Karl Jaspers: German historian-philosopher; coins the term: "The Axial Age"

Spring and Autumn Era: (chi. "Chunqiu") ca. 750-450 BCE.

Warring States Era: (chi. "Zhanguo") ca. 420-220 BCE

King You: Last "monarch" of the "Western Zhou" period; defeated by Abarbarians@

Hao: Capital of Zhou royal domain ("bang") in the Western Zhou period

Quanyong: "barbarian" tribe which destroyed Western Zhou and sacked Hao

King Ping: First Zhou king of the Eastern Zhou era; brought about a short-lived "revival" of Zhou power

Luoyang: Capital of the much smaller and weaker Zhou royal domain in the Eastern Zhou period

Hegemons: (chi. "ba") Powerful nobles who dominated politics in the Spring and Autumn era. Most notable were: Duke Huan (state of Qi), Duke Wen (Jin), Duke Xiang (Song), Duke Mu (Qin), Duke/"King" Huai (Chu)

Han, Zhao, Wei: Three noble-vassal "houses" which conspired to assassinate Duke of Jin in late-5C BCE; subsequently partitioned the state of Jin and set up three separate "kingdoms", signifying the beginning of the Warring States era

Shi: "Bureaucrats" or lower-ranking officials, often without landed title; subsequently generic term for government officials and/or scholars/gentry/military personnel

Guan Zhong: (State of Qi); chief minister to Duke Huan of Qi; statesman and philosopher

Kong Qiu: (State of Lu); a.k.a. "Confucius", founder of School of "Confucianism" (rujia); most famous of Chinese Classical philosophers

Ren: concept of benevolence or compassion

Li: Concept of propriety, especially manifested in ritual or ceremonial form

Xiao: Concept of "filial piety", i.e. respect for parents and ancestors

Sheng wang: Concept of "sage kings", ancestral rulers of antiquity who set patterns of moral behavior and "good government" for subsequent ages

Lao Zi: (State of Chu); putative founder of the school of Dao (Daoism)

Ziran: "Self-so"; concept of the original cosmic state, pure and Auntouched@ by Abecoming@. In Daoism, the main metaphors or illustrations of the concept of Ziran were the Auncarved block@ (chi. Apu@) and the "cocoon" (chi. su).

Me Di: (State of Song); early Warring-States philosopher; ideas spoke for the interest of the common people

Meng Ke: a.k.a. "Mencius"; (State of Zou); Warring-States era philosopher; Confucian school; developed the ideas of Confucius, emphasized the innate goodness of human nature, the need to educate and nurture the innate capacity of human beings as the foundation for an orderly society

Xun Kuang: (State of Zhou); Warring-States era philosopher; taught at the Jixia "academy" in the state of Qi; master of latter-day "Legalists" Han Fei and Li Si. Xun also claimed the mantle of Confucian teachings, but differed from Mencius in emphasizing that human nature is innately prone to "evil" rather than good, and that human nature must be controlled and disciplined through education and regulations. Also, emphasized that li, or propriety, does not derive from observance of ancient tradition or from belief in the forces of "Heaven", but from a very pragmatic abhorrence and fear of disorder and the perils of penalties

Shang Yang: (State of Wei); Warring-States era philosopher; Legalist; chief minister of Duke Xiao of Qin; established first system of rule of law in Qin

Han Fei: (State of Han); Warring-States era philosopher; emphasized the importance of rules and regulations; brought Xun Kuang's philosophical ideas into the realm of the Legalists

Li Si: (State of Qin); late-Warring-States era philosopher; chief minister of King Zheng of Qin; Legalist (chi. fajia) adapted Legalist philosophy to the implementation of a strict system of law in Qin government