The Hundred Schools of Thought (Chinese: 諸子百家/诸子百家; pinyin: zhūzǐ bǎijiā; Wade-Giles: chu-tzu pai-chia; literally "all philosophers hundred schools") is the name given to philosophers and schools that flourished from 770 to 221 B.C.E., an era of great cultural and intellectual expansion in China. Even though this period, known in its earlier part as the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period (春秋戰國時代) in its latter part, was characterized by chaos and bloody battles, it is also known as the Golden Age of Chinese philosophy because a variety of thoughts and ideas were freely developed and discussed. This phenomenon has been called the Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought (百家爭鳴/百家争鸣; bǎijiā zhēngmíng; pai-chia cheng-ming; "hundred schools contend").
The intellectual society of this era was characterized by itinerant scholars, who were often employed by various state rulers as advisers on the methods of government, war, and diplomacy. The thoughts and ideas of this period have profoundly influenced lifestyles and social consciousness in East Asian countries through the present day.
James Alfred "Alf" Wight, OBE, FRCVS (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), known by the pen name James Herriot, was a British veterinary surgeon and writer, who used his many years of experiences as a veterinary surgeon to write a series of books each consisting of stories about animals and their owners.[1] He is best known for these semi-autobiographical works, beginning with All Creatures Great and Small in 1972. The British television series adapted from the books is also titled All Creatures Great and Small. ro
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