL Cool J (an abbreviation for Ladies Love Cool James), coined by his friend and fellow rapper Mikey D, Smith was signed by Def Jam, which led to the release of his first official record, the 12-inch single "I Need a Beat" (1984). The single was a hard-hitting, streetwise b-boy song with spare beats and ballistic rhymes. Smith later discussed his search for a label, stating "I sent my demo to many different companies, but it was Def Jam where I found my home." That same year, Smith made his professional debut concert performance at Manhattan Center High School. In a later interview, LL Cool J recalled the experience, stating "They pushed the lunch room tables together and me and my DJ, Cut Creator, started playing. ... As soon as it was over there were girls screaming and asking for autographs. Right then and there I said 'This is what I want to do'." LL's debut single sold over 100,000 copies and helped establish both Def Jam as a label and Smith as a rapper. The commercial success of "I Need a Beat", along with the Beastie Boys' single "Rock Hard" (1984), helped lead Def Jam to a distribution deal with Columbia Records the following year.

1985–1987: Radio
Radio was released to critical acclaim, both for production innovation and LL's powerful rap. Released November 18, 1985, on Def Jam Recordings in the United States, Radio earned a significant amount of commercial success and sales for a hip hop record at the time. Shortly after its release, the album sold over 500,000 copies in its first five months, eventually selling over 1 million copies by 1988, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Radio peaked at number 6 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at number 46 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It entered the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart on December 28, 1985, and remained there for 47 weeks, while also entering the Pop Albums chart on January 11, 1986, remaining on that chart for thirty-eight weeks. By 1989, the album had earned platinum status from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with sales exceeding one million copies; it had previously earned a gold certification in the United States on April 14, 1986. "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and "Rock the Bells" were singles that helped the album go platinum. It eventually reached 1,500,000 copies sold in the US.

With the breakthrough success of his hit single "I Need a Beat" and the Radio LP, LL Cool J became one of the early hip-hop acts to achieve mainstream success along with Kurtis Blow and Run-D.M.C. Gigs at larger venues were offered to LL as he would join the 1986–'87 Raising Hell tour, opening for Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys. Another milestone of LL's popularity was his appearance on American Bandstand as the first hip hop act on the show, as well as an appearance on Diana Ross' 1987 television special, Red Hot Rhythm & Blues.

The album's success also helped in contributing to Rick Rubin's credibility and repertoire as a record producer. Radio, along with Raising Hell (1986) and Licensed to Ill (1986), would form a trilogy of New York City-based, Rubin-helmed albums that helped to diversify hip-hop. Rubin's production credit on the back cover reads "REDUCED BY RICK RUBIN", referring to his minimalist production style, which gave the album its stripped-down and gritty sound. This style would serve as one of Rubin's production trademarks and would have a great impact on future hip-hop productions. Rubin's early hip hop production work, before his exit from Def Jam to Los Angeles, helped solidify his legacy as a hip hop pioneer and establish his reputation in the music industry.

1987–1993: Breakthrough and success
LL Cool J's second album was 1987's Bigger and Deffer, which was produced by DJ Pooh and the L.A. Posse. This stands as one of his biggest-selling career albums, having sold in excess of two million copies in the United States alone. It spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's R&B albums chart. It also reached No. 3 on the Billboard's Pop albums chart. The album featured the singles "I'm Bad", the revolutionary "I Need Love" – LL's first #1 R&B and Top 40 hit, "Kanday", "Bristol Hotel", and "Go Cut Creator Go". While Bigger and Deffer, which was a big success, was produced by the L.A. Posse (at the time consisting of Dwayne Simon, Darryl Pierce and, according to himself the most important for crafting the sound of the LP, Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin), Dwayne Simon was the only one left willing to work on producing LL Cool J's third album Walking with a Panther. Released in 1989, the album was a commercial success, with several charting singles ("Going Back to Cali", which had originally been released on the 1987 movie soundtrack Less than Zero, "I'm That Type of Guy", "Big Ole Butt", and "One Shot at Love"). Despite commercial appeal, the album was often criticized by the hip-hop community as being too commercial and materialistic, and for focusing too much on love ballads. As a result, his audience base began to decline due to the album's bold commercial and pop aspirations. According to Billboard, the album peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and was LL Cool J's second #1 R&B Album where it spent five weeks.

