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The immense pluralism of Chinese political thought of the Zhanguo era (a1g1, 453-221)1 is well known. The contending hundred schools (baijia WR) suggested diverse, and sometimes mutually exclusive visions of the proper mode of rule, social systems, ruler-minister relations, human nature, social mobility, warfare, human relations with the transcendental, and almost all other aspects of political, social, economic, military, and religious life. Despite these varieties, one can distinguish certain basic ideas Zhanguo thinkers held in common. The most important of these is, probably, the unanimous rejection of the Eastern Zhou (XP1, *772-256) multi-state system, and the consequent advocacy of the ideal of uniEled rule. This common ideal of the Zhanguo thinkers had a strong impact on subsequent Chinese political thought; moreover, its impact is well perceived in current Chinese political culture. This unanimous rejection of anything but the politically unified realm allowed the resurrection of the Chinese empire after frequent periods of disunion, internal turmoil and foreign conquest. Most scholars in China and abroad recognize the importance of the Great Unity (da yitong X ,) paradigm in Chinese po
Yuri Pines (Sat,) studied this question.