中英雙語話歷史 第71期:宋及並存的遼,金和西夏(北宋)
The Northern Song was a regime of the Han people founded by Zhao Kuangyin who was known as Emperor Taizu.
The Song capital was located in Kaifeng in Henan Province.
宋朝從公元960年宋太祖趙匡胤陳橋兵變建立，到1279年被元朝滅亡，共存在了319年。Song lasted 319 years from 960, when Zhao Kuangyin, founded Song through an Army revolt, to 1279 when it was destroyed by Mongolia.
時間超過了唐朝，但其影響卻遠在唐朝之下。
Its existence was longer than that of the Tang Dynasty； however its influence is less-reaching than that of the Tang Dynasty in history. The long-term existence of Song due to, first, unlike the generals before him who had declared themselves emperors of dynasties that soon failed, Zhao Kuangyin lived a long life. This allowed him to establish a more solid foundation for his successors.
宋的長期存在,一是由於:和其他的軍事統領不同，趙匡胤活了很長時間,這使他有時間爲自己的繼位者創造一個更加穩定的環境。Another reason that his dynasty lasted longer was that he did not try to fight the Khitans in the north ； instead he conquered the southern half of China. The southern kingdoms, while economically and culturally advanced, did not have strong militaries and were relatively easy to defeat.
另一個原因就是宋統一了南方而不是去和北方的契丹作戰。宋征服了南方的小國，南方的小國雖然經濟和文化都很發達，但沒有強大軍事，易於擊破。In order to maintain peace with the Khitans, the Song was forced to pay them annual tributes.
宋通過進貢和北方契丹保持了和平。There were two periods in Song, the Northern Song and the Southern Song. The Northern Song was a time coexisted with its counterparts of Liao, Xia and Southern Song was continuing of the Northern Song which was retained in the south.
宋通常分爲北宋和南宋兩個時期，北宋是與遼、夏、金對峙時期，而南宋則是偏安衰亡時期。The founding of Song Dynasty once again ended the disunifica-tion of the ancient China since the end of the Tang Dynasty.
宋王朝的建立，結束了自唐末形成的四分五裂的局面,使中國又歸於統一。The Making of Song Dynasty ： In the 6th year of Xiande (959) of the Later Zhou, Emperor Shizong, Cai Rong died of illness, so Emperor Gong, seven years old then, succeeded to the throne.
北宋的建立:五代後周顯德六年(959 )，周世宗柴榮病死，七歲的恭帝繼位時任殿前都點檢、歸德軍節度使的趙匡胤掌握了軍權。In the early first lunar moon of the following year, Zhao Kuangyin, Satrap and Commander of the imperial army, started a mutiny in Chenqiaoyi(southeast of Fengqiu in Henan) and led an army into Kaifeng to force Emperor Gong to abdicate his throne to him.
翌年正月初，趙匡胤在陳橋驛 (今河南封丘東南陳橋鎮）發動兵變，黃袍加身。並率軍人開封，脅迫周恭帝禪位，奪取了皇位。Kaifeng remained as the capital ,but the name of the dynasty was changed to the Song, which became known as the Northern Song in history because the Guide Army led by Zhao Kuangyin garrisoned in Song Prefecture.
因趙匡胤所領的歸德軍駐在宋州，所以建國號爲宋，定都於開封。史稱北宋。The Northern Song had nine emperors who ruled for a total of 168 years.
北宋經歷了九位皇帝168年的統治。The fourth year after the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, the rulers of Song commenced to carry out their military operations to unify China by applying the strategy—“the south first and the north second. ”
北宋建立後的第四年，就開始進行統一全國的軍事行動，並採取了“先南後北” 的政策。They held that to keep the defense in their Northern fronts was wise because Liao was strong enough not to be defeated easily ； contrastively, those southern states were economically and culturally advanced, however, with weak military strength.
