中英雙語話歷史 第27期:秦朝(滅亡)
Qin Shi Huang longed for longevity, so he sent his ministers to go on quests seeking for an elixir of immortality.
However, death claimed him before he could find success on that matter.
可是還沒等找到仙丹，他的末日就到了。In 210 B. C. , the First Emperor died unexpectedly on his inspection tour.
公元前210年,秦始皇在巡遊途中突然駕崩。
The eunuch Zhao Gao and chancellor Li Si conspired to forge the emperor ’ s will，declaring that the emperor ordered Fusu， the crown prince, to commit suicide, and his younger brother Hu Hai, the emperor's favorite, to succeed to the throne.
太監趙高和丞相李斯合謀篡改遺詔，聲稱秦始皇命太子扶蘇自盡，由其弟胡亥繼位。Therefore, Hu Hai was installed as the Second Emperor.
後胡亥登基，即秦二世。With the worsened exploitation and oppression, the contradictions were intensified, and a large-scale peasant uprising was on the verge of breaking out.
隨着剝削和壓迫的加重，社會矛盾更加激化，大規模的農民起義已經到一觸即發的地步。在農民醞釀反秦的時候，六國舊貴族殘餘勢力也在伺機進行分裂活動。When peasants were fermenting rebellion, the remaining aristocratic forces of the former six states were also waiting for their chances to carry out splitting activees.
陳勝、吳廣大澤鄉起義:公元前209年,秦二世繼位僅10個月爆發了陳勝、吳廣領導的農民起義。The uprising led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang in Daze Township：In 209 B. C. , when the Second Emperor got into the throne only 10 months, the Peasant Uprising led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang broke out .
7月，一隊開赴漁陽（今北京密雲）戍邊士卒900人，遇雨停留 在大澤鄉（今安徽宿縣境），不能如期趕到戍地。In July, a band of 900 conscripted peasants heading for Yuyang ( modern Miyun County, Beijing) for guard duties were delayed by heavy rain in Daze Township (part of Suxian County in Anhui Province), and it was impossible for them to arrive on time.
秦法規定，戍卒誤期當斬。According to the law of Qin, those who failed to report should be executed.
他們面臨着死刑的威脅。於是，在陳勝、吳廣的領導下，在大澤鄉舉起了中國歷史上第一次大規模農民起義的旗幟。Faced with the menace of death, they raised the first banner of a large-scale peasant insurrection at the head of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang. The insurgent army captured Daze Township and Qi County successively.
他們先後攻佔大澤鄉、蘄縣,在攻下楚的故都陳縣（今 河南淮陽）時，已有戰士數萬人。When they took Chen County, the old capital of the state Chu( present Huaiyang, Henan), the number of the forces had reached up to tens of thousands. Consequently, they established the first revolutionary regime of peasants—Zhangchu, and Chen Sheng was made the king, and Chen County the capital.
起義軍推舉陳勝爲王，在陳縣建立了中國歷史上的第一個農民政權——張楚政權。The rebellious forces quickly grew into a large army with several hundred thousands of soldiers. They broke up into three forces to attack Qin.
起義軍的隊伍迅速壯大到幾十萬人，分三路攻秦。When the branch led by Zhou Wen besieged Xianyang, the capital of Qin, the Second Emperor became panic-stricken and mustered his troops in various parts of the country to launch a counter defence.
當週文率領的隊伍攻至秦的首都咸陽城下時，秦二世驚慌失措,速調集各地軍隊鎮壓起義軍。Being lack of military training and war experience, the branch was defeated by the overwhelming Qin army.
由於缺乏訓練，沒有作戰經驗,加之寡不敵衆，義軍被秦軍擊潰。Meanwhile, because of the split in its own side, Wu Guang was killed by his subordinates, and Chen Sheng was also assassinated.
與此同時，由於內部發生分裂，吳廣被其屬下殺死，而陳勝也遭暗殺。Thus, the insurgence led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang failed.