In 1990, LL released Mama Said Knock You Out, his fourth studio album. The Marley Marl produced album received critical acclaim and eventually went double Platinum, selling over two million copies according to the RIAA. Mama Said Knock You Out marked a turning point in LL Cool J's career, as he proved to critics his ability to stay relevant and hard-edged despite the misgivings of his previous album. LL won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1992 for the title track. The album's immense success propelled Mama Said Knock You Out to be LL's top selling album of his career (as of 2002) and solidified his status as a hip-hop icon. During this time, LL also recorded a rap solo for Michael Jackson's demo of a song called "Serious Effect" which remains unreleased, but was later leaked online.

1993–2005: Continued success and career prominence
After acting in The Hard Way and Toys, LL Cool J released 14 Shots to the Dome in March 1993. The album had four singles ("How I'm Comin'", "Back Seat (of My Jeep)", "Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings", "Stand By Your Man") and guest-featured Lords of the Underground on "NFA-No Frontin' Allowed". That June, the album went gold.

LL Cool J starred in In the House, an NBC sitcom, before releasing his album Mr. Smith (1995), which went on to sell over two million copies. Its singles included "Hey Lover", "Doin' It" and "Loungin". "Hey Lover", featured Boyz II Men, and sampled Michael Jackson's "The Lady in My Life". The song also earned him a Grammy Award. Another song from the album, "I Shot Ya Remix", included debut vocal work by Foxy Brown. In 1996, Def Jam released this "greatest hits" package, offering a good summary of Cool J's career, from the relentless minimalism of early hits such as "Rock the Bells" to the smooth-talking braggadocio that followed. Classic albums including Bigger and Deffer and Mama Said Knock You Out are well represented here. In December 1996, his loose cover of the Rufus and Chaka Khan song "Ain't Nobody" was included on the Beavis and Butt-Head Do America soundtrack & released as a single. LL Cool J's interpretation of "Ain't Nobody" was particularly successful in the United Kingdom, where it topped the UK Singles Chart in early-1997. Later that same year, he released the album Phenomenon. The singles included "Phenomenon" and "Father". The official second single from Phenomenon was "4, 3, 2, 1", which featured Method Man, Redman & Master P and introduced DMX and Canibus.

In 2000, LL Cool J released the album G.O.A.T., which stood for the "Greatest of All Time." It debuted at number one on the Billboard album charts, and went platinum. LL Cool J thanked Canibus in the liner notes of the album, "for the inspiration". LL Cool J's next album 10 from 2002, was his ninth studio (10th overall including his greatest hits compilation All World), and included the singles "Paradise" (featuring Amerie), and the number 1 R&B hit "Luv U Better", produced by the Neptunes. Later pressings of the album added the 2003 Jennifer Lopez duet, "All I Have". The album reached platinum status. LL Cool J's tenth album The DEFinition was released on August 31, 2004. The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard charts. Production came from Timbaland, 7 Aurelius, R. Kelly, and others. The lead single was the Timbaland-produced "Headsprung", which peaked at No. 7 on the Hip-Hop and R&B singles chart, and No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single was the 7 Aurelius–produced, "Hush", which peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hip-Hop and R&B chart and No. 26 on the Hot 100.

2006–2012: Exit 13 and touring
LL Cool J's 11th album, Todd Smith, was released on April 11, 2006. It includes collaborations with 112, Ginuwine, Juelz Santana, Teairra Mari and Freeway. The first single was the Jermaine Dupri-produced "Control Myself" featuring Jennifer Lopez. They shot the video for "Control Myself" on January 2, 2006, at Sony Studios, New York. The second video, directed by Hype Williams, was "Freeze" featuring Lyfe Jennings.

In July 2006, LL Cool J announced details about his final album with Def Jam Recordings, the only label he has ever been signed to. The album is titled Exit 13. The album was originally scheduled to be executively produced by fellow Queens rapper 50 Cent. Exit 13 was originally slated for a fall 2006 release, however, after a 2-year delay, it was released on September 9, 2008, without 50 Cent as the executive producer. Tracks that the two worked on were leaked to the internet and some of the tracks produced with 50 made it to Exit 13. LL Cool J partnered with DJ Kay Slay to release a mixtape called "The Return of the G.O.A.T.". It was the first mixtape of his 24-year career and includes freestyling by LL Cool J in addition to other rappers giving their renditions of his songs. A track titled "Hi Haterz" was leaked onto the internet on June 1, 2008. The song contains LL Cool J rapping over the instrumental to Maino's "Hi Hater". He toured with Janet Jackson on her Rock Witchu tour, only playing in Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, and Kansas City.

