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.

周武王去世后，周公旦执政七年直到周成王达到登基的年龄。

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年和他的儿子周康王执政的时期政治稳定、经济繁荣。

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.

之后，在周昭王和周穆王的统治下，周朝国力达到鼎盛并与周边地区多次开战。

These conflicts intensified with the Zhou side enjoying the initiative.

这些战事加强了周朝的主动权。

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

据说强势又野心勃勃的穆王将国土扩展到了西边。

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.

穆王之后，也就是在周共王、周懿王、周孝王、周夷王和周厉王在位期间，王朝的威望逐步衰退，皇族与人民之间的矛盾浮现出来。

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

厉王更加残忍地剥削都城人民和自由民，其残忍的程度史无前例，这引起了大众的反抗。

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

他的大臣劝他不要再压迫人民但他不听，反而禁止所有人在公共场合议论。

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

他的暴政持续了三年，直到人民再也无法忍受，于是他们揭竿而起。

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

他们进攻皇宫，将厉王放逐。

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，人们围住召穆公的府邸，因为他们听说王位继承人公子静藏在那里。

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

召穆公用自己的儿子替代了公子静，救了他。公子静，就是后来的周宣王。

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.

在厉王被放逐之后，周定公与召穆公，也就是之前提到的召穆公的后代，共同执政，这段时期被称为“共和”。

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

有一个解释说，因为其中一个王朝管理者是共国的和公，所以称“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”元年为公元前841年，从那时起，我们对于中国历史的记载有了准确的日期。

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

被放逐后的第14年，周厉王死于彘地（今山西霍县）。

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

周定公与召穆公让公子静登基，是为周宣王。

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

在他执政的第一年出现大旱，但是旱灾并没有发展到一个严重的地步。

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.

之后，周宣王对周边的一些部落和国家宣战并获得了胜利，但在与姜戎、条戎和奔戎的作战中失败。

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

周宣王执政期间国家曾一度繁荣。但是周王朝与周边人民的矛盾以及周朝内部各地区的矛盾并诶有得到解决。

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

不仅如此，连年的战争已消耗了大量的人力和物资。

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

宣王的继承人幽王是一个愚蠢的、放任自己的还残暴的君主。

The existing contradictions grew worse.

现有的矛盾进一步恶化。

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《诗经》中说的那样“或燕燕居息，或尽瘁事国；或息偃在床，或不已于行；或不知叫号，或惨惨劬劳；或栖迟偃仰，或王事鞅掌。或湛乐饮酒，或惨惨畏咎；或出入风议，或靡事不为。”

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!”

大小奴隶主之间的斗争也更加锐化，小奴隶主抱怨说：“人民拥有土地，你就拿走它；人民拥有奴隶，你就捉走他们”。

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

不断的饥荒和严重的地震迫使人民离开家园、颠沛流离。

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.”

那些拥有政治敏锐性的人以地震为托辞警告说“当山谷成为高山，高山就会变成深谷”。

The Zhou Dynasty faced a crisis.

周王朝面临着一场危机。

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

周幽王当政期间，周边的国家不停地进犯。