In 208 Cao Cao led his army to march south, seized Prefect Jingzhou (now Hubei province) and posed a direct menace to Sun Quan, who ruled in the middle and lower course of the Yangtze River.
建安十三年(208),曹操又率军南下，占荆州，与在长江中下游的孙权对垒。
Meanwhile, Liu Bei, the descendant from the rulers of the former Han, although in exile, striving to restore the power of Han, led his remaining soldiers to seek support from Sun Quan.
此时正在流亡中的汉皇室后代刘备也起兵欲兴汉室，率荆州的残余势力与江东的孙权结合。
In the Yangtze River valley, Sun Quan was uncertain of his best course of action, and Liu Bei sent his brain-trust Zhuge Liang to state the reasoning.
孙权犹豫不定，是否与刘共同抗曹。
At Zhuge Liang, s instance ,Sun Quan decided after a hot debate at his headquarters, however, to send troops forward under the command of Zhou Yu to join Liu Bei and to test Cao Cao’s strength.
刘备派军师诸葛 亮到孙权处说服孙出兵，在军中一番讨论之后，孙权决定派大将周瑜与刘备联合出兵以探曹操兵力虚实。
If their defence should be unsuccessful, he could withdraw most of his men and still have a reserve army with which to negotiate terms.
这样即便不能胜曹，自己也还有一定实力与曹操和谈。
The allies met Cao Cao ’ s forces at the Red Cliffs (on the Yangtze between present-day Wuhan and Yueyang) and for a few days the two groups faced one the other across the river.
孙、曹大军在赤壁（现武汉和岳阳一带）会战。战初几日，两军隔江对峙。
The men of Cao Cao from the north had already taken part in a long campaign with several forced marches and they were not used to the southern waterways and marshlands, therefore there was sickness in the camp.
曹操的军士多为北方人，又长途跋涉来南方作战，他们不熟水性和南方的地势，因而军中许多人病倒。
Besides some of the Cao Cao's army and all of the fleet had formerly served Liu Bi-ao, they were undecided about their new master.
此外曹军中还有许多步兵和全部的水兵是刘表的降兵，许多人并不真心忠于曹操。
For his own part, Cao Cao probably regarded the operation as a reconnaissance in force： if he was successful in defeating the allies and driving them to separate surrenders, so much the better； if not, he could withdraw and look for another occasion in the future.
对曹操而言，这一次的战争也是检验其实力的时候，如果能打败孙刘联军，将其各个击破是再好不过;如果战败，自己还能撤回日后寻找机会再战。
Cao Cao's first attack was driven back and then the wind changed against him and Zhou Yu sent in an attack with fire-ships.
曹操的首次进攻被击退,此时风向逆刮，周瑜乘势用火攻。
In the technology of warfare at that time，fire was a common weapon，and when used in the right circumstance it could create large-scale destruction.
在当时，火是一种常见的武器，在适当的条件下能造成很大的杀伤力。
Whatever preparations Cao Cao may have made against the threat, he was compelled to abandon his position and retreat, and the allies enhanced their victory with tales of slaughter.
尽管曹操是有备而来,此时也不得不弃船后撤。
After Cao Cao pulled back to his northern base, Sun Quan consolidated his position of the south. While Liu Bei seized part of the regions under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou Prefecture and later took Yizhou( mostly in present-day Sichuan Province) in the West.
曹操大败，退回北方，刘备得以占据荆州，后人益州（今四川境内）。
And so situation arose in which the country was divided and ruled by the three feudal lords.
从此，曹、孙、刘三大势力成鼎足之势。
The battle at the Red Cliffs has become one of the most celebrated battles in Chinese history, and it was the last chance for many years to re-unite the empire, for it was the control of the middle Yangtze which meant survival or surrender of the south.
赤壁之战成为中国历史上有名的战役，它也是最后一次统一中国南北的机会，因为对长江中游地带的控制就意味着南方是继续存在还是归顺北方。
It is also the theme of several plays and poems and the centre-piece of the great historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms .
同时它也是许多短剧和诗歌的主题，著名的历史题材小说《三国演义》就是据此而成。
In 215 Sun Quan ’ s field marshal Lv Meng was sent to seize the southern com-manderies of Jingzhou province. Liu Bei ’ s general Guan Yu brought an army in counter-attack. Taking advantage of their fighting in Jingzhou, Cao Cao attacked from Chang ’an across the Qinling Range Divide，seized Hanzhong and opened the way for a direct attack on Liu Bei.
公元215年，孙权大将吕蒙夺取了荆州以南的城池，刘备的大将关羽欲夺回失地，曹操趁机出兵攻占了汉中，直接威胁着刘备的蜀地。
Both were concerned by the threat from the northern Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan reconciled, defeated Cao Cao and killed one of Cao’s general Xiahou Yuan in Hanzhong.
刘备与孙权和解回兵汉中，击溃曹军，并斩杀曹操大将夏侯渊。
Cao Cao brought reinforcements in an attempt to remedy the damage, but he could not regain the territory, and was compelled to retreat across the Qinling Divide.
曹操集合兵力以求挽回损失，但未能夺回汉中，只得撤回秦岭以北。
So Liu Bei ’ s borders were secured against the north, and in celebration of the victory he proclaimed himself King of Hanzhong.
刘备在北的疆域得到了巩固，并称汉中王。
In the autumn of 219, as Guan Yu was committed to the attack up the Han River and the siege of Fan city, Cao Cao sent envoy to unite with Sun Quan, thus Lu AAeng prepared a secret invasion and struck westwards along the Yangtze against Jiangling.
公元219年秋，刘备的大将关羽进攻曹操的樊城，曹操遣使与东吴联盟。孙权的大将吕蒙便借机袭取江陵。
The surprise was complete, Guan Yu’s position collapsed in ruins, he himself was killed in Maicheng and the greater part of his army surrendered.
计谋得逞，于是孙曹两军夹击，斩关羽于麦城，大多军士投降。
Sun-Liu ally was totally destroyed，Cao Cao’s position in the Han valley was restored, and Sun Quan held all the territory east of the Yangzi gorges.
孙刘联盟被彻底破坏，北方的局势得以缓和。孙权占据了长江以东的地区。
After Cao Cao's death in 220, his son, Cao Pi, deposed the Eastern Han emperor of Xian and proclaimed him Emperor of Wei.
建安二十五年(220)曹操病逝，其子曹丕逼献帝退位，自立为帝，国号为魏。
In thevfollowing year, Liu Bei declared himself Emperor of Han being descendant of former Han, which historically known as the Kingdom of Shu or Shu Han, and made Chengdu his capital.
次年，刘备也在成都称帝，刘备因身为汉室宗亲，故国号仍为汉，史称蜀国或蜀汉。
In 229, following the example of Cao Pi and Liu Bei, Sun Quan called himself Emperor of Wu with the capital at Jianye(now Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province) which marked the real beginning of the era of the three kingdoms in Chinese history.
公元229年，仿曹丕和刘备，吴王孙权在建业（今江苏南京一带）称帝，国号吴。三国分立时代正式开始。