In September 2009, LL Cool J released a song about the NCIS TV series. It is a single and is available on iTunes. The new track is based on his experiences playing special agent Sam Hanna. "This song is the musical interpretation of what I felt after meeting with NCIS agents, experienced Marines and Navy SEALs," LL Cool J said. "It represents the collective energy in the room. I was so inspired I wrote the song on set."

At South by Southwest in March 2011, LL Cool J was revealed to be Z-Trip's special guest at the Red Bull Thre3Style showcase. This marked the beginning of a creative collaboration between the rap and DJ superstars. The two took part in an interview with Carson Daly where they discussed their partnership. Both artists have promised future collaborations down the road, with LL Cool J calling the duo "organic" One early track to feature LL's talents was Z-Trip's remix of British rock act Kasabian's single "Days Are Forgotten", which was named by influential DJ Zane Lowe as his "Hottest Record In The World" and received a favorable reception in both Belgium and the United Kingdom. In January 2012, the pair released the track "Super Baller" as a free download to celebrate the New York Giants Super Bowl victory. The two have been touring together since 2011, with future dates planned through 2012 and beyond.

2012–2023: Authentic, G.O.A.T. 2 and future projects
On October 6, 2012, LL Cool J released "Ratchet", a new single from his upcoming album titled Authentic Hip-Hop. Following that, on November 3, 2012, LL collaborated with Joe and the production duo Trackmasters on his second single, "Take It".

On February 8, 2013, it was announced that the title of LL's upcoming album would be changed from Authentic Hip-Hop to Authentic, with a new release date of April 30, 2013. A new cover was also unveiled. At around the same time, it was announced that LL Cool J had collaborated with Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen on two tracks on the album.

On October 16, 2013, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced LL Cool J as a nominee for inclusion in 2014. In October 2014, LL announced that his 14th studio album would be called G.O.A.T. 2 and would be released in 2015. LL stated that "the concept behind the album was to give upcoming artists an opportunity to shine, and put myself in the position where I have to spit bars with some of the hardest rhymers in the game"; however, the album was put on hold. LL Cool J explained the reason for it, saying, "It was good but I didn't feel like it was ready yet."

On January 21, 2016, LL received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In March 2016, LL announced his retirement on social media, but quickly walked back his announcement and indicated that a new album was on the way. LL hosted the Grammy Awards Show for five consecutive years, from the 54th Grammy Awards on February 12, 2012, through the 58th Grammy Awards on February 15, 2016.

In October 2018, LL Cool J was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In September 2019, it was announced that LL had re-signed to Def Jam for future album releases. His upcoming album will be produced by Q-Tip.

On December 29, 2021, LL Cool J canceled his performance at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2022 after testing positive for COVID-19.

LL hosted the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 22, 2022.

2024–present: The FORCE
On June 14, 2024, LL Cool J released the single "Saturday Night Special", featuring rappers Rick Ross and Fat Joe; the single marks LL Cool J's first single as a lead artist in eight years and serves as the lead single from his fourteenth studio album, The FORCE. The album is scheduled to be released on September 6, 2024 under Def Jam Recordings, his first under the label since 2008's Exit 13, but instead of parent company Universal Music Group, will be distributed by Def Jam and UMG's sister counterpart Virgin Music Group.

Acting career
While LL Cool J first appeared as a rapper in the movie Krush Groove (performing "I Can't Live Without My Radio"), his first acting part was a small role in a high school football movie called Wildcats. He landed the role of Captain Patrick Zevo in Barry Levinson's 1992 film Toys. From 1995 to 1999, he starred in his own television sitcom In the House. He portrayed an ex-Oakland Raiders running back who finds himself in financial difficulties and is forced to rent part of his home out to a single mother and her two children, one of whom moves out with her before the third season.

In 1998, LL Cool J played security guard Ronny in Halloween H20, the seventh movie in the Halloween franchise. In 1999, he co-starred as Preacher, the chef in the Renny Harlin horror/comedy Deep Blue Sea. He received positive reviews for his role as Dwayne Gittens, an underworld boss nicknamed "God", in In Too Deep. Later that year, he starred as Julian Washington—a talented but selfish running back on fictional professional football team the Miami Sharks—in Oliver Stone's drama Any Given Sunday. He and co-star Jamie Foxx allegedly got into a real fistfight while filming a fight scene. During the next two years, LL Cool J appeared in Rollerball, Deliver Us from Eva, S.W.A.T., and Mindhunters.

