The Eastern Han Dynasty entered its middle period when the 10-year-old Emperor. He came to the throne in 88 AD, his mother, Empress Dowager Dou led the court audiences.
公元88年，仅10岁的和帝继位，窦太后临朝。东汉的统治进人了中期。
By then, Xiongnu had split into the northern and the southern parts again.
这时，匈奴再次分裂为南、北两部分。
By 91, the northern group had been wiped out in the allied expeditions of Han and the Southern Xiongnu.
公元91年,汉和南匈奴联手铲除北匈奴。
The triumph over the Northern Xiongnu enabled Dou Xian, the commander-in-chief and the brother of the Empress Dou to take over the administrative affairs.
这一胜利，使大将军窦宪（窦太后的兄弟)得以掌权。
This threw the imperial court into prolonged turmoil.
汉朝廷从此被卷人混乱的漩涡。
In 92, Emperor He allied with his eunuch, Zheng Zhong, finally destroyed the power of the Dou clan and grasped the power himself. Zheng Zhong was granted the title of Marquise for it.
和帝于公元92年与宦官郑众等人合力诛灭窦氏，掌握实权，郑众因功封侯。
From then on, eunuchs were involved in the reign progressively.
自此，宦官越来越多地参与到东汉的政治统治之中。
Most successors to of the throne after Emperor He were children.
和帝以后继位的皇帝也多是小儿。
Therefore, reigns of government had to be held by empress regents, in fact who usually relied on their clansmen. Naturally, the power were lost, and the consort clans manipulated the imperial court.
太后临朝听政,实是依靠娘家的父兄掌权，因此往往是大权旁落，外戚势力集团左右朝政。
When a young emperor grew up, he tried to break away from the control of the empress * s family, seeking the support of eunuchs close to him. Consequently, eunuchs replaced consort clans to seize the power.
小皇帝年长之后，为摆脱外戚的控制，就向身边的宦官寻求帮助，继而宦官又掌大权。
Such pattern repeated constantly, and the reign of Emperors An, Shun and Huan had no exception, either.
外戚与宦官的斗争循环往复，在安、顺、桓帝时也都发生过。
The year 146, when Emperor Huan came to the throne, it was a turning point at which palace eunuchs began to rise to supremacy, causing even greater upheavals in the court. The Eastern Han Dynasty entered its last stage when consort clans and eunuchs had the imperial power in hands.
公元146年，桓帝在位时，这一斗争出现了转折点。宦官的权利达到无以复加的地步，在朝廷中掀起更大的波澜，形成东汉王朝后期的宦官与外戚专权的格局。
Liang Ji, the brother of the Empress Liang, was the general during the reign of Emperor Shun.
顺帝时，梁冀（梁皇后的兄弟）为大将军。
After the death of Emperor Shun in 144, Empress Dowager Liang and Liang Ji became the prominent power holders of the Eastern Han court.
公元144年，顺帝死后，朝廷的大权便落人梁太后和梁冀的手中。
Initially, Liang Ji installed a two-year-old boy on the throne, known as Emperor Chong.
梁冀先立2岁的小儿为帝，是为冲帝。
The young emperor died in the following year. Then he had another boy the emperor, who was the eight-year-old Emperor Zhi.
次年冲帝死, 他又立8岁的小儿为帝，即质帝。
Young as an emperor, he knew that Liang Ji was imperious and despotic.
质帝虽小，但却知道梁冀专权骄横。
Once in the court, the young emperorsaid to Liang, “You are a domineering general. ”
上朝时，他说梁冀此跋扈将军也。
In resentment, Liang Ji poisoned Emperor Zhi，and put fifteen-year-old Liu Zhi on the throne, that was Emperor Huan.
梁冀很忿恨，就把质帝毒死，另立宗室15岁的刘志为帝, 是为桓帝。
Therefore, Liang Ji controlled the imperial court for nearly twenty years and his influence was tremendous.
梁冀专权近20年，势力庞大。
When Empress Dowager Liang died in 159, it gave way to Shan Chao, a eunuch who could defeat the Liang clan. Conspired with Emperor Huan, Shan Chao had the army besiege Liang’s mansion, then Liang Ji committed suicide, while all his family members were executed.
公元159年(延熹二年），梁皇后死,桓帝与中常侍单超等人合谋，以1000余人包围梁冀的府第，梁冀自杀，梁氏的族人皆被诛。
Title of nobility was bestowed to Shan Chao.
单超因功封侯。
In fact, it was the fourth time that eunuchs dealt heavy blows on consort clans in the history of the Eastern Han.
这是宦官对外戚的第四次打击。
It benefited the politics and society to annihilate Liang Li and his partisans, but from than on, the regime of the Eastern Han was monopolized by eunuchs.
诛除梁冀及其党羽，对当时的政治、社会都有好处;但从此以后，东汉政权为宦官垄断。
When the imperial power came into the governance of eunuchs, the politics tended to be gloomy. At this point, some righteous state officials with their followers united to fight against the clique of eunuchs in various means.
宦官垄断政权以后，政治日益黑暗,一些比较正直的高级官吏及其门生、故吏, 采取各种形式，对宦官集团展开了斗争。
Then the Movement of Pure Comments and Partisan Prohibition took place successively.
于是相继发生了 “清议”运动和“党锢”事件。
The Movement of Pure Comments: Eunuchs ’ monopoly on the regime not only worsened the politics, but interdicted scholars’ official career, depriving their further development.
