‘爭’과 ‘戰’에서 ‘戰爭’으로 ―戰國時代 전쟁 개념의 변화

From ‘Zheng(爭)’ and ‘Zhan(戰)’ into ‘Zhanzheng(戰爭)’ ― Significant development in the concept of war during the Warring States period

The Age of Warring States was a transformative era since the beginning of history. Throughout the Warring States period, war was the driving force behind significant changes in history. The wars that led to the remarkable transformation of the Warring States period also underwent conceptual changes. This article focuses on understanding the changes in the concept of war during the Warring States period using the methods of conceptual history research and linguistic theory. First, it examines the origin of the meaning of war in ancient Chinese characters and the concept of war reflected in the mythology of Huangdi(黃帝). In addition, this article introduces the newly coined war-related terms that emerged in great numbers during the Warring States period and analyzed their semantic characteristics. Finally, it discusses the politicization and moralization of the concept of war and its practical applications. This paper hopes to unveil the unfamiliar appearance of the concept of war during the Warring States period.