Eastern Chou Dynasty

In 771 BC, China was invaded by skillful fighters from the northwest. The Chou emperors retreated and made a new capital at Luoyang, further east. So this period is called the Eastern Chou. The first three hundred years of the Eastern Chou period is called the Spring and Autumn period because it was a good time for China. Iron began to be used for tools in China at this time. But iron also made good weapons, and the 200 little states began to fight each other all the time. The period from 481 to 221 BC is called the Warring States period. By about 300 BC, there were only seven big states left. By 256 BC, the Chou emperors lost power, and the only rulers of China were the kings of the seven states. These kings fought among themselves until the king of Ch'in, the strongest state, succeeded in making himself emperor and established the Ch'in Dynasty.