Wei held a dominant position during the early stage of the Warring States Period.

战国初期，魏国势力最强。

However, with the growth of Qi and Qin, it became the victim of attacks and declined gradually.

随着齐、秦相继强盛，魏不断遭到两国的轮番进攻，逐步衰落。

In 354 B. C. , Wei launched a punitive expedition against Zhao, besieging its capital Handan.

公元前354年，魏伐赵，围之于邯郸，赵请救于齐。

Qi sent out troops to rescue Zhao at the latter’s request. Having Tian Ji as the commander, and Sun Bin as the military advisor, Qi launched a sudden attack on Daliang the capital of Wei (the modern Kaifeng, Henna Province) instead of Zhao.

齐以田忌为将，孙膑为军师，出兵未去韩而直趋大梁（今河南开封）魏的都城。

The Wei forces had to withdraw to defend their capital.

魏军不得不回师救梁。

When marched to Guiling(the northwest of modern Changyuan County, Henan Province), they were intercepted by Qi army. Wei suffered crushing defeated with his general, Pang Juan captured by Qi.

行至桂陵(今河南长垣西北），遭齐军截击，魏军大败，主将庞涓被擒。

This is the Guiling Battle famous for the strategy of “besieging Wei in order to rescue Zhao” in Chinese militar-y history.

这就是历史上以“围魏救赵”的战法著名于世的“桂陵之战”。

Wei launched an attack on Han in 342 B. C. ； once again Qi dispatched troops to help Han.

公元前342年，魏又伐韩，韩亦请救于齐，齐再次出兵。

This time, Sun Bin lured the enemy to Maling (the southwest of modern Fan County, Shandong Province), where Qi gave the Wei forces a severe blow.

孙膑诱敌至马陵（今山东范县西南），大败魏军。

At the battle, Wei * s crown prince, Shen was captured, and its general, Pang Juan, committed suicide.

庞涓自杀，太子申被虏。

Soon after the defeat at Maling, Wei was conquered by Qin, ceding its land on the west of the Yellow River to Qin.

魏在马陵失败不久，又为秦击败，并被秦夺回河西之地。

At that time, Qin was the biggest menace, so Wei removed the capital to Daliang from Anyi for the sake of safety in 339 B. C., and negotiated peace with other states in the Northeast at the same time.

当时秦对魏的威胁最严重。魏为了安全，于公元前339年（魏惠王三十一年)将国都自安邑东迁大梁，并与关东各国议和。

Threatened by Qin, they allied with each other, and soon a military alliance to Qin came into being, which was known as vertical coalition.

关东各国也畏于秦的东侵，就互相结盟，迅速形成了关东各国与秦的对抗。关东各国为了抗拒强秦,组成军事联盟，称为“合纵”。

The formation of vertical coalition succeeded in holding back the eastward invasion of Qin for 15 years.

“合纵”的形成，曾使秦兵不敢窥函谷关(今河南灵宝东北农润河畔王垛村）十五年。

However, the allies suspected each other, and confrontations were numerous, thus the alliance was anything but solid.

可是关东各国之间互相猜疑，矛盾重重，在对抗秦的进攻方面，各有打算。

In order to destroy the vertical coalition, and pave the way for its eastward development, Qin took advantage of this situation. It managed to form an alliance with the other six powers respectively through exerting military pressure or sowing political discord, which was called horizontal coalition.

秦为了破坏关东的“合纵”，便于其向东方发展，就用军事压力和政治离间等手段，在关东争取盟国，称为“连横”。

According historical contexts, important figures engaged in vertical coalition was Su Qin of Luoyang ， while in horizontal coaH-tion was Zhang Yi of the Wei state.

文献记载,从事于“合纵”运动的主要人物是洛阳人苏秦，从事于“连横”运动的是魏人张仪。

As wars went on, the horizontal coalition among Qin, Wei and Han and vertical coalition between Qi and Chu finally came into being.

随着战事的不断发展，最终形成秦、魏、韩三国“连横”，齐与楚两国“合纵”的对抗形势。

In 313 B. C. , sending Zhang Yi as an envoy to Chu, Qin succeeded in breaking off relations between Qi and Chu.

为了破坏楚、齐联盟,公元前313年，秦派张仪出使楚国，使楚与齐绝交。

When finding cheated, King Huai of Chu dispatched troops to attack Qin.

当楚怀王察觉受骗，又发兵攻秦。

Unfortunately, Chu was not only defeated at Danyang, but also a large piece of land was captured by Qin as well.

秦军在丹阳打败楚军，攻取楚国的汉中地600里。

Zhang Yi also convinced Han, Zhao and Yan to have an alliance with Qin.

张仪又说服韩、赵、燕与秦连横。

In 301 B. C. , the alliance of Qi, Han and Wei attacked Chu.