至此，陳 勝、吳廣領導的農民起義失敗。The Battle of Julu ： On the uprising of Chen Sheng, Xiang Liang and his nephew Xiang Yu rose up in Wu Zhong (modern Suzhou, Jiangsu Province), together with Liu Bang in Pei (present Pei County in Jiangsu Province).
項羽鉅鹿之戰:陳勝起義後，項梁、項羽和劉邦相繼在吳中（今江蘇蘇州）、沛縣聚衆起義。The old nobles of the six states also took opportunity to rebel, attempting to revive their countries.
六國舊貴族也乘機起兵，企圖恢復舊國。After the death of Chen Sheng, Xiang Liang made the grandson of King Huai of Chu, Mi Xin, the Prince of Chu for the sake of commending the public in 208 B. C.
在陳勝死後，項梁於前208年立楚懷王之孫羋心爲楚王，以爲號召。At that time, Xiangs became two important leaders of the peasants.
項梁，項羽叔侄成爲當時農民起義軍的領袖。When Qin general ,Zhang Han launched a sudden attack on Xiang Liang at Dingtao (in modern Shandong Province), Xiang Liang was killed in the battle, and the insurrectionary army suffered an utter defeat.
可就在這時,秦將章邯突襲項梁軍於定陶（今屬山東），項梁戰死，起義軍大敗。After the success, Zhang Han led his troops northward to attack the state of Zhao.
定陶之戰後，章邯移師北上，攻打趙國。The Prince Xie of Zhao was compelled to abandon the capital Handan (in modern city of Handan in Hebei), and retreated to Julu (in modern Xingtai, Hebei).
趙王歇被迫放棄都城邯鄲（現河北省邯鄲市），退守鉅鹿（今河北邢臺）。Zhang Han followed up the victory with a hot pursuit, ordering the general Wang Li, his assistant, to besiege the city.
章邯乘勝追擊，命王離圍困鉅鹿（今邢臺)。King of Zhao sent for reinforcements throughout the country.
趙主派人向各地求援。Prince of Chu, sent Xiang Yu as the second-in-command to Song Yi in an ex-peditory force to relieve Zhao.
楚懷王命宋義爲上將、項羽爲次將率兵北上救趙。After arriving at Anyang (in modern Henan Province) ,Song Yi didnM proceed any further for forty-six days fear of Qin.
大軍抵達安陽後宋義即畏縮不前，一連駐紮了46天。Xiang Yu persuaded him to move, collaborating with the Zhao army to conquer the Qin forces at one stroke.
項羽勸他迅速進兵，同趙軍裏應外合，一舉擊敗秦軍。However, Song intended to save strength, waiting for Qin and Zhao forces to wear out each other，so refused Xiang’s proposal.
宋義卻想保存實力，乘秦、趙相鬥，坐收漁利，故拒絕了項羽的建議。Xiang took extreme measures and assassinated Song later. The other generals offered SongJ s command to him, and Prince Huai of Chu was forced to retroactively approve it.
後項羽殺宋義，諸將擁戴其爲將軍。楚懷王見事已如此,便命項羽率軍救趙。The relief forces sent by other rebel principalities built fortresses and fortifications ,but dared not engage in warfare with Qin army, while Xiang Yu was an exception ,who decided to fight it out with Qin.
各路反秦義軍來救援趙者都築壘壁守，不敢與秦軍接戰。唯有項羽決心與秦軍決一雌雄。At first, he shut off the supply lines of Qin forces, and cut off the connection between Wang Li and Zhang Han.
他先切斷秦軍運糧的甬道，分割王、章兩軍的聯繫。Then, he led his troops cross the river, having all the boats and cooking vessels destroyed and ordered his soldiers to carry enough grain rations for only three days to make it clear that no one could return unless they won.
後親自率楚軍渡 河,並下令全軍破釜沉舟，規定每人只帶三日口糧，以顯示與秦軍決一死戰尚決心。He directed his forces to launch successive attacks on Qin. After nine engagements, the imperial army was routed, Wang Li was captured, and Zhang Han fled south. The siege of Julu was released eventually.
項羽指揮楚軍連續作戰，九戰九捷，大破秦軍，王離被虜，章邯南逃,解鉅鹿之圍。This victory virtually annihilated the military strength of the Qin Dynasty, turned the war situations and created a favorable condition for overthrowing the reactive rule of Qin.
