Song Dynasty
宋朝
Northern Song Dynasty
北宋
In 959, following the death of Emperor Shizong who had been a wise monarch, a seven year old child succeeded to the throne as Emperor Gong.
959年，英明的宋世宗驾崩后，7岁的高宗继承了帝位。
In the next year, Zhao Kuangyin seized power and forced Emperor Gong to abdicate in his favor.
一年后，赵匡胤夺取政权，逼迫高宗退位。
Zhao took the name Taizu and established his capital city in Dongjing (present city of Kaifeng).
赵匡胤自立为“太祖”并定都东京（今开封）。
His first task was to ensure that there would be no further military coups and he did this by establishing a professional army loyal to the dynasty with its military com-manders under the strict control of the central government.
他登基后的第一个任务就是确保不会再有任何兵变，他为此建立了一支专业的朝廷军队，这些军队的将领受到了中央政府的严格控制。
For the remainder of his reign, Taizu concentrated his efforts upon whining over the southern states.
之后，太祖一直专注于收复南部的国家。
Such was his success that by the time of his death in 976 apart from Zhejiang, Shanxi, Nanzhao and the area ruled by the Khitan, the country had come under Song's control.
截至976年他去世时，宋朝已经收回了除浙江、山西、南诏和契丹人控制的地区以外的区域。
The activities of the warlords had been brought to an end.
群雄并据的时代结束了。

Taizu was succeeded by his brother, Taizong who brought Zhejiang and Shanxi back into the fold.
太祖驾崩后，他的弟弟宋太宗继承了帝位，收复了浙江和山西。
He was unsuccessful in his two attempts to drive out the Khitan and was forced to deal with them on equal terms.
他两次驱逐契丹人的尝试都已失败告终并被迫与契丹签订了平等条约。
From then on the Song Dynasty sought to defend its borders against invasion and unlike the Tang never ruled a universal empire.
从那时起，宋朝一直试图抵抗来自边境的侵略，这使得它没能像唐朝成为一个世界雄国。
Important steps were taken to strengthen the administration under the autocratic control of the emperor.
皇帝采取了重要的措施来加强中央集权和独裁统治。
These developments were supported by important changes in the recruitment to the bureaucracy and the running of the examination system.
这些变化来源于官僚聘用制度和科举制的改变。
The control over the military and the replacement of aristocratic power with something akin to a meritocracy brought about a stability that allowed the country to enjoy a period of prosperity due to the expansion of industry,commerce and agriculture.
军队的管理以及替代了贵族统治的精英政治带来了国家的稳定，使国家可以因为工业、商业和农业的扩展而繁荣发展。
These factors in turn led to the development of new cities as centers of administration, trade, commerce and industry.
这些因素反过来又促进了以政治、贸易、商业和工业为中心的新兴城市的发展。
The period of reforms lasted until the death of Emperor Shenzong in 1086.
改革的时代一直持续到宋神宗驾崩时也就是1086年。