宋太祖認爲，當時對遼國還沒有取勝的把握，只能在邊境上採取守勢;而南方割據政權統治區域大都是物產豐富的地區，這些政權的實力又較爲薄弱。因此，其統一戰略部署是先消滅南方的割據政權,然後北上削平北漢以及收復幽雲地區。Since 963 after fighting for over decades of years across the country, Song eliminated the resistant forces of the Later Zhou and cleared away the separatist regimes of the Jingnan, the Later Shu, the Southern Han and the Southern Tang.
從公元963年（乾德元年）以後的幾十年，北宋首先出兵滅掉荊南，接着陸續滅掉後蜀、南漢和南唐。Later, Emperor Taizong summoned Wuyue and the Former Shu to surrender, which meant the end of the Southern states.
在強大的軍事、政治壓力下，公元978年（太平興國三年），前蜀和吳越相繼歸附，南方的割據政權全被消滅。In 979, Taizong of Song personally led his strong army and destroyed the Northern Han, the last kingdom of the ten states. By this time, the state of warfare that had lasted over 200 years from the time of the An Lushan and Shi Siming Revolts in the Tang Dynasty almost ended.
公元979年,宋太宗親率大軍出征北漢，把“十國”中的最後一國滅掉，消除了五代十國獨立割據的局面，從唐代安史之亂開始,持續了二百多年的封建軍閥割據局面基本上結束。The Northern Song^ territories extended to the eastern and southern coastlines. In the north, it bordered on the Liao, along the present-day Jin River, Baxian in Hebei and Yanmenguan in Shanxi. In the northwest, it reached as far as the Baiyu Mountain in Shaanxi, the eastern Gansu and the northeastern Qinghai, and was contiguous to the Western Xia and the Turfan. In the southwest it bordered on Vietnam.
北宋疆域東、南臨海，北境以今津海河、河北霸縣、山西雁門關一線與遼接壤，西北至今陝西白于山、甘肅東部、青海東北部與西夏、吐蕃毗鄰，西南與越南接界。The later Jin of the Five Dynasties and Ten States cec%l the sixteen cities of Youyun to Liao of Qidan.
在五代十國的後晉時期，曾把北方的燕雲十六州割與契丹族所建立的遼國。In order to regain it, the Northern Song and Liao had been fighting for a long time.
爲了收復燕雲十六州，北宋與遼進行了長期的戰爭。Actually, since Zhao Kuangyin came to power, the Northern Song fought many wars with Liao but failed to recover the land.
自宋太祖趙匡胤起，北宋曾多次與遼交戰,但一直未能收復失地。Till to the year of 1004, a peace pact was concluded in Chanzhou, under which the Liao obtained a bountiful annual gift of silver and silk from the Northern Song, while Emperor Zhenzong had to admit Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao aunt and take Shengzong of Liao as his brother.
直至公元1004年，北宋真宗與遼國在澶州定下了停戰和議，約定真宗稱遼蕭太后爲母，宋遼爲兄弟之邦，北宋每年向遼交納“歲幣”和絲綢，雙方互不侵犯。Since then the northern border of Song was peaceful and quiet. The pact between the Northern Song and the Liao was later known as “the Pact of Chanyuan” in history.
自此，中國北方纔有了少許安寧，宋、遼的這次結盟被後世稱之爲“澶淵之盟”。The Economy and Politics of the Northern Song ： The early Northern Song peri-od (960 ?997) covered the reigns of Emperors Taizu and Taizong. In order to a-chieve a long reign instead of becoming the sixth short-lived dynasty after the Five Dynasties in the north, Zhao Kuangyin, Taizu of the Northern Song, made great efforts to end separations and introduced a package of political, military and economic reforms aiming at u strengthening the central government while weakening the local”.
北宋的政治、經濟:在宋朝建立之初，也就是太祖、太宗時期（960 ~ 997)，爲使宋王朝能長治久安，而不致成爲繼五代後的第六個短命的王朝，宋太祖趙匡胤除了致力於結束五代十國的分裂割據局面之外，還制定了一系列的方針政策，大力實施“強幹弱枝”政策。Militarily, to avoid the old tricks of the powerful garrison commanders to kill and replace the emperor, Taizu successfully removed their governing rights over the army in a banquet after they sensed the implication of Emperor Taizu. After that some civil perfects were put into important positions and the commanders of the army were not allowed to be represented in the government.
