Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought and Prose of Scholars

In an era when historical proses represented by Discourses of the States, The Zuo Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals, and Intrigues of the Warring States made great progress, the field of philosophy and culture witnessed contention of a hundred schools of thought embraced by intellectuals who formed a “scholar” class to give lectures to disciples or write books to expound ideas. In History of the Han Dynasty·Record of Literature and Arts, these scholars who represented the interests of different classes and strata are classified into ten categories, namely Confucianism, Taoism, the Yin-Yang School, Legalism, the School of Names, Mohism, diplomatists, Miscellaneous Schools, agriculturists, and novelists.