公元前301年，齐、韩、魏联合攻楚。

In 299 B. C. , being deceived, King Huai of Chu went to Qin with which he was hoping to form an alliance，but he was detained at Qin ’ s capital Xianyang, where he later died.

公元前299年，楚怀王受骗往秦，被扣留，最后死于咸阳。

Since then, Chu had never recovered from the setback.

从此，楚国一蹶不振。

Consequently, it was more difficult for the other states in northeast to ally.

关东各国虽还想合纵,情况更困难。

As Qin and Chu fought against each other, great changes took place in Zhao, Qi and Yan simultaneously.

秦、楚抗衡之际，赵、齐、燕的国内形式也发生了巨大变化。

In 307 B. C. , King Wuling of Zhao carried out military reforms. He organized a powerful cavalry, clothing the cavalry men in the style of nomadic people, making it easier for them to ride and to shoot. This consolidated the military strength of Zhao, which became a new barrier on Qin * s way to the east.

公元前307年，赵 武灵王实行胡服骑射，改传统的甲兵为骑兵，使赵国的军事实力大为增强，成为秦 国向东发展的新障碍。

In 314 B. C. , taking advantage of the internal disorder of Yan, Qi attacked Yan and conquered it in fifty days.

公元前314年，齐乘燕内乱，出兵伐燕，50余日，就攻取燕国全境。

As Qi’s forces slaughtered a lot of inhabitants，the people of Yan rose up to rebel, and Qi was forced to withdraw.

由于齐军大量杀戮平民，燕人奋起反抗,齐军被迫撤退。

However, it indicated Qi* s great potential.

但此事证明，齐国的力量仍相当强大。

In 284 B. C. , King Zhao of Yan dispatched general Yue Yi to launch a retaliatory war against Qi and in five years, took more than seventy cities, leaving only two cities, Ju and Jimo(the present Jimo city, Shandong), still in Qi’s control.

公元前284年，燕昭王为报仇雪恨，以乐毅为帅出兵伐齐。5年间，除莒和即墨（今山东即墨市）两个城外，攻下齐70余城。

Later，Qi’s general Tian Dan recovered the lost territory，but the war between Qi and Yan, lasting 35 years, exhausted the energy and weakened their strength in confrontation with Qin.

虽然后来齐将田单收复了失地，但齐国与燕国长达35年的战争耗尽了两国的精力，削弱与秦抗衡的力量。

Qin took the opportunity to adopt a policy of befriending distant states while attacking those nearby, and unfolded a swift and fierce attack on the six powers.

秦乘机采取远交近攻之策，展开了对六国的凌厉攻势。

In 278 B. C. , Qin’s general Bai Qi captured Chu’ s capital, Ying, compelling Chu to move its capital to Chen (modern Huaiyang, Henan Province), and raised the curtain on the unification of China.

公元前278年，秦将白起攻破楚都郢城，迫使楚迁都于陈（今河南淮阳），揭开了秦国统一战争的序幕。

In 260 B. C. , Bai Qi attacked Han, and then fought for Shangdang County with Zhao.

公元前260年（秦昭王四十七年），白起攻韩，又与赵争夺韩的上党郡。

At the battle of Changping (modern Gaoping County，Shanxi Province)，Bai Qi routed Zhao’s troops, killing more than 400 000 men, including Zhao’s general Zhao Kuo.

在长平（今山西高平），大破赵军，杀赵军统帅赵括，其士卒40余万人。

Changping battle was decisive to Qin and it was the war with his last powerful opponent on the central plain, and it also was a final large-scale batle in the Warring States Period, which laid foundation for Qin to unify China.

长平之战是秦国与他在中原最后一个强手的决战，也是战国最后一次大战。此战役的胜利奠定了秦灭六国统一中国的基础。

In 246 B. C. , 13-year-old Prince Ying Zheng ascended the throne, and the new ruler was later known as the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty.

秦王政于公元前246年即位，时年13岁，他就是后来的秦始皇。

The prime min-ister L0 Buwei served as regent.

由相国吕不韦掌权。

In 238 B. C. Qin King was in power. He put down the rebellion of Laoai，and then removed LO Buwei，who committed suicide later.

公元前238年，秦王亲政，镇压了谬毐的叛乱。次年，免除吕不韦的相国之职,后吕不韦自杀。

After putting internal affairs straight, Qin launched the final attack on his six rivals.

秦王政整顿了国内的政治之后，就展开了对六国的进攻。

In 230 B. C. , Qin conquered Han with the Neishi, whose name is Teng as the leader and, in the following nine years, conquered the other states such as Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi as well.

公元前230年,秦灭韩，此后9年分别灭赵、魏、楚、燕、齐。

Consequently, China, a former feudal separatist ruled country, became unified and centralized.

中国终于由一个诸侯割据称雄的封建国家转变为一个中央集权的封建国家。