instance_of mencius 
Old ___MASK20___ , also called Archaic ___MASK20___ in older works , is the oldest attested ___MASK71___ of ___MASK20___ , and the ancestor of all modern varieties of ___MASK20___ . The earliest examples of ___MASK20___ are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 BC , in the late Shang dynasty . Bronze inscriptions became plentiful during the following Zhou dynasty . The latter part of the Zhou period saw a flowering of literature , including classical works such as the " Analects ", the " Mencius ", and the " Zuozhuan ". These works served as models for Literary ___MASK20___ ( or Classical ___MASK20___ ), which remained the written standard until the early twentieth century , thus preserving the vocabulary and grammar of late Old ___MASK20___ . The Qin ___MASK5___ was the first ___MASK5___ of Imperial China , lasting from 221 to 206 BC . Named for its heartland of Qin , in modern - ___MASK86___ Gansu and Shaanxi , the ___MASK5___ was formed after the conquest of six other states by the Qin state , and its founding emperor named Qin Shi Huang , the First Emperor of Qin . The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the Legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the fourth century BC , during the Warring States period . In the mid and late third century BC , the Qin accomplished a series of swift conquests , first ending the powerless Zhou ___MASK5___ , and eventually conquering the other six of the Seven Warring States to gain control over the whole of China . It is also the shortest ___MASK5___ in Chinese history , lasting only 15 years with two emperors . The Analects ( Old ___MASK20___ :* run  ( r ) a ), also known as the Analects of Confucius , is a collection of sayings and ideas attributed to the ___MASK20___ philosopher Confucius and his contemporaries , traditionally believed to have been compiled and written by Confucius ' followers . It is believed to have been written during the Warring States period ( 475 BC  221 BC ), and it achieved its ___MASK45___ form during the mid - Han dynasty ( 206 BC  220 AD ). By the early Han dynasty the " Analects " was considered merely a " commentary " on the Five Classics , but the status of the " Analects " grew to be one of the central texts of Confucianism by the end of that dynasty . Sima Qian (; c . 145 or 13586 BC ), formerly romanized Ssu - ___MASK23___ Chien , was a Chinese historian of the Han dynasty . He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his " Records of the Grand Historian ", a " Jizhuanti "- style ( ___MASK93___ presented in a series of biographies ) general ___MASK93___ of China , covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to his time , during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han , a work that had much influence for centuries afterwards on ___MASK93___ - writing not only in China , but in Korea , Japan and Vietnam as well . Although he worked as the Court Astrologer ( Chinese :  ; " Tàish Lìng "), later generations refer to him as the Grand Historian ( Chinese :  ; Tàish Gng or tai - shih - kung ) for his monumental work ; a work which in later generations would often only be somewhat tacitly or glancingly acknowledged as an achievement only made possible by his acceptance and endurance of punitive actions against him , including imprisonment , castration , and subjection to servility . Mencius or Mengzi ( 372  289 BC ; alt . 385  303 / 302 BC ) was a ___MASK20___ philosopher who is the most famous Confucian after Confucius himself . ___MASK20___ , also known as Sinitic , is a branch of the Sino - Tibetan language family consisting of hundreds of local language varieties , many of which are not mutually intelligible . The differences are similar to those within the Romance languages , with variation particularly strong in the more rugged southeast . These varieties , often called " dialects ", have been classified into seven to ten groups , the largest being Mandarin ( e . g . Beijing dialect ), Wu ( e . g . Shanghainese ), Min ( e . g . Taiwanese Hokkien ), and Yue ( e . g . Cantonese ). Oracle bones are pieces of ox scapula or turtle plastron , which were used for pyromancy  a form of ___MASK70___  in ancient China , mainly during the late Shang ___MASK5___ . " Scapulimancy " is the correct term if ox scapulae were used for the ___MASK70___ ; " plastromancy " if turtle plastrons were used . ___MASK20___ sovereign is the ruler of a particular period in ancient China . Several titles and naming schemes have been used throughout ___MASK93___ . Zisi ( c . 481  402 BCE ), born Kong Ji (  ), was a ___MASK20___ philosopher and the grandson of Confucius . The Shang ___MASK5___ or Yin ___MASK5___ , according to traditional ___MASK96___ , ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC , succeeding the Xia ___MASK5___ and followed by the Zhou ___MASK5___ . The classic account of the Shang comes from texts such as the " ___MASK81___ of Documents ", " Bamboo Annals " and " Records of the Grand Historian ". According to the traditional chronology based on calculations made approximately 2 , 000 years ago by Liu Xin , the Shang ruled from 1766 to 1122 BC , but according to the chronology based upon the " current text " of " Bamboo Annals ", they ruled from 1556 to 1046 BC . The Xia  Shang  Zhou Chronology Project dated them from c . 