In 2005, he returned to television in a guest-starring role on the Fox medical drama House; he portrayed a death row inmate felled by an unknown disease in an episode titled "Acceptance". He appeared as Queen Latifah's love interest in the 2006 movie Last Holiday. He also guest-starred on 30 Rock in the 2007 episode "The Source Awards", portraying a hip-hop producer called Ridikulous who Tracy Jordan fears may kill him. LL Cool J appeared in Sesame Street's 39th season, introducing the word of the day--"Unanimous"—in episode 4169 (September 22, 2008) and performing "The Addition Expedition" in episode 4172 (September 30, 2008).

In 2009, he began starring on the CBS police procedural NCIS: Los Angeles. The show ran for 14 seasons and is a spin-off of NCIS, which itself is a spin-off of the naval legal drama JAG. LL Cool J portrayed NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna, an ex–Navy SEAL who is fluent in Arabic and is an expert on West Asian culture. The series debuted in autumn of 2009, but the characters were introduced in an April 2009 crossover episode on the parent show. In 2013, LL received a Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor: Action for his work on the program. In May 2023, following the series finale of NCIS: Los Angeles, it was announced that LL would reprise the role of Sam Hanna as a recurring guest star in the third season of NCIS: Hawaiʻi.

In December 2013, LL co-starred as a gym owner in the sports dramedy Grudge Match. From 2015 to 2019, LL hosted the show Lip Sync Battle. He was also cast to play Beth's father in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, as shown in a trailer for the film, but his scenes were cut from the final product.

Other ventures
LL Cool J worked behind the scenes with the mid-1980s hip-hop sportswear line TROOP. He also launched a clothing line (called "Todd Smith"). The brand produced popular urban apparel. Designs included influences from LL's lyrics and tattoos, as well as from other icons in the hip-hop community. LL Cool J has written four books, including I Make My Own Rules, (1997), an autobiography cowritten with Karen Hunter. His second book was the children-oriented book called And The Winner Is... published in 2002. In 2006, LL Cool J and his personal trainer, Dave "Scooter" Honig, wrote a fitness book titled The Platinum Workout. His fourth book, LL Cool J (Hip-Hop Stars) was cowritten in 2007 with hip-hop historian Dustin Shekell and Public Enemy's Chuck D.

Throughout his career, LL Cool J has started several businesses in the music industry. In 1993, he founded a music label called P.O.G. (Power Of God) and formed the company Rock The Bells to produce music. On his Rock The Bells label, he had artists such as AMyth, Smokeman, Natice, Chantel Jones and Simone Starks. Additionally, Rock the Bells Records was responsible for the Deep Blue Sea soundtrack, which helped to promote the 1999 movie of the same name. Rufus "Scola" Waller also signed to the label, but was ultimately released when the label folded. LL Cool J founded and launched Boomdizzle.com, a record label / social networking site, in September 2008. The website was designed to accept music uploads from aspiring artists, primarily from the hip-hop genre, and allow the site's users to rate songs through contests, voting, and other community events.

In March 2015, LL Cool J appeared in an introduction to WrestleMania 31.

Influence and honors
Radio's release coincided with the growing new school scene and subculture, which also marked the beginning of hip-hop's "golden age" and the replacement of old school hip hop. This period of hip hop was marked by the end of the disco rap stylings of old school, which had flourished prior to the mid-1980s, and the rise of a new style featuring "ghetto blasters". Radio served as one of the earliest records, along with Run-D.M.C.'s debut album, to combine the vocal approach of hip hop and rapping with the musical arrangements and riffing sound of rock music, pioneering the rap rock hybrid sound.

The emerging new-school scene was initially characterized by drum machine-led minimalism, often tinged with elements of rock, as well as boasts about rapping delivered in an aggressive, self-assertive style. In image as in song, the artists projected a tough, cool, street b-boy attitude. These elements contrasted sharply with the 1970s P-Funk and disco-influenced outfits, live bands, synthesizers and party rhymes of acts prevalent in 1984, rendering them old school. In contrast to the lengthy, jam-like form predominant throughout early hip hop ("King Tim III", "Rapper's Delight", "The Breaks"), new-school artists tended to compose shorter songs that would be more accessible and had potential for radio play, and conceived more cohesive LPs than their old-school counterparts; the style typified by LL Cool J's Radio. A leading example of the new school sound is the song "I Can't Live Without My Radio", a loud, defiant declaration of public loyalty to his boom box, which The New York Times described as "quintessential rap in its directness, immediacy and assertion of self". It was featured in the film Krush Groove (1985), which was based on the rise of Def Jam and new school acts such as Run-D.M.C. and the Fat Boys.