在軍事方面，爲防止武將專政篡弒重演，太祖以“杯酒釋兵權”解除了大將對軍隊的控制，實行重文輕武政策，提倡文人典軍,嚴禁武人干政。Taizu abolished the post of Commander of the Imperial Army and set up a Military Council to take charge of troop-deployment arrangement, but without any power to command troops.
取消禁軍最高統帥殿前都點檢、副都點檢職務,朝廷設樞密院掌管調動軍隊，但無統兵權。The Marshals and the Military Council had their own duties but held each other in check. They were both under direct control of the emperor.
三帥統兵權和樞密院調兵權職責分明，相互制約，直接對皇帝負責。In the army, a shifting defense system was implemented：troops and their commanders were regularly transferred to different regions for military service to prevent them from forming cliques.
軍隊實行更戍法，定期換防，將帥常調，以防止官兵“親黨膠固”。Administrative reforms, following the system of the Tang Dynasty, in-cluded the three central agencies, the Secretariat, the Military Council, and the Chancellor of the Treasury, which were placed under the chief Minister to share ad-ministrative，military and financial power. In this way，the chief Minister would not have too much power.
另外，宋沿襲唐制，又大力削弱宰相（中書令）實權，宰相下設數名參知政事、樞密使、三司使，以分其軍、政、財三權，使宰相無法獨攬大權。Measures were also taken to drain the power of local despotic satraps, limit their wealth and utilize their most capable men. Finally, these satraps were given sinecures in the capital, while their former domains were to be governed by civil prefects appointed by the emperor and under the direct control of the royal house.
爲消除藩鎮割據的局面,對獨霸一方的節度使，採取“稍奪其權，制其錢穀，收其精兵”的辦法,逐步從地方調回都城任閒職，其原領州郡由朝廷控制，委派文官任知州、知府，直接對朝廷負責。The local surplus revenues, after deduction for expenditures, weresubject to the central government.
規定地方財政每年賦稅收人，除支度給用外，凡屬錢幣之類，“悉奉送京師”。These reforms greatly strengthened the power of the central government, created political stability and spurred economic development. The increase in centralized power also produced negative effects such as the weakening of local governments and the military strength.
這些措施加強了中央集權，鞏固了政局，刺激了經濟的發展，但也造成了弱枝強幹的負面影響。In examination, Taizu of the Song innovatedly chose the talented staff by presiding over the test in person.
在科舉方面，宋太祖打破常例，以殿試的方式對考生進行最終的考覈。Therefore, more capable statesmen were singled out to work for the government which enlarged the bureacracy and consolided the regime of the Northern Song.
這樣一來，北宋王朝的官僚階級隊伍得到了壯大，從中出現了一大批優秀的政治家，鞏固了政權。The policy of the strong central government and weak military officials did successfully help to establish a strong central government which maintained the social stability and laid foundation for ending the separation and enhancing the development of economy. All these led to the long reign of the Song Dynasty. However, it left an impoverished and weak local government with limited power and military strength, poverty of the country and heavy troubles from other states to face the threats from their strong enemies in the north, namely, the Liao (the former Qi-dan), the Xi Xia and Jin.
北宋的“強幹弱枝”、“重文輕武”政策，雖然成功地削弱了地方權力，使宋朝中央集權得到強化,這對政治穩定，結束分裂局面和經濟的發展創造了有利的條件，宋朝國家存在時間長，但卻造成宋代的國力積貧積弱，使財政拮据、地方權限過小、軍隊戰鬥力削弱、外患深重等消極後果。北宋的外敵主要有遼國（其前身即契丹）、西夏和金國。Although enormous silvers and silks were attributed to Liao annually, Song was suffered from the consistent situation of being threatened and finally was conquered by Liao.
儘管宋室耗費大量銀、絹向它們繳納歲幣，始終改變不了被動挨打的狀態，最後亡於外敵之手。Despite all the defects towards the outside, the Northern Song^ administration was successful and its economy, culture and science were as developed and advanced as that of the Tang Dynasty and even more than that.
