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Eastern Zhou Dynasty of China
In its early days, the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century-711BC) was powerful enough to control vassal states. In particular, the states were prevented from fighting each other to annex their neighbors. However, from the time that King Ping moved his court to Luoyi (today's Luoyang City of Henan Province), establishing the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou influence began to wane. Although the king retained his position as the nominal overlord he was no longer able to control the activities of his vassals. Economic imbalance meant that some states were stronger than others, which, in turn, led to stronger states declaring war on the weaker ones and annexing them despite the prohibition of such activities by the Zhou.
From the beginning of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the unification by the Qin, China was plagued by disunity and continuous conflict. Historically, this period is recorded as the Spring and Autumn Period (770- 476BC) and the Warring States Period (476- 221BC).