The energy and hardcore delivery and musical style of rapping featured on Radio, as well as other new-school recordings by artists such as Run-D.M.C., Schooly D, T La Rock and Steady B, proved to be influential to hip-hop acts of the "golden age" such as Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy. The decline of the old-school form of hip hop also led to the closing of Sugar Hill Records, one of the labels that helped contribute to early hip hop and that, coincidentally, rejected LL's demo tape. As the album served as an example of an expansion of hip-hop music's artistic possibilities, its commercial success and distinct sound soon led to an increase in multi-racial audiences and listeners, adding to the legacy of the album and hip hop as well.

In 2017, LL Cool J became the first rapper to receive Kennedy Center Honors.

In 2021, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with an award for Musical Excellence.

Relationships
Smith dated Kidada Jones, daughter of producer Quincy Jones, from 1992 to 1994.

Marriage
He married Simone Johnson in 1995. The couple met in 1987 and have four children.

Simone Johnson-Smith was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma, a third-stage bone cancer, and was later cancer-free as of 2004. She became an entrepreneur, launching a jewelry line in 2011, before becoming a born-again Christian.

Smith is credited for introducing his wife to singer and close friend, Mary J. Blige, in 2005 and inspiring their friendship; both women launched another jewelry line, Sister Love, in late 2020 after announcing it two years prior.

In 2023, the couple co-founded a jewelry line for men, Majesty.

Ancestry
In an episode of Finding Your Roots, Smith learned that his mother was adopted by Eugene Griffith and Ellen Hightower. The series' genetic genealogist CeCe Moore identified Smith's biological grandparents as Ethel Mae Jolly and Nathaniel Christy Lewis through analysis of his DNA. Smith's biological great-uncle was Hall of Fame boxer John Henry Lewis.

Political involvement
In 2002, LL Cool J supported George Pataki's bid for a third term as Governor of New York. In 2003, LL Cool J spoke at a U.S. Senate Committee hearing on the RIAA lawsuits against Americans distributing or downloading copyrighted music over peer-to-peer networks. He appeared to endorse the RIAA's position, claiming illegal file sharing was hurting his sales and that his session musicians "can't live" due to the lost income. Chuck D provided an opposing viewpoint, saying free file-sharing could be leveraged as a promotional tool and the industry was being overprotective of its copyright. LL also voiced his support for New York State Senator Malcolm Smith, a Democrat, during an appearance on the senator's local television show; LL worked with Smith in putting on the annual Jump and Ball Tournament in the rapper's childhood neighborhood of St. Albans, Queens. In a February 10, 2012 televised interview with CNN host Piers Morgan, LL Cool J expressed sympathy for President Barack Obama and ascribed negative impressions of his leadership to Republican obstruction designed to "make it look like you have a coordination problem." He was quick to add that no one "should assume that I'm a Democrat either. I'm an independent, you know?" In his 2010 book LL Cool J's Platinum 360 Diet and Lifestyle, he included Obama in a list of people he admired, stating that the then-president had "accomplished what people thought was impossible."

Philanthropy
LL Cool J has his own charitable foundation called Jump & Ball, which is based in his hometown of Queens, New York, and offers an athletic and team-building program for young people. He is also involved in many charitable causes for literacy, music, and arts programs for kids and schools.