北宋在內治方面，卻非常成功，宋代的經濟、文化、科技之強，人才之盛較之漢唐有過之而無不及。The Growth of the Northern Song ： The growth of the city was drastically improved in the Northern Song.
北宋的發展：中國古代城市的發展，到北宋出現了新的轉折。The layout of the cities before the Northern Song was that the workshops and the uptowns were separated.
北宋以前的城市，一般是坊、市分區，即住宅區與商業區嚴格分開。However, with the growth of economy and expansion of the population the division was eliminated and the workshops could be found everywhere instead of gathering in certain place.
北宋時，隨着商品經濟的發展和城市人口的增加，徹底打破了“坊”、“市”的界線，商店可以隨處開設，不再採取集中的方式。The middle period of the Northern Song (998 ~ 1099), lasting from Emperor Zhenzong to Emperor Zhezong, was an important period in the history of the Northern Song.
北宋中期(998 ~ 1099)，從真宗到哲宗時期是北宋歷史的重要時期。The farmlands were doubled in ten years after the establishment of the Northern Song.
宋初幾十年間，全國耕地擴大了將近一倍。The new economic policies such as the “two-taxes” system and the tenancy system greatly motivated the peasants to work.
由於實施兩稅法、代役制和租佃制等新的經濟制度，激發了廣大農民的生產積極性。As a result, population increased, more lands were cultivated, more advanced iron tools were made, more effective farming techniques appeared and farming products became more diversified besides doubled in output.
隨之而來的是:人口的增加，墾田面積的擴大，鐵製工具製作的進步，耕作技術的提高，農作物的種類和產量倍增等等。Statistics show that in the 3rd year of Zhidao (997) of Emperor Taizong9s reign, there were 4.13 million families on the household register. But in the 8th year of Jiayou (1063) of Emperor Renzong^ reign, the number of families increased to 12.46 million.
據統計， 宋太宗至道三年（997),北宋戶籍上有413萬多戶，而到宋仁宗嘉祐八年（1063), 北宋戶數已逾1246萬多戶。Farm lands increased from 300 million in the 2nd year of Zhidao (996) of Emperor Taizong^ reign to 520 million mu in the 5th year of Tianxi (1063) of Emperor Zhenzong’s reign.
宋太宗至道二年(996)，耕地有3億多畝，而至宋真宗天禧五年（1021),增至5.2億多畝。This fast agricultural growth promoted the development of handicrafts and commerce.
農業經濟的迅速發展促進了手工業、商業的發展。In the Northern Song dynasty, industries of shipbuilding, metallurgy, textiles, dyeing, paper-making and china-making all experienced greater progress than any previous dynasties either in scale of production or techniques.
北宋的造船、礦冶、紡織、染色、造紙、制瓷等手工業，在生產規模和技術上遠超唐代。The old patterns of the trade were broken which resulted in the prosperous business situation in the cities. There were a-bout 40 cities with population over 100 000 family households and Kaifeng became a commercial center of the Northern Song.
商業市場打破了舊的格局，大小城鎮貿易盛況空前，都市商業十分興旺繁榮，十萬戶以上的城市達四十多個，而宋都開封更成爲全國的商業中心。The capital Kaifeng also named Dongjing or Bianjing in the Northern Song Dynasty.
開封在北宋時又稱東京（東都或汴京）。As records said that there were not less than 160 trades of handcrafts and business shops in all, so much so that there were numerous people coming and leaving the downtown all day and night.
據記載，東京的手工、商業多達一百六十行，沿街店鋪林立;鬧市上人來人往，熙熙攘攘，通宵不絕。The busy street of the Dongjing was crammed with various kinds of goods from all over the country even from Japan, Korean and Arab.
在京都市場上，各地貨物琳琅滿目，甚至日本、朝鮮、阿拉伯等國的商品亦有買賣。To meet the needs of expanded economy, the Northern Song issued the paper money, called Jiaozi, the earliest paper money in the world. Paper money appeared and soon was in widespread use which indicats an epoch-making growth of economy in the Northern Song Dynasty.