1600 to 1046 BC . In ___MASK94___ , a figurehead is a ___MASK95___ who holds " de jure " ( in name or by ___MASK39___ ) an important ___MASK26___ or ___MASK99___ ( often supremely powerful ), yet " de facto " ( in reality ) executes little actual power . The metaphor derives from the carved figurehead at the prow of a ___MASK90___ . Commonly cited figureheads include Queen Elizabeth II , who is Queen of sixteen Commonwealth realms and ___MASK72___ of the Commonwealth , but has no power over the nations in which she is not ___MASK72___ of state and does not exercise power in her own realms on her own initiative . Other figureheads are the Emperor of Japan , the King of Sweden , or presidents in majority of parliamentary republics , such as the President of India , President of Israel , President of Bangladesh , President of Greece , President of Germany , President of Pakistan ( starting in 2010 ), and President of China ( without CPC General Secretary and Chairman of CMC posts ). The Mencius ( ___MASK20___ :  ; Old ___MASK20___ : * mra - s ts ; pinyin : mèngz ) , is a collection of anecdotes and conversations of the Confucian thinker and philosopher Mencius on topics in moral and political philosophy . Mencius was a disciple of one of the students of Zisi , a grandson of Confucius , and the Mencius records his travels and audiences with the various rulers of the Warring States period , his students , and his other contemporaries . A number of linguistic and textual clues suggest that the text was not written by Mencius himself but by his disciples , probably during the late 4th century BC . The Mencius comprises 7 chapters , each divided into two halves , with alternating short sayings and extensive dialogues on specific philosophical arguments . Its fundamental positions , such as Mencius ' famous argument in chapter 6A that human nature is inherently good , are usually presented as conversations between Mencius and contemporaneous thinkers , while arguments on specific issues usually appear in records of his advice and counsel to various rulers . The Mencius was one of the most important texts of early Confucianism , and represents a notable advance over the Analects of Confucius ( Lunyu  ) in terms of sophistication of argument . Notwithstanding its early importance to Confucianism , the Mencius was not canonized as one of the ___MASK20___ Classics until over 1000 years later during the Song dynasty . Confucius ( ___MASK43___ 28 , 551 BC  479 BC ) was a ___MASK20___ teacher , ___MASK54___ , politician , and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of ___MASK20___ ___MASK93___ . Classical ___MASK20___ , also known as Literary ___MASK20___ , is the language of the classic literature from the end of the Spring and Autumn period through to the end of the Han Dynasty , a written form of Old ___MASK20___ . Classical ___MASK20___ is a traditional style of written ___MASK20___ that evolved from the classical language , making it different from any modern spoken form of ___MASK20___ . Literary ___MASK20___ was used for almost all formal writing in China until the early 20th century , and also , during various periods , in Japan , Korea and Vietnam . Among ___MASK20___ speakers , Literary ___MASK20___ has been largely replaced by written vernacular ___MASK20___ , a style of writing that is similar to modern spoken Mandarin ___MASK20___ , while speakers of non - ___MASK20___ languages have largely abandoned Literary ___MASK20___ in favor of local vernaculars . The Warring States ___MASK62___ was an era in ancient ___MASK20___ ___MASK93___ following the Spring and Autumn ___MASK62___ and concluding with the Qin wars of conquest that saw the annexation of all other contender states , which ultimately led to the Qin state ' s victory in 221 BC as the first unified ___MASK20___ empire known as the Qin dynasty . Although different scholars point toward different dates ranging from 481 BC to 403 BC as the true beginning of the Warring States , Sima Qian ' s choice of 475 BC is generally the most often cited and popularly accepted one . The Warring States era also overlaps with the second half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty , though the ___MASK20___ sovereign , known as the king of Zhou , ruled merely as a figurehead and served as a backdrop against the machinations of the warring states . The Zhou ___MASK5___ was a ___MASK20___ ___MASK5___ that followed the Shang ___MASK5___ and preceded the Qin ___MASK5___ . Although the Zhou ___MASK5___ lasted longer than any other ___MASK5___ in ___MASK20___ ___MASK93___ , the actual political and military control of China by the ___MASK5___ , surnamed Ji , lasted only until 771 BC , a period known as the Western Zhou . The ___MASK38___ and Autumn period was a period in ___MASK20___ ___MASK93___ from approximately 771 to 476 BC ( or according to some authorities until 403 BC ) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty . The period ' s name derives from the " ___MASK38___ and Autumn Annals ", a chronicle of the state of Lu between 722 and 479 BC , which tradition associates with Confucius .