During the Spring and Autumn Period ( 春秋时期 ) , there was a conflict between the states of Jin ( 晋国 ) against Chu ( 楚国 ) and its allies in China in 632 BC, which is called the Battle of Chengpu ( 城濮之战 ) . The Jin victory confirmed the hegemony of Duke Wen of Jin ( 晋文公 ) and checked Chu ambitions in the north for at least a generation.

Following the death of Duke Huan of Qi ( 齐桓公 ) in 643 BC, the state of Chu steadily extended its influence northward and had been absorbing half a dozen smaller states as its affiliations. In 636 BC, Ji Zhonger, a prince and then Duke Wen of Jin who had spend fifteen years refuging in numerous states, came into power with the help of Duke Mu of Qin ( 秦穆公 ) . Duke Wen assumed a position of leadership among the states and instituted numerous domestic reforms.

In the winter of 633 BC, King Cheng of Chu ( 楚成王 ) struck at Song ( 宋国 ) , the ally of Jin most accessible from the south. In retaliation, an expeditionary force under Duke Wen marched south in the spring of next year and occupied Wei ( 卫国 ) and Cao ( 曹国 ) , both satellites of Chu. Both sides sought out alliances in the following months. The states of Shen, Xi, Chen, Cai, all immediately contiguous to Chu, sided with King Cheng, as well as the more distant Lu ( 鲁国 ) .

In the years leading up to 632 BC , conflict between Jin and Chu was increasingly public and was characterised by frequent shifts in alliances between the various small states that lay in a band between the two giants. On the fourth day of the fourth month of 632 BC, the rival forces met.

The battle commenced with the advance of both wings of the Jin army. The Chu right wing was reckoned to be the weakest and Xu Chen ( 胥臣 ) , commander of the Jin left wing, attacked. Xu armoured his chariot horses with tiger skins and launched an urgent, vigorous assault on the Chu right wing. The attack was rapidly successful, scattering and demolishing the enemy wing completely.

The Jin left then became holding force, fixing the Chu centre and preventing it from attacking the Jin centre or aiding the Chu left wing, since in either case the Jin left would have taken it in the flank and rear. Meanwhile Hu Mao ( 狐毛 ) 's Jin right wing had skirmished with the enemy, faked a retreat and carried with them the two great banner of the Jin commander-in-chief himself. The Chu left, made up of levies from Shen and Xi, thought that the Jin right wing had lost and Ziyu ordered a pursuit. A contingent of chariots under Luan Zhi swept in front and dragged tree branches, raising a dust fog to obscure the movements of Hu Mao's men who were circling and reforming.

The Jin left continued to maintain position against the Chu centre, and was aided by the Chu centre. Though the Jin centre was temporarily disordered by an intense whirlwind, it was effective in preventing the Chu centre from supporting its left wing. As the Chu left advanced, it was caught in the flank by Duke Wen's bodyguards, composed of the sons of noble clansmen and sons of his close followers and thus flanked by the Jin central army. Meanwhile the entire force of the Jin right wing completed its recircling and was supported on its right by Luan Zhi's chariots to join the assault. The Chu left was completely destroyed. Seeing both his wings enveloped, Ziyu ( 子玉 ) ordered a general retreat.

After returning to the north, Duke Wen was recognised by the King of Zhou as first among the feudal lords. A multi-state conference at Jiantu in 631 BC headed by Duke Wen confirmed their support for the Zhou royal family and swore a covenant of alliance. The battle, however, was not effective in the long term in restricting the power of Chu .