清议:宦官专政不仅使政治黑暗，而且也阻断了仕途，严重地侵夺了士人的上进之路。
At that time, the number of students in the state academy had reached up to over 30 000. Along with many Confucian scholars in the prefectures and counties, they allied with scholar-bureaucrats, forming a huge political force in the court and the commonalty to criticize the eunuchs * interference in the regime.
这一时期，太学生已发展到30000余人，各郡县的儒生也很多，就与官僚士大夫结合,在朝野形成一个庞大的官僚士大夫反宦官专权的社会政治力量，批评宦官专权乱政。
This is the so called Pure Comments.
这就是所谓的“清议”。
Partisan Prohibition： Confucian officials and students of the state academy not only availed public opinion to attack eunuchs, but began a conscious effort to form a coalition to drive out the political influence of the eunuchs.
党锢:官僚士大夫和太学生们不仅在舆论上抨击宦官，还试图在政治上打击宦官势力。
Therefore, the conflicts between the two sides intensified gradually.
这样，官僚士大夫和太学生与宦官集团之间的斗争愈演愈烈。
The matter came to a climax in 166 over a murder case.
公元166年的一桩命案则使其斗争达到高潮。
Zhang Cheng, a fortuneteller in Luoyang, instructed his son to commit a murder.
术士张成教唆其子杀人，为司隶校尉李膺逮捕。
Li Ying, one of the famous Confucian scholars in government who was serving as the governor in the capital province, arrested the Zhangs, but indeed at this time a general pardon was issued.
适逢国家有赦令，可是李膺因张成与宦官关系密切，就把他们处死。
Li disregarded it and executed the Zhangs anyway due to the Zhang's close relation with eunuchs.
不料想张成的弟子，诬告李膺与太学生、诸郡儒生及游学士人“共为部党，诽讪 朝廷”。
However, Li did not anticipate that ZhangJ s disciple would then accuse him of forming clique with students of the academy and scholars in various prefectures to defame the imperial court and the emperor.EmperorHuan became extremely enraged, and arrested Li as well as some 200 students.
桓帝大怒，逮捕了李膺等200余人。
This arrest order that coined the term “the partisans”.
“党锢”一词由此而出。
Later, officials Huo Xu and Dou Wu submitted humble petitions again and again, requesting leniency for the partisans. Under their urging, Li Ying and the university students were released and exiled back to their hometowns. Their civil liberties were stripped for life.
后经尚书霍 婿、城门校尉窦武等一再向桓帝说情，才得赦免回归田里，但却禁锢终身。
This was the first partisan prohibition.
这是第一次“党锢”。
After this event, the opposition and struggle between Confucian official and students and eunuchs became acute farther
自这次事件之后，官僚士大夫和太学生与宦官集团的对立和斗争进一步激化。
After the death of Emperor Huan in the next year, Emperor Ling succeeded to the throne.
第二年，桓帝死,灵帝立。
General Dou Wu, the father of Empress Dowager Dou and taifu Chen Fan acted as regents.
太后之父窦武以大将军的身份与太傅陈蕃辅政。
They restored the rights of the partisans, like Li Ying and other famous scholars, and in fact made many of them imperial officials.
他们起用了李膺和其他一些被禁锢的名士。
Later in 168, concerned that the eunuchs were exerting too much influence over the young emperor and the empress dowager, Dou Wu and Chen entered into a plan to exterminate the leading eunuchs.
由于幼帝和太后为太监所左右，公元 168年，他们又共谋诛除宦官集团。
When word got out, headed with Chao Jie, the eunuchs instead mobilized the imperial guards and had Dou Wu arrested, who committed suicide later.
可是，由于事泄，以曹节为首的宦官发兵逮捕窦武，窦武自杀，窦氏宗族惨遭灭门。
The dan of Dou was executed. The eunuchs immediately removed the partisans from government and again suspended their civil liberties.
曹节等宦官迅速清除其同党,再次实行免官禁锢。
The eunuchs were not content with just removing the partisans from government. In 169, they persuaded the 13-year-old Emperor Ling that the partisans were intent to rebel.
但是宦官并不满足于此，公元169年，他们对13岁的灵帝说朋党欲造反。
The leading partisans, including Li Ying, Du Mi, and Fan Pang were arrested and executed. Overall, about 100 people lost their lives.
后以李膺、杜密、范滂为首的朋党皆被杀，前后又100多人丧命。
This was the second Partisan Prohibition.The Partisan Prohibition was not lifted until 184, when the Yellow Turban uprising took place.
这是第二次党锢这次党锢直到中平元年（184年）黄巾大起义时才被解除。
It was Lu Qiang, also a eunuch, who made the proposal.
建议解除禁锢的也是一个宦官,即中常侍吕强。
Fearing that the prohibited partisans felt discontented and would plot with Zhang Jiao, then Lu made the suggestion.
他怕受禁锢的人心怀不满，与张角等“合谋”，因之提出这一建议。
Emperor Ling accepted it, decreeing that the partisans be free from the prohibition.
灵帝接受了这个建议,下诏解除了“党锢”。
Then the internal struggle of the ruling clique, which lasted more than several decades, was suspended temporarily in the confrontation of peasant rebellions.
统治阶级内部的这场长达数十年的斗争，在农民起义面前，暂告中止。