這場大戰的勝利，基本上消滅了秦王朝賴以存在的軍隊，扭轉了整個戰局,爲最後推翻秦王朝的反動統治創造了極有利的條件。When the Qin army besieged Julu, Prince Huai of Chu made an agreement with Xiang Yu and Liu Bang that whoever got to Guanzhong first would be made the King of Guanzhong.
秦軍圍攻鉅鹿時，楚懷王與項羽、劉邦約定，誰先人關滅秦，誰爲“關中王”。When Xiang Yu was engaged in the battle of Julu, Liu Bang in command of another expeditory force attacked Qin from the west.
在項羽救鉅鹿時，劉邦奉命由西擊秦。In a year’s devious march, his troops took wuguan Pass, gateway to the heartland of the Qin regime, threatening the capital city of Xlanyang in August 207 B. C.
經過一年的迂迴進軍，於公元前207年八月，攻人武關，直逼咸陽。It was during this period that the fight between factions started within the Qin ruling clique.
當時秦的統治集團內部發生了火併。Initially, Li Si, the prime minister, died at the hand of Zhao Gao and the Second Emperor.
起初是趙高與秦二世勾結，殺掉李斯。Shortly, Zhao Gao forced Huhai to commit suicide and replaced him with his nephew, Ziying. The title of Emperor was abolished and what Ziying assumed was “King of Qin”.
不久，趙高又殺掉秦二世，取消皇帝稱號，另立二世之侄子嬰爲秦王。Before long, Ziying killed Zhao Gao and surendered to Liu Bang when Liu arrived at Bashang (now the east of Xi'an Shaanxi) in October 207 BC, thus the Qin Dynasty came to an end.
子嬰又殺趙高。10月劉邦軍至霸上（今陝西西安市東），子嬰投降，秦亡。Liu Bang proclaimed himself the King of Guanzhong and won acclaim by instituting three regulations ：Let those who kill be executed, those who inflict be injured or rob others be punished.
劉邦宣佈自己爲“關中王”，同時約法三章:“殺人者死，傷人及盜抵罪”，深得秦人擁護。The Qin Dynasty was short-lived, but particularly important.
秦朝是短暫的朝代，但又是極重要的朝代。The First Emperor (Qin Shi Huang) was a tyrant, whereas he also made great contribution to the development of Chinese history.
秦始皇是暴虐的皇帝，但又是對歷史有巨大貢獻的皇帝。In a word, Qin devastated culture, yet it was a pioneer in certain aspects.
秦是文化的摧殘者，但在某些方面又是先進者。The war between Chu and Han： Xiang Yu was furious at the news of Liu Bang’s entrance to Guanzhong. In December, he arrived at Hangu Pass with an army of 400 000. Only having 100 000 men, Liu Bang was forced to sue for peace.
楚漢戰爭:項羽聽說劉邦已先入關，大怒，也率軍於同年12月入函谷關。這時，項羽有士卒40萬人，劉邦只有10萬人,劉邦被迫求和。After overbearing Liu Bang, Xiang Yu entered Xianyang where he killed Ziying, burnt palaces, slaughtered and plundered wantonly.
項羽入咸陽，殺子嬰， 燒秦宮，大肆殺掠。Then, he proclaimed himself the Hegemonic King of Western Chu and made Pengcheng the capita! of his domain. He also granted fiefdoms to eighteen princes.
後自立爲西楚霸王，建都彭城（今江蘇銅山縣），封十八王。With regard to Liu Bang, he gave him the title of Prince of Han with a fief covering Hanzhong, and Bashu.
劉邦爲漢王，居巴蜀漢中。The allocations of Xiang Yu aggravated the separatist vassal regime. Qi soon rose in revolt, and the tangled warfare among vassals broke out again.
項羽的這一做法使諸侯割據的局面更爲惡化。不久齊國首先發難，諸侯混戰再次爆發。Liu Bang availed this opportunity to take possession of Guanzhong, then marched east from it, and unfolded a fight against Xiang Yu, contending for supremacy.