而北宋爲了應付貿易及商業發展的需要，還發行了世界上最早的紙幣——“交子”，紙幣的出現及廣泛使用，具有劃時代的意義。其社會經濟的發達，由此亦可見一斑。Meng Yuanlao of the Northern Song in hisbook, Dongjing Menghua Lu( the Collections of The Prosperous Dongjing ), depicted the rich and thriving of Dongjing in details ： there are downtowns, hotels, teahouses, and bawdyhouses in Dongjing ； all the businesses end till deep night and start very early in the next morning； at any time of the year, there are always continuous flow of people so that Dongjing seems a Nightless City.
宋人孟元老曾撰 《東京夢華錄》，詳盡描寫了宋東京的繁華，當時開封城中有鬧市、有酒樓、有茶館、 有妓院，城中夜市至三更方盡，五更時分又再燃燈開張，夜以繼日，人煙不斷，可謂 “不夜城”。Still, the painter of the Northrn Song, Zhang Zeduan, described the flourishing Dongjing in his picture, Qinming ShangHeTu (the Scene on the Pure Brightness Day). Accommodating more than 600 people in vistas, his picture was a treasure of arts in Chinese history.
此外,畫家張擇端的《清明上河圖》描繪了汴京的風物，使近600人躍然紙上，成爲中國繪畫史上不朽的佳作。The Chinese word Shanghe means worship of the ancestors of the family.
上河是宋時民間對清明祭祖墳之謂，意同 “上冢”。In the picture, he focused on the scenery around the Eastern Jiaozi Gate of Dongjing and the banks of the Bian River and noted down with painting the crowded and prosperous moment on the festival of the Pure Brightness, a traditional Chinese festival for ancestor worship. By depicting the heavy traffic, the gathering of all the business trades and the foot passengers, the picture revealed the splendor and thrives of the Kaifeng, the most prosperous capital of ancient China.
該畫描繪出清明時節東京東角子門內外及汴河兩岸的繁榮熱鬧景象，但見橋上車水馬龍，商販雲集,行人絡繹不絕，表現出當時中國第一都會的繁榮興盛。There were high achievements in terms of literature and history in the Northern Soiig Dynasty and many famous and productive persons were made in this time.
在史學和文學方面，北宋有着極高的成就，其間名人輩出。Education and the examination system became central to the upper class. It created the space for the development of the bookmen.
宋朝的科舉制度使文人得到了可以自由發展的空間。The rise in the popularity of education was due in part to advances made in printing and the greater availability of books.
教育的發展得益於印刷術的進步，使書本的普及成爲可能。Examinations grew progressively in popularity throughout China ； although, only a few were allowed to pass to fill the administrative positions.
科考開始在中國流行，儘管考取的人不多，但考取後都能擔任一定的官職。This resulted in the education itself, and the attempted examination, gaining more importance socially than it had in the past.
這使備考和趕考都成爲有史以來最具社會意義的事情。In history, the New History of Tang , complied by Ouy-ang Xiu, contributed a lot to the preservation of the history of History as a Mirror(Zi Zhi Tong Jian) wrote by Sima Guang, starting from the third year of Yingzong (1066) and finished in the 7th year of Shenzong ( 1084) was of great historical Guang once said that the book, which cost him 19 years, was made with all his energy and efforts .
史學方面，北宋歐陽修等編纂《新唐書》，對唐史的保存，有很大的貢獻。而司馬光主編的鉅著《資治通鑑》，更是編年史的典範。《資治通鑑》自英宗治平三年（1066)始修，至神宗元豐七年（1084)成書，前後歷時十九年。在《進資治通鑑表》中，司馬光曾說“臣之精力，盡於此書”。Consisting of 294 Juan , the book recorded events from the 23 rd year of the emperor Zhouwei in the Warring States (403 B. C. ) to the end of the Later Zhou, the 6th year of the Five Dynasties, covering 1362 years of history with the prosper and wane of the dynasties and the success and the fails of the administrative practice as well. This book offered the later emperors the significant reference besides its literature and historical charms.
