18 Law and Morality Abroad (to ca. ad 1550)and Autumn Era (722– 481 bc, so named because these were years covered
by the Chinese history classic, Th e Spring and Autumn Annals) and the sub-
sequent Warring States Era (481– 221 bc). Th e Chinese regarded it as a time
of degeneration from a prior golden age of po liti cal unity, under the quasi-
mythical Shang dynasty and the wholly mythical Hsia dynasty. Even when
po liti cal fragmentation prevailed in practice, unity remained the ideal. Th is
was refl ected in the according of a sort of honorifi c primacy to the state of
Chou, broadly similar to the position of position of “kingship” in Sumer
(hence the alternate designation of the period as the Chou dynasty). But this
was merely a ceremonial and titular preeminence, not a refl ection of actual
power relations.
Across the Chinese world, there was a general sense of cultural and racial
unity, as well as a fair amount of traffi c between the states by individuals.
Merchants, for example, were generally free to travel between one state and
another with little interference. Po liti cal loyalties were surprisingly fl uid,
even at high levels. Statesmen, nobles, and warriors appear to have had little
trouble in shift ing their allegiance from one sovereign to another, shopping
around (in later parlance) for rulers whom they regarded as suitable to serve.
Th e most famous of these peripatetics was the sage Kong Fu- tze—better
known in Latinized form as Confucius— who lived in the sixth and fi ft h
centuries bc. Originally from the small state of Lu (in modern Shandong),
he led the life of a wandering teacher in various other states.
In the area of state practice, there was a great deal of treaty making among
the various Chinese states. In the Spring and Autumn Annals, over 140 trea-
ties are recorded, about half of them bilateral and half multilateral. Rituals
broadly similar to those of the Middle East accompanied their conclusion.
Typically, an animal sacrifi ce was involved, with the tearing off of the left
ear of the victim, which was then used for smearing the text of the treaty,
and the lips of the signers, with blood. Of bilateral treaties, three copies were
made, one for each party and the third to be buried with the corpse of the
sacrifi cial beast. Guarantees of observance were also achieved by methods
similar to those in Middle Eastern societies. For example, there was oft en an
oath of wrath against any later violator. Sometimes, there was a posting of a
bond as security for observance. More common, though, was an exchange
of hostages, who typically were the sons of the rulers who had concluded the
treaty.