Preface

In the three hundred and twenty-fifth year since the founding of the Great Zhou, the twelfth ruler on the throne was King You. King You was consumed by greed and entrusted power to sycophants, while calamities swept the land. The rivers Jing, Wei, and Luo shook with violent earthquakes, leaving countless people dead or wounded, and both heaven and the people were filled with anger.

In the third year of King You’s reign, he marched against the State of Bao. The people of Bao, in a desperate bid for peace, offered Lady Bao Si as tribute. At first sight, King You was utterly captivated, elevating her above all others in his harem. The following year, she bore him a son named Bo Fu. King You then dismissed his legitimate queen and installed a concubine in her place, shattering the rites and music of the court.

To amuse Lady Bao Si, King You repeatedly lit the beacons on Mount Li, breaking faith with the nobles. This betrayal led to his death at the hands of the barbarian Quanrong soldiers beneath Mount Li.

The royal court fled east to Luoyi, where King Ping ascended the throne, but the dynasty grew weak. The feudal lords gathered armies and claimed power, waging endless wars so that neither the lands nor the people knew peace. Dukes Huan, Xiang, Wen, Mu, and King Zhuang rose one after another to dominate, and this era became known as the Spring and Autumn period.

More than two centuries passed. Small states fell one after another, while the great powers—Qin, Wei, Han, Yan, Zhao, Qi, and Chu—remained. Among the lesser states were Song, Wei, Zhongshan, Lu, Teng, and Zou. To the north were the tribes of Linhu, Loufan, and Yiqu; to the south, Ba, Shu, and Yue. This period is remembered as the Warring States era.

The story begins in a small coastal village near the city of Jimo in the State of Qi, during the Warring States period.