該書上起周威烈王二十三年（公元前403年），下迄五代後周世宗顯德六年(959),將1362年中王朝的興衰、政治的得失記載下來，爲後代帝王統治提供了重要借鑑,它對史學和文學的影響力至今不衰。In literature ,the poems of the Song Dynasty carried forword the cause into future, especially the Ci , was another remarkable success following the Tang Dynasty.
除史學之外,北宋的文學發展，也在中國文壇上起着繼往開來的重要作用。尤其是“宋詞”，更是唐詩之後中國文學史上另一座豐碑。The most prominent poets are Ouyang Xiu, Yan Shu, Liu Yong, Su Shi, Qin Guan and Zhou Bangyan etc.
北宋的詞人輩出，如晏殊、歐陽修、柳永、蘇軾、秦觀、周邦彥等等。Among them Liu Yong and Zhou Bangyan were widely known for their description of delicate feelings and Su Shi was much praised for his plain and graceful style.
柳永、周邦彥的詞以綺豔著稱，而豪放派的蘇軾則最爲後世所熟識。The prose writing reached another height ： Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Su Xun, Su Che, Wang Anshi, Zeng Gong of the Song Dynasty and Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan of the Tang Dynasty were called The Eight Most Prominent poets of the Tang and Song”.
北宋在散文上的成就也是巨大的，其中歐陽修、蘇洵、蘇軾、蘇轍、王安石、曾鞏，與唐代的韓愈、柳宗元並稱“唐宋古文八大家”。With the endeavors of writers from the Song Dynasty, the reform against the old style of flowery parallelism and favored the classic form of prose was gainful and left today’s world with voluminous，expressive writings.
在北宋文學家的努力下，使自唐代韓愈以來的古文運動取得進一步的成功，當中有許多作品傳頌至今。Meanwhile the drama and vernacular tales，which were humorous and satirical accompanied with recitation and dance, became very popular. These were the prototypes and foundations of the drama and novels of the Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty.
在散文、詩、詞等文學 形式發展的同時，話本和戲曲這類民間說唱文學也蓬勃發展，併爲元代戲曲和明代小說的興盛，打下了雄厚的基礎。Hence, the literatures in the Northern Song Dynasty were in the stage of pioneering and transition.
由此可見，北宋的文學成就，具有承前啓後的劃時代意義。This period also saw a boom in science and culture as a result of the inventionand application of the compass, printing techniques and gunpowder.
宋代也是科技文化的繁榮時期。尤其是聞名於世的指南針、印刷術和火藥三大發明的開發和應用主要是在這個階段。The gunpow der could be used as a weapon in siege warfare.
宋用火藥作爲攻克城市的武器。Foreign trade expanded greatly, and the Chinese had the best ships in the world in the Song Dynasty.
對外貿易也發展很快，宋時中國有世界上最好的船隻。Their ships contained as many as four decks, six masts, and a dozen sails. The seaships were guided by a stern post rudder, while navigation was done through the use of charts and compasses. These ships could carry 500 men.
當時的大船高四層，六個桅杆，雙帆,船由堅實的後舵控制，靠指南針把握方向，可以載重500人。European ships on the other hand used manu power and an inefficient steering oar.
與此同時,歐洲的船是靠人力划槳來行使的。Advances were also made in medicine, as the first autopsy was performed in about 1145 on the body of the southern Chinese captives.
宋時的醫學在世界上也居於領先地位，在公元1145年 就以南方的俘虜爲試驗做過人體解剖。The Perdition of the Northern Song: “The strong central government policy” carried out at the early stage of the Song was turned out to be a poor and weak government in that it was submissive to its northern counterparts outside, and inside the court corruptions were in rampage.
北宋的滅亡:北宋由於一建國即推行“強幹弱枝”政策，到了中期便造成積貧積弱局面:對外軟弱無能，屢受外敵進侵;對內吏治敗壞，冗官冗吏充斥。Under these circumstances, the higher officials in the Northern Song advocated reforms in hoping of turning the declining tides.
