Military violence or warfare played a significant role in shaping the culture and society of ancient China. Nonetheless the subject has generated far less discussion than it deserves. This chapter studies the relationship between violence and warfare and their impact on the political, social and cultural trajectory of China in the period between the late third century BCE and the sixth century CE – a period during which the course of Chinese history went through the establishment of the early empires, their collapse, and the ensuing political division that lasted for nearly three centuries. It covers the topics of various notions of ‘just war’, the conduct of warfare, institutions of military mobilisation, military rites and their practices, and the mutual influence of religious beliefs and massive violence. Through an examination of multiple sources of evidence the chapter arrives at a broad understanding of how people in early imperial China conceptualised and justified violence in warfare, as well as the circumstances and purposes to which they resorted to war.