中英雙語話史記 第26期:西周的衰亡

Zhou Dynasty

周朝

Decline of Western Zhou

西周的衰落

After the death of King Wu, the Duke of Zhou was in Charge of state affairs for seven years until King Cheng came of age.

周武王去世後，周公旦執政七年直到周成王達到登基的年齡。

The four decades under King Cheng and his son King Kang were marked by political stability and economic prosperity.

成王在位的40年和他的兒子周康王執政的時期政治穩定、經濟繁榮。

Under the next rulers, King Zhao and King Mu, the strength of the dynasty was at its height and wars were fought against the peoples of the surrounding areas.

之後，在周昭王和周穆王的統治下，周朝國力達到鼎盛並與周邊地區多次開戰。

These conflicts intensified with the Zhou side enjoying the initiative.

這些戰事加強了周朝的主動權。

King Mu, powerful and ambitious, is said to have toured the regions far out in the west.

據說強勢又野心勃勃的穆王將國土擴展到了西邊。

After King Mu and throughout the reigns of King Gong, King Yi, King Xiao, King Yi and King Li, the prestige of the dynasty gradually declined and contradictions between the royal house and the people began to surface.

穆王之後，也就是在周共王、周懿王、周孝王、周夷王和周厲王在位期間，王朝的威望逐步衰退，皇族與人民之間的矛盾浮現出來。

King Li exploited the capital residents or freemen more mercilessly than ever and that roused general opposition.

厲王更加殘忍地剝削都城人民和自由民，其殘忍的程度史無前例，這引起了大衆的反抗。

His ministers advised him to stop his oppression, but he refused to listen. Instead, he suppressed all public discussion.

他的大臣勸他不要再壓迫人民但他不聽，反而禁止所有人在公共場合議論。

His tyranny continued for three years then the capital residents could no longer tolerate it and rose in armed revolt.

他的暴政持續了三年，直到人民再也無法忍受，於是他們揭竿而起。

They attacked the royal palace and forced the king to flee.

他們進攻皇宮，將厲王放逐。

Then they surrounded the residence of the Duke of Shao where they had heard that Prince Jing, heir to the throne, was hiding.

接着，人們圍住召穆公的府邸，因爲他們聽說王位繼承人公子靜藏在那裏。

The Duke made his own son take the place of the prince, thus saving the heir who later became King Xuan.

召穆公用自己的兒子替代了公子靜，救了他。公子靜，就是後來的周宣王。

After King Li had fled, the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Shao, descendants of the two mentioned earlier，took charge of the government;this period was called the Gonghe.

在厲王被放逐之後，周定公與召穆公，也就是之前提到的召穆公的後代，共同執政，這段時期被稱爲“共和”。

One account says that the man in power was Duke He of the state of Gong，hence the name Gonghe.

有一個解釋說，因爲其中一個王朝管理者是共國的和公，所以稱“共和”。

The first year of Gonghe was 841 B.C. From that year on, we have accurate dates of recorded Chinese history.

“共和”元年爲公元前841年，從那時起，我們對於中國歷史的記載有了準確的日期。

King Li died in Zhi (now Huoxian in Shanxi) 14 years after his flight.

被放逐後的第14年，周厲王死於彘地（今山西霍縣）。

The Dukes of Zhou and Shao had Prince Jing enthroned as King Xuan.

周定公與召穆公讓公子靜登基，是爲周宣王。

In the first years of his rule severe droughts occurred, but they did not develop into a serious situation.

在他執政的第一年出現大旱，但是旱災並沒有發展到一個嚴重的地步。

Later King Xuan carried out wars against some neighbouring tribes and states and won some victories, but was defeated in wars against the Jiang Rong tribe and against the Tiao Rong and the Ben Rong tribes.

之後，周宣王對周邊的一些部落和國家宣戰並獲得了勝利，但在與姜戎、條戎和奔戎的作戰中失敗。

For a time during King Xuan’s Reign there were signs of the contradictions between the Zhou state and the neighbouring peoples and the social contradictions in the Zhou-controlled areas were not resolved.

周宣王執政期間國家曾一度繁榮。但是周王朝與周邊人民的矛盾以及周朝內部各地區的矛盾並誒有得到解決。

Moreover, continuous wars consumed much of the dynasty’s manpower and material resources.

不僅如此，連年的戰爭已消耗了大量的人力和物資。

King You, who succeeded King Xuan, was a stupid, self indulgent and cruel ruler.

宣王的繼承人幽王是一個愚蠢的、放任自己的還殘暴的君主。

The existing contradictions grew worse.

現有的矛盾進一步惡化。

As the Book of Odes pointed out:” Some people leisurely stay at home, some work untiringly for the country, some lie in bed doing nothing, some always have to go to war, some drink and make merry, some are fearful of meeting disaster, some talk nonsense or gossip, some have to do all kinds of work.”

就像《詩經》中說的那樣“或燕燕居息，或盡瘁事國；或息偃在牀，或不已於行；或不知叫號，或慘慘劬勞；或棲遲偃仰，或王事鞅掌。或湛樂飲酒，或慘慘畏咎；或出入風議，或靡事不爲。”

The struggles between big and small slave owners became sharper with the small slave-owners complaining:” People have land, you take it away; people own slaves, you seize them!”

大小奴隸主之間的鬥爭也更加銳化，小奴隸主抱怨說：“人民擁有土地，你就拿走它；人民擁有奴隸，你就捉走他們”。

Uninterrupted famine and severe earthquakes compelled people to leave their homes and wander about.

不斷的饑荒和嚴重的地震迫使人民離開家園、顛沛流離。

Those who were politically sharp used the earthquakes as a pretext to warn that“high cliffs may turn into deep valleys, while valleys may become hills and mountains.”

那些擁有政治敏銳性的人以地震爲託辭警告說“當山谷成爲高山，高山就會變成深谷”。

The Zhou Dynasty faced a crisis.

周王朝面臨着一場危機。

During King You’s reign the neighbouring people made continuous attacks.

周幽王當政期間，周邊的國家不停地進犯。