Historians look at the a particular period of time around 500 B.C. as a turning point - an axis age. A number of significant people were alive at this time and they were to shape the world of today in many ways. It was a time of reflection and of philosophy. It was a time civilizations from the Mediterranean to China looked for a direction for societies. This is a look at one of those critical turning points. It is a look at China. China in that time was divided into small states that were always quarrelling among themselves while barbarian tribes pressed from the north and northwest. Among violence and disorder, there seemed to be no power that would bring peace.