The Greeks and the Romans called Chinese “Seres”, and called China “Serica”. They called the capital of China, “Sera”. Greek had said of Chinese, "In the East, there is Seres. This is an arrogant and closed minded nation. They don’t like to associate and deal with foreign countries, though they have their very beautiful silk." This was the earliest impression that Westerners thought of our nation. In fact, they wrongly misunderstood ancient Chinese nation because of the differences between the civilizations of the Orient and the Occident.

The Jin (晋) State was an important feudal state of the Spring-Autumn Period in modern-day Shanxi Province. This state developed from a small country to a large and powerful one by unceasing reforms and constant expansion. In the early days of the Warring-States Period, this great country divided into three separate countries, and each of these were strong states at that time.