有識之士深以爲憂，遂生改革弊政之議，以扭轉危機四伏的局面。The well-known examples are the“Qingli Reform” during Emperor Renzong，s reign and the “Wang Anshi Reform” during Emperor Shenzong.
北宋改革影響最大的是宋仁宗時期的“慶曆新政”和宋神宗時期的“王安石變法”。But these reforms brought about few results, with strong opposes from the conservatives in the court for the sake of their own interests hence the Northern Song went into decline.
但兩次變法維新卻屢遭保守朝臣及既得利益者的阻撓。慶曆新政、王安石變法均以失敗而告終。Social conflicts became increasingly common.
北宋逐步走向衰亡。Both military and political expansion together with quick land annexation pace gravely depleted the government treasury.
社會衝突更加頻繁，政治和軍事的擴張和土地的快速兼併耗盡了北宋政府的財力。The last stage of the Northern Song (1100 ?1127) covering the reigns of Em-perors Huizong and Qinzong was the darkest and most corrupted period of the entire dynasty.
宋徽宗（1100 ~ 1127)在位時期是北宋王朝最腐朽黑暗的時期。Many peasants, the impoverished and the homeless on account of corruption and poverty, rose to rebel against the government.
衆多的農民傾家蕩產無以爲生，紛紛起義反抗暴政。The uprisings led by Fang La and Song Jiang were the biggest worry of the period.
其間以方臘、宋江領導的農民起義影響最大。The peasants uprising ,led by Song Jiang at Liangshanpo, Shandong province, fought with the Song^ troops in Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Anhui, and the Northern Jiangsu . Although the peasants army won over the government army, their general, Song Jiang accepted amnesty and pledged loyalty to the Emperor.
以山東梁山泊爲據點的宋江農民起義，轉戰于山東、河北、河南、安徽、江蘇北部一帶，並屢次打敗官軍。最後宋江等被朝廷招安。At the time the Huizong of Song was fond of rare stones, thus collected rare jewels all over the country and shipped them back capital. Every ten ships was a Gang ( unit of counting the ships), therefore the goods were named 4<the Gang of Beautiful Stones,T ( Hua Shi Gang ). The sheer grab brought sufferings to the families especially in the southeast of Hangzhou City, which finally led to the uprising of Fang La.
宋徽宗因素愛奇石玩好，時常在民間搜刮珍寶，並用大船運回京，每十船組成一綱，稱爲“花石綱”，許多百姓因而家破人亡，東南地區的杭州一帶受害尤烈，終於激起以方臘爲首的民變。This was the largest peasants uprising in the Northern Song which lasted from the October 2nd of Xuanhe(1120) to the March in 1122.
從公元1120年（宣和二年）十月到公元1122年三月，在江浙地區爆發了方臘領導的農民起義。這是北宋時期規模最大的一次農民起義。Fang La, a tenant, was born in Muzhou of Qingxi(now Chun^n County, Zhejiang).
方臘是睦州青溪縣（浙江淳安）人，僱工出身。His hometown was teemed with bamboos, lumber, lacquer and tea etc. The two government workshops pinched thousands kilo of lacquer and lumbers so much so that the small private business and the populace were forced to the corner and complains were heard everywhere.
青溪及其附近地區盛產竹、木、 漆、茶等經濟作物,造作局和應奉局每年從這裏勒索成千上萬斤的漆，其他竹木花石的數量也極爲龐大。小生產者和一般勞動人民的生活陷入絕境，怨聲載道。In 1120, Fang La staged a peasant uprising and established his regime.
於是在公元1120年,方臘發動羣衆，宣告起義，設置官吏將帥,起義隊伍很快便擴大到數萬人。In three months he and his men took control of six prefectures and over 60 counties in modern Zhejiang and Anhui provinces , while their forces grew nearly a million, which shocking the southeast of China.
起義軍所向披靡，三個月內，接連攻佔了兩浙首府杭州等地，共攻佔六州六十多縣，隊伍擴大到近百萬人,“東南大震”。When the uprising threatened Hangzhou, the general Tong Guan was sent to fight against the peasant army.
