Doing Justice to Others 19An interesting feature of China’s Warring States period was the forma-
tion of various leagues of states, typically with a leading role accorded explic-
itly to one of the members. Th e leading state (or Ba) would receive tribute
from the other members and would have the task of directing the general
policies of the league. In return, it had to provide assistance to other states in
the event of attack. Th e fi rst state to attain full Ba status was Qi in about 680
bc. It was succeeded by the state of Jin, which retained Ba status for over
eighty years. Th e major alternative league was dominated by the state of
Chu, which appears to have had unrestricted power over the member states.
Other leagues began to be formed to the point that, by about 600 bc, the
practice had become common. Until the end of the Warring States period
(in 221 bc), the leagues functioned as the principal means of enforcing in-
terstate commitments.
Leagues generally had multilateral treaties as their foundation, which
typically contained provisions for joint action by the parties or members
against any state that infringed the agreement. Th ere were commonly ar-
rangements for the extradition of criminals, as well as for trade, communi-
cations, and cultural interchange. Th e settlement of disputes between states
was an important league function. Th e usual practice was for the court of
the dominant league state to serve as a high tribunal for this purpose. If the
leading state was itself a party to a dispute with a member, then a third
member of the league would off er to mediate. An example of this occurred
in 625 bc, when the leading state in one of the leagues, Chin, was in a dis-
pute with another member, Wei. A third league state, Ch’en, performed the
mediation role.
Meetings of league members were fairly frequent. Th e Chou league, for
example, averaged two meetings every three years, with sizable delegations
attending (oft en of over one hundred members). Th ere were sometimes even
agreements between leagues, as in 546 bc, when the two main leagues con-
cluded a treaty that provided for reciprocal visits (although the arrangement
did not last very long).
Th e largest number of parties on record to any single Chinese treaty was
for a league formed in 562 bc by twelve states. Th e foundation agreement
included promises not to hoard produce and not to harbor criminals or trai-
tors. It did not, however, prove very eff ective. In the very next year, two of its
parties went to war with one another.