Discography

 * Studio albums
 * Radio (1985)
 * Bigger and Deffer (1987)
 * Walking with a Panther (1989)
 * Mama Said Knock You Out (1990)
 * 14 Shots to the Dome (1993)
 * Mr. Smith (1995)
 * Phenomenon (1997)
 * G.O.A.T. (2000)
 * 10 (2002)
 * The DEFinition (2004)
 * Todd Smith (2006)
 * Exit 13 (2008)
 * Authentic (2013)
 * The FORCE (2024)

Other honors and awards

 * 1988 – Enstooled as Kwasi Achi-Bru, a chieftain of the Akan people, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
 * 1991 – Billboard Top Rap Singles Artist
 * 1997 – Patrick Lippert Award, Rock The Vote
 * 2003 – Source Foundation Image Award, for "his community work"
 * 2007 – Long Island Music Hall of Fame, Inducted as part of the Inaugural Class of Inductees for his contribution to Long Island's rich musical heritage
 * 2011 – BET Hip Hop Awards, Honored with the I Am Hip Hop Award for his contributions to hip-hop culture
 * 2013 – A New York City double decker tour bus was dedicated to LL Cool J and his life's work
 * 2014 – Honorary Doctor of Arts, Northeastern University, for his contributions to hip-hop culture
 * 2016 – LL Cool J was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
 * 2017 – first hip hop artist to receive a Kennedy Center Honor
 * LL Cool J has been nominated six times for induction into The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. He has been nominated in 2010, 2011, 2014, 2018, 2019, and 2021 as a performer. In 2021, He was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with an award for Musical Excellence.
 * 2022 – Honored with the Key of the City of New York in the Queens borough

title: LL Cool J


text:
Talk:Spring and Autumn period

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Tonyaddiaz.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 10:04, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Initial talk
Lauren OK, what is the Spring and Autumn Period? Context is needed. --mav

Com'on, this is a HUGH topic and has been researched worldwide for centuries. It takes time to just write a good prose and I am searching on web at the meantime. You can contribute something too. BTW sometimes you need to give people space of freedom. I am very sure your intention is good because you care about this project so much (otherwise you won't be a Wikipediholic). Have fun !!! User:kt2

 * I'm just asking for at least a one sentence definition. I know very little about this area of history but you could come-up w Insert non-formatted text here ith a one sentence definition in less than 30 seconds I suppose. --mav

Strike-through text 888
 * Echo Mav Mintguy

 * Ok, I'll start something from scratch as I can't find anything in public domain (at least for now). You could have mentioned it before if you are just asking for a brief intro. I thought you want something detail because of your serious intention on articles. User:kt2

 * Opps! Sorry about that. I don't expect complete articles on the first version - like Athena springing forth fully grown and clad in armor from Zeus's head. :) --mav

 * Hope you don't have a hard feeling. Maybe I'm just too defensive on my subject of interest. -- kt2

I'm reverting this to save the discussion. At the worst, what we have is a case of a valuable contributor making a minor lapse. (As if I haven't made the same mistake.) At best, we have a reminder to everyone to write articles as if readers don't know anything about the topic. -- llywrch 04:53 Mar 18, 2003 (UTC)

It is doubtful that Han Chinese or even Chinese exist during this period. But I don't know if we have a better English term to use! -- Wshun

What are Chinese if they are not Han? The idea of Chineseness is disputed and of a political order. However, it is really important? I reckon that some determinism is necessary to allow the reader some knowlegde on the Spring and Autumn Period - debating the truth of being Chinese or not, is therefore perhaps not relevant. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Marenqo01 (talk • contribs) 19:38, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

The slow crumbling of nobility resulted in widespread literacy; increasing literacy encouraged freedom of thought and technological advancement. This era is followed by the Warring States Period.
 * I think this article needs more info in this direction; currently, its mostly about politics and war.--Confuzion 13:52, 23 Sep 2004 (UTC)

capitalization
Is it "Spring...Period" or "Spring...period"? Isn't this a parallel of the dynasty capitalization in "the Han Dynasty"? --Menchi 03:48, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I've moved the page back pending a reason for moving it. This is really sitting-on-the fence and could probably go either way. Since we've had it here for so long I think we should stay put. --Jiang 04:29, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC)

The number of Chinese states
I've noticed the following addition to the article:
 * This period was filled with battles and annexation of some 170 smaller states.

At best I can only come up with the names of a dozen states that existed during this period; I'm a little surprised that there were that many which left a clear record of their existence. Is this a hard & fast fact? Is there a source for this figure? -- llywrch 17:57, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)

'sacked'
I think someone should find a better word than 'sacked', no?

If 'sacked' is used in the context of a military action, it is perfectly acceptable. If the meaning is 'fired', then it is too casual.--Baoluo 08:28, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Clarification please
Doesn't seem like any work is being done on this topic any more, but if anyone is listening, could you please clarify this sentence for me: "The newly powerful states were more eager to maintain aristocratic privileges over the traditional ideology of supporting the weak ruling entity during times of unrest (匡扶社稷 kuāng fú shè jì), which was to be widely propagated during imperial China to consolidate power into the ruling family."

