How did the Spring and Autumn period differ from the Warring States period?

The Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE) and the Warring States period (475–221 BCE) represent two distinct phases of the Eastern Zhou dynasty characterized by shifting political landscapes.

The primary differences include:

• Political Structure: During the Spring and Autumn period, China was divided into many small states where a balance of power was maintained through interstate diplomacy and the leadership of "overlords" (ba). By the Warring States period, this system had collapsed, resulting in a consolidation of power into seven major feuding kingdoms.123
• Feudalism: The Spring and Autumn period saw the gradual decline of the traditional Zhou feudal-familial system, where political authority was tied to kinship. By the Warring States era, this system had largely disappeared, replaced by new governmental structures that would influence China for the next 2,000 years.123
• Conflict: While the earlier period involved diplomatic maneuvers and limited warfare to maintain hegemony, the Warring States era was defined by intense, large-scale conflict, ultimately ending with the state of Qin defeating all rivals to establish the first unified Chinese empire.12