Most scholars who look at this question point to the shift in the political and social environment between the Spring and Autumn Period (c. 770–c. 476 B.C.E.) and the Warring States (c. 475–221 B.C.E.). The Spring and Autumn was dominated by small states, most of which were governed by a hereditary aristocracy. By the Warring States, however, as technology advanced, economies grew and states began to expand and conquer each other on a greater scale, a purely hereditary aristocracy became insufficient to fulfill all functions of government. This led to the rise of a class of people with much more specialized knowledge, some of whom may have contributed to the philosophy that we now have today.