I don't know if it is the punctuation or if someone lost the handle of what they were saying, but it makes no sense to me at all.

Tre.fire (talk) 10:23, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

End of China's Feudal Period
The second sentence of the second paragraph states that the Qin dynasty brought the end of China's feudal period. This statement needs clarification or correction; feudalism is characterised by hierarchical social structure, loyalty to a lord, fealty, and a particular economic structure in which land is privately held but rented to laborers. By this definition, China's feudal period did not end until at least the later years of the Qing Dynasty, or perhaps even the end of the civil war in 1949.--Baoluo 08:36, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Sure, fair enough point. The end of feudalism is a much disputed concept in China and I very much agree with your argument that in the present context it is most likely to be incorrect. However, as I said before, it is a much disputed idea (ie. end of feudalim) for the reason of its linkage to modernity. There is not a clear moment when modernity started and when feudalism ended in China. You could argue that China is in contemporary terms modern, postmodern, traditional and barbarious all at once. Moreover, besides the eurocentric bias embedded in concepts such as modernity and feudalism, the idea of modernity seems to be integral to the changing concept of confucianism - see eg. Wang Hui's "THE RISE OF MODERN CHINESE THOUGHT" (forthcoming Harvard Press).

Taking this all in consideration I would suggest to take the whole argument of 'end of feudalism' out. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.205.101.243 (talk) 19:29, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

Map of Spring and Autumn Period
I don't think this map is good for spring and Autumn period. Look the list of state, from east to west, from south to north, how this map could be on this page? It should be deleted. 216.48.171.235 03:55, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

The years of the period itself & correction on the chronicle's period
1st: According to "Britanica" website, the chronicle describes the years of 722 BC-479 BC (& not 481 BC), so I corrected this.

2nd: This information only indicates the years described at the chronicle, which are the vast majority of this period, but not all of it. So I added the information that the entire period lasted from 770 BC-476 BC. אומנות (talk) 14:33, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

Help over editing
i am raw to the usage of the wikipedia article edit, but i wish to know the way to create a new article page of another language version to link to this page. can someone be kind to help by show me how?

Xmlv (talk) 17:23, 20 March 2010 (UTC)

First of all, create the page in the new language of your choice. Then, at the bottom of this article page, find the section at the very bottom that looks like this:

Primaveres i Tardors Období Jara a Podzimu Zeit der Frühlings- und Herbstannalen Primaveras y Otoños Période des Printemps et des Automnes 春秋時代 춘추 시대 Zaman Musim Semi dan Gugur Periodo delle primavere e degli autunni תקופת האביב והסתיו Periode van Lente en Herfst 春秋時代 Vår- og høstannalenes tid Okres Wiosen i Jesieni Período das Primaveras e Outonos Период Чуньцю Obdobie jari a jesene Period Proljeća i Jeseni Kevättä ja syksyä Vår- och höstperioden ยุคชุนชิว Xuân Thu İlkbahar ve Sonbahar Dönemi 春秋 春秋时期

Now find the two digit language code for the language of your new page (look at the address at the top of your browser window - the first two digits are your native language code). Then add an entry to the above list on the article page (use English alphabetical order) that looks like this XX:Title of your new article in your language where XX is the language code of your new page.

When you've done that, preview the edited page and your language should show up in the left hand panel.

Finally, copy the whole langauge block that you just added to and paste it at the bottom of your new page.

Hope this helps.

Philg88|Philg88 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 04:29, 21 March 2010 (UTC).

Table of States
The table of states section is already quite long and I have material on at least a further 50 states which, if added, would make the list huge and detract from the overall quality of the article. At the same time, many of the states included do not relate specifically to the Spring & Autumn period and were extant before, during and/or after it. What does anybody think about the best way to handle this? My suggested options would be:

Replace the current section with an linked overview and move the table to either:
 * The State (Ancient China) article

OR
 * A new article tentatively entitled List of Ancient Chinese States

All input welcome. Philg88 (talk) 22:35, 22 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Maby add a new column for location+id, like/ Ba:Sichuan;non-Zhou state annexed by Qin[a bit too long?]/ Wu: near Shanghai/ Lu: southwest of Qi; Confucius' state / Yan: near Beijing. Benjamin Trovato (talk) 01:12, 23 November 2010 (UTC)
 * A new column is no problrm. The point here is where do we put this huge table? Philg88 (talk) 12:53, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Pinyin ≠ English
I was hoping this was over after the discussions in WP talk:MOS-ZH and Talk:Zhou Dynasty, but guess there's some old articles to clean up.