劉邦乘機迅速佔領關中，又東向出關，與項羽展開爭奪天下的鬥爭。From 206 B. C. to 202 B. C. , Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were at war for many times.
公元前206年至前202年,劉邦與項羽多次交戰。Suffering from a series of defeat, Liu Bang became strong gradually. Then the two men reached an agreement that Honggou Canal (modern Jialu River in Henan) be made the demarcation line, with the territory on the east going to Chu and on the west to Han.
經過一系列失敗後，劉邦的勢力逐漸強 大起來，於是二人達成協議“中分天下”，以鴻溝（今河南賈魯河）爲界，河東屬於楚，河西屬於漢。In December 202 B. C. , Liu Bang joined forces with Han Xin at Gaixia( modern Guzhen, in Anhui) and surrounded Xiang Yu.
公元前202年12月，劉邦、韓信在垓下（今安徽固鎮）會師，包圍了項羽。However, he managed to collect eight hundred cavalrymen and fight his way to Wujiang (in modern Hexian County, Anhui Province), where he committed suicide.
項羽率800騎兵突圍，逃至烏江(今和縣境）自殺。With his chief rival wiped out, Liu Bang unified China and built his dynasty—the Western Han.
劉邦統一中國,建立西漢王朝。He ascended the throne to become known as Emperor Gao Zu of the Han Dynasty.
劉邦即漢高祖。The peasant uprising at the end of the Qin Dynasty is the first rebellion countrywide in Chinese history, which not only pulled down the ruthless ruling clique of Qin, but pushed forward the social development as well.
秦末農民大起義是我國曆史上第一次全國範圍的農民大起義，推翻了貪婪殘暴的秦統治集團，使社會得以前進。The battle between Chund Han was originated from it.
而楚漢之戰則是由秦末農民戰爭直接演化而來的。Though the peasant revolution succeeded in overthrowing the rule of the Qin Dynasty, the former leaders, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu transformed into rivals contending for sovereignty.
農民戰爭雖然勝利地推翻了秦朝，但曾經是農民戰爭領袖的劉邦和項羽，卻逐步轉化爲封建統治權的角逐者。Apart from his great achievements that were actually the base for the foundation of the Han empire , the First Emperor was blamed to heave burned books and buried alive Confucian scholars.
秦始皇創立的偉業雖爲漢朝的建立奠定了基礎，但他亦揹負着焚書坑儒的罪名。The only books that were not forbidden are writings about medicine, herbs, divining and agriculture, however, arts and thinking were still going on under the First Emperor and prepared for the great flourishing of literature and philosophy in the Han Dynasty.
儘管只有有關醫學、草藥、占卜和農業的書籍被保存了下來，但在秦始皇統治時期，藝術和思想文化仍在繼續發展，爲漢時的文學與哲學的極大繁榮做好了準備。Although the practical policy of the Qin rulers was legist, thus severe, bureaucratic and austere, the inscriptions in the steles the First Emperor had erected，also show that Confucian thinking like filial p卜 ety, humanity and righteousness of the ruler was still there.
秦朝的統治者以法家思想治國，實行專制、嚴厲的統治政策，然而秦始皇所立石碑的碑文卻反映出忠孝仁義等儒家思想。The emperor himself was very interested in Daoist practices to prolong his life or to gain immortality. He sent out an expedition to search for the islands of immortality called Penglai.
秦始皇對道教有極大的興趣，修道以求長生不老，還曾派人去尋找蓬萊仙島。After the proclamation as the First Emperor, he changed the official colors to black according to the theory of the Five Elementsand their cosmic influence.
秦始皇稱帝后便按五行之術將官方使用的顏色改爲黑色。Meteors, flood and drought were a heavenly hint to him as well as it had been to the former Zhou kings.
像周王一樣，他認爲流星、洪水以及旱災均是上天的旨意。A comprehensive anthology of philosophical thinking around 250 BC is the Lushi Chunqiu , compiled by the chancellor Lu Buwei.
公元前250年，呂不韋著《呂氏春秋》，這是一部內容廣泛的哲學著作。
