Archaeologists have discovered a center for the best Chinese intellectuals from the Warring States period, which dates back over 2,000 years. Picture from scmp During the Warring States period (475-221 BC), monarchs all over ancient China resorted to intellectuals to find a way out of the never-ending conflict, and the Jixia Academy in the state of Qi stood out for its ability to attract the greatest Chinese thinkers of the time. The institute was once confined to the annals of history; experts assumed it existed, but nothing was known about Jixia, and there was no definitive confirmation that it existed. That is, until archaeologists in Shandong Province, eastern China, claimed in late February that they had discovered the institute's ruins, a potential breakthrough after a five-year search. The Jixia Academy was identified by scientists using historical records and carbon dating. Jixia is a mysterious site, and some historians question whether it really qualifies as a "schoo