Ancient China: The Warring States
5/7/20261 hr
How did ancient China plunge into 261 years of chaos, and how did that turmoil forge an empire?
Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Andrew Seth Meyer to explore the Warring States period, from collapsing Zhou power and ruthless coups to mass armies, crossbows, and battlefield slaughter. They trace the rise of Confucian ideas, the seven great states, and the brutal climb of Qin toward China’s first emperor
To find out more about Andrew's new book To Rule All Under Heaven, head to his website: https://www.andrewsethmeyer.com/
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Presented by Tristan Hughes. The producer and audio editor is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
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First 90 secondsTristan Hughes· Host0:00
Ever wondered why the Romans were defeated in the Teutoburg Forest? What secrets lie buried in prehistoric Ireland? Or what made Alexander truly great? With a subscription to History Hit, you can explore our ancient past alongside the world's leading historians and archeologists. You'll also unlock hundreds of hours of original documentaries with a brand new release every single week, covering everything from the ancient world to World War II. Just visit historyhit.com/subscribe. [dramatic music] It was one of the most revolutionary periods in history. Over two centuries of fighting, when ancient China fragmented into several different powerful kingdoms, each vying for supremacy. It was an age of industrialized warfare, of total war, where armies in the hundreds of thousands would clash in some of antiquity's bloodiest battles. But it was also a time of philosophy, where the successors of the famous Chinese philosopher Confucius would promote their own schools of thought during this tumultuous time. And yet, for its great significance in shaping what would become China, this Warring States period is little known today in the West.