The end of the Han Dynasty was followed by a long period of disunity and constant civil wars between eunuch and relatives of the emperor’s wife. The leaders of the kingdoms strove to reunite the empire and therefore massacre of killing greatly weakened the governing of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
汉章帝以后，东汉政府一直处于宦官与外戚的权力斗争之中，这两大集团力量的互相斗争，每一次的战争无不伴随大规模的杀戮，严重削弱了东汉帝国的势力。
In 184, the prevailing peasants uprising, led by Zhang Jiao and his two brothers known as the Yellow Turban uprising, was broken out.
公元184年，中国大地上爆发了以张角三兄弟为首的、规模空前的农民起义。
To suppress the uprising ,the Eastern Han sovereign had to give power to the local lords and admitted and supported nonpublically the local militias to fight against the outlaws.
东汉政府为了镇压黄巾起义，一方面放权到洲牧、太守，一方面默认并支持地主阶层组织私人武装，对抗起义军。
After a year of war, the Yellow Turban uprising was defeated.
经过近一年的较量，基本上把黄巾军镇压下来。
However, the various local feudal lords ended up with strong political and military strength. In addition, for fearing of that they might lose their local control, these local lords united and elected the capable and celebrated lord their leader, therefore the Eastern Han authoriy was severely shaken and became virtually a puppet one.
但是经过黄巾起义，东汉政府已经摇摇欲坠，各洲牧、太守纷纷拥兵自重，地方豪强为了共同利益，形成利益共同体，并推举德高望重或有能力的人当统帅，东汉政权已经名存实亡。
In 189 Liu Bian came into the power after the death of Ling Emperor, his father.
公元189年，灵帝亡，刘辩即位，宦官和外戚展开新一轮权力争夺。
In order to seize the power, the minister He Jin accepted the advice from Yuan Shao to plot Dong Zhuo, a prominent warlord then intruding into the capital Luoyang under the name of eliminating the control of eunuch. When Dong Zhuo led his army forward to deal with the disorders, the power of the imperial government was ended.
为了在权力争夺中取得决定性胜利，何进听取袁绍建议,征调四方猛将、英雄豪杰率兵入京，造成董卓乱政。
On 28 September, Dong Zhuo deposed the young emperor Liu Bian and placed his half-brother Liu Xie, Emperor Xian, upon the throne.
同年9月28日，董卓以诛宦官为名，进入洛阳，废刘辩，立其堂兄刘协为帝，即汉献帝。
Within a few weeks there was open rebellion against Dong Zhuo the whole country was in the chaos situation of civil wars again.
几周后，士族豪强袁绍起兵讨董卓，一时间全国又陷人内战混乱之中。
In 191 the army of Sun Jian, under the command of Yuan Shu, drove Dong Zhuo from Luoyang west to Chang, an, and in 192 Dong Zhuo was assassinated by his former body-guard Lu Bu.
公元191年，袁术的部将孙坚起兵将董卓逐出洛阳，董卓逃至西安。公元192年董卓被其护卫吕布所杀。
The central government fell into complete disorder and played no further part in the affairs of the rest of the empire, and the alliance in the east broke up into anarchy of warfare across the whole of the plain.
中央政府陷入混乱,东汉政权尽失，乱世正式来临。在中原大地上军阀混战一片。
Leaders of the rebels in the east included Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, ruled the four states of You, Qing, ji, Bing (now the areas of Hebei province) who controlled a network of influence based on the high official status of their family and their land property, and men such as Cao Cao, controlled the middle and lower Huanghe River valley, not so well regarded, but with sufficient resources of family property to raise his own private army.
在起兵伐董卓的军阀中，东有袁绍、袁术以家族的高位和殷实的财产成为实力最大的一方，据有冀、青、幽、并四州（现河北境内），曹操也凭着实力招兵买马，拥有自己的兵力，屯据黄河中下游一带。
Many of the regular officials of the provinces were reluctant to break the peace, but the local pressure was overwhelming, and those who did not join the rebels were swiftly eliminated. And there were, of course, some fighting men and adventurers, some of them with pretensions to an official position, took advantage of the growing turmoil to seek power and profit on their own initiative.
当地的其他军阀虽无心破坏和平的时局，但迫于地方军阀的压力而加入纷争，以求自保或从乱世中渔利。