Don't use tone marks in the running text.

The English common name is not Zhōu any more than it's 周: It's Zhou. Likewise Qin, Jin, Chu, etc. The over-riding policies for the English Wikipedia are WP:USEENGLISH and WP:COMMONNAME; the English common name in every instance will be the atonal version. That'd defeat WP:LOCALCONSENSUS even if there were one, which there isn't. A few terms are appropriately set off in Italics and infoboxes are helpful, but in the running text of the article, appeals to italics run afoul of proper names.

As such, even within the Chinese Manuals of Style, WP:MOS-ZH and WP:NC-ZH discount this practice. Any lost information is available right at the top of the page on click-through. Any terms lacking entries can have the tonal pinyin included here, but set off in italics in the translation parentheses beside the characters, not in the running text. — LlywelynII  13:13, 20 March 2012 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress which affects this page. Please participate at Talk:Warring States Period - Requested move and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RM bot 22:59, 18 May 2012 (UTC)

James legge's translation of spring and autumn period history
http://books.google.com/books?id=wb0TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA177#v=onepage&q&f=false

Rajmaan (talk) 04:32, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

Hundred Schools type article
Appreciate assistance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_Thought_in_Ancient_China

Please fix
Why does this article mention in the opening paragraph that this period ended in 476 BC, then the date of 476 BC is mentioned nowhere else in the current version of this article? That seems ridiculous and unencyclopedic. What happened in 476 BC to bring this period to an end, and why isn't it mentioned in the current version of the article? 173.88.246.138 (talk) 18:09, 10 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Honestly, IP editor from last April, this is a pretty good question! We had 481 BCE as the end of the period from the initial recension of the article in 2003 until this edit thirteen years ago by, who cited Brittanica (above, on this talk page). The source we use to discuss the differences in periodization in a footnote (Kiser & Cai, 2003) selects 481 BCE as the endpoint (the assassination of Duke Jian of Qi), and doesn't list 476 BCE as a commonly agreed-upon end date (they have 481, 475, 468, and 403: p 512). The Cambridge History of Ancient China, a reasonably well regarded source for information on the topic, lists 481, 479, 475, and 403 BCE. They also select 481 (pp 450 & 587). Given this information, and having looked for a pertinent event datable to 476 BCE without success, I'm going to change it back to 481 BCE. Folly Mox (talk) 09:17, 11 February 2023 (UTC)

Maybe take a look at this first: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%98%A5%E7%A7%8B%E6%97%B6%E6%9C%9F 173.88.246.138 (talk) 00:10, 5 March 2023 (UTC)

Also: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%98%A5%E7%A7%8B/982807 173.88.246.138 (talk) 00:11, 5 March 2023 (UTC)

 * From what I've been able to glean from available information, the 476 BCE date comes ultimately from Sima Qian. All his historical sources listed events as happening in some year of some ruler, so it's natural for him to have followed this regime. He demarcated the boundary between the Springs and Autumns period and the Warring States period as the accession of King Yuan of Zhou, but his calculations were off by one year because the records of the state of Qin on which he was forced to rely due to Qin Shi Huang's biblioclasm were insufficiently precise in their datekeeping. Then somehow the absolute date propagated even when the calendrical calculations were corrected, decoupling King Yuan from the boundary. At least, this is the only answer I've been able to find. The baidu article uses a Chinese government source, so it's the official date on some level.It's not a super clean boundary in any case: in the political sense, we're trying to capture the dominance of the ministerial class over the old aristocracy, best exemplified by the partition of Jin and on a smaller scale the usurpation of Qi by Tian, neither of which are confined to a single year. The Chunqiu itself, which gives its name to the period, does have a final entry, in 481 BCE, but periodizing history based on what sources are available is not a methodology that lends itself particularly well to deeper historical understanding. Folly Mox (talk) 15:13, 9 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Ok so I'm still not sure we have the options of 476 and 475, and also not sure why 475 seems more correct and 476 more preferred, but I expanded the note on periodisation to reflect best info I have at hand. Folly Mox (talk) 21:47, 9 April 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Spring and Autumn period