In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou royal family was nominally the "* * * Lord" of China. At that time, the vassal state was semi-independent, but formally, the Zhou royal family was still the political center of gravity. During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (that is, the Spring and Autumn Period), the Zhou royal family gradually declined, and the nominal "* * * Lord" gradually failed completely. The vassal state gradually moved from semi-independence to complete independence. They vary in size and strength. Among them, the strong bully and violate the weak and force them to cling to them and obey their orders. These powerful vassal States were called tyrants at that time. "Ba" became the political center of gravity at that time.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the biggest "overlord" was the two vassal states of Qi and Jin. Qi Huangong, who pioneered the hegemony of Qi State, and Jin Wengong, who pioneered the hegemony of Jin State, were the biggest hegemons at that time. At that time, "international" politics revolved around these two overlords. Monk said: "Jun trace dies, poetry dies, and then write the Spring and Autumn Period. Cheng of Jin, Yao of Chu, Spring and Autumn of Lu, one also. Things are Qi Huan and Jinwen, and the text is history. " (Mencius Li Lou) This passage of Monk sums up the social and political changes in China from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. "The trace of the king is gone" refers to the decline of the Western Zhou Dynasty. After the decline of the Zhou royal family, history entered the Spring and Autumn Period. Every vassal state has its own national history. The history of the state of Jin is called "Cheng"; The national history of Chu is called Kongtong, and the national history of Lu is called Chunqiu, with the same content. Their written record is history, and what they record is Qi Huangong and Jin Wengong. In other words, the activities of the two overlords in the "international" politics at that time were the main contents recorded in the national history of various vassal States.
It is no accident that Qi Jin was able to achieve his position at that time. They are two great powers, which is the condition for them to become tyrants. More importantly, they all made an early transition to feudalism. This shows that among the vassal States at that time, the productive forces were more advanced and the reform of production relations was earlier. These two countries have typical significance in the transition period of China society from slavery to feudalism.