當北宋最高統治者接到方臘起義軍逼近杭州的消息之後，立即派童貫率軍南下，鎮壓起義。At the same time, the Emperor, Zhenzong of the Song apologized to the public for his misdeeds and promised to abolish the agencies of workshop and stop shipping of the rare rocks and stones.
接着，宋徽宗又“下詔罪己”，宣佈撤消“造作局”、“應奉局”，停運花石綱。When Tong Guan crossed the river and directed his army to attack Hangzhou from two directions, the local militia all gathered to cooperate to fight.
童貫帶領的宋軍過江之後，分路指向杭州等地。這時各地的地主武裝也紛 紛出來配合官軍進攻。The uprising army was defeated and in April the following year, Fang La was captured and soon put to death in Kaifeng.
起義軍兵力分散，抵擋不住宋軍的反撲。次年四月，方臘被俘，就義於開封。Other uprisings were put out till 1122.
浙東的各支起義軍到1122年以後也被鎮壓下去。Although the uprisings at the end of the Song Dynasty were destroyed, they weakened the reign of the Northern Song badly.
宋末農民起義雖然失敗，但卻大大動搖了宋室的統治。Moreover, external aggression aggravated the sad situation of the Northern Song. For a long time, the Northern Song kept fighting against the Liao, the Xi Xia and the Jin.
與此同時，來自外部邊境的進犯更加惡化了北宋的局勢，北宋一直與遼，西夏和金在北方對峙。At that time, the Jin established by Nuzhen grew strong. To recover the sixteen states of Youyun, the Northern Song sent an emissary to the state of Jin to negotiate an agreement for a joint attack on the Liao. However, the resort also exposed its weakness to Jin.
北方女真族所建的金國崛起，宋室爲了收復燕雲諸州，便聯金滅遼，但其弱點也爲金國所洞悉。Therefore soon after the destroy of Liao, a powerful Jin force launched a large-scale attack on the Northern Song in winter in the 7th year of Xuanhe of Huizong (1125).
就在滅遼的同一年，即徽宗宣和七年（1125)冬，金兵分兵兩路大舉南下攻宋。The two troops of Jin attacked Taiyuan from the west and the east together with Nianhan and Wobuli as their leaders respectively.
東路大軍由斡不離指揮，西路則由粘罕指揮，共同進攻太原。Meanwhile the Northern Song was in panic and Huizong of Song gave the throne to his son, Zhao Heng, who was known as Qinzong and pinned on him the hope to improve the situation and turn the tide.
此時，宋朝的局面已經大亂，徽宗迫不得已將皇位讓於太子趙恆，是爲宋欽宗。寄希望於能改善局面，抗拒金兵，以扭轉不利局勢。The Jin’s army has arrived at the bank of the Yellow River, threatening the Song’s capital, Kaifeng. Huizong fled to Jinling(now Nanjing).
此時，金兵已到達黃河岸邊,直逼宋都開封，宋徽宗逃至金陵（今南京）。Under the direction of Li Gang, the chancellor of the Northern Song, Jin was defeated and was detained to march southwards for a while. However, the Emperors of the Northern Song were not resolute to fight, instead, they sent emissary to seek negotiation with the Jin.
北宋軍隊在丞相李綱的指揮下，擊退了金軍，暫時制止了金國的南侵，但由於徽、欽二帝的無能，一心想與金國求和。A peace pact was agreed inwhich the Northern Song promised to cede lands and give tributes to Jin except dismissed Li Gang and other loyalists, thus the troops of the Jin became even fearless.
他們先後答應割地賠款給金國,又罷免了李綱等忠臣，使得金兵更加肆無忌憚。In the 1st year of Jingkang( 1126), the Jin army conquered Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song.
靖康元年（1126)，金軍攻陷汴京。In the following year, the Northern Song emperor was deposed and his dynasty came to end.
靖康二年（1127)春，金廢宋帝爲庶人，至此，北宋王朝宣告滅亡。In all, the Northern Song lasted 168 years with the reign of nine emperors of seven generations.
其間共歷七世九帝，享國168年
