用英語說中國周朝

　　掌握好英語學習方法，自然能提高自己的英語水平。小編在此獻上用英語來了解中國的文化，希望大家喜歡。　　

　　：General 概況

　　In the years around the 10th century BC, after defeating the last Shang 商朝ruler， King Wu武王with a family name of Ji姬founded the Zhou Dynasty,

　　大約公元前10世紀，姬氏家族的武王在打敗了商朝的最後一個統治者後，建立了周朝。

　　making Haojing his capital city, near the present city of Xi'an in Shaanxi Province.

　　他定都鎬京，也就是今天的陝西省西安市附近。

　　As a semi-nomadic tribe, the Zhou learned how to communicate with people of different cultures and gain the allegiance of disaffected city-states.

　　作為一個半遊牧的部落。周朝人學會了如何與來自不同文化的人交流以及如何獲得心懷不滿的城邦的忠心。

　　The early Zhou system was proto-feudal, being a more sophisticated form of earlier tribal organization, in which effective control depended more on familial ties than on feudal legal bonds.

　　周朝早期的制度就是具有封建制度模型的，而這較之早期的部落體系來說更加複雜。早期部落體系中的有效控制更多的依賴於家族的聯絡而不是封建法治的維繫。

　　Whatever feudal elements there may have been decreased as time went on，the Zhou amalgam of city-states became progressively centralized and established increasingly impersonal political and economic institutions.

　　隨著時間的推移，不管封建元素是否消退，有不同城邦組成的周朝變得日益集權並且建立了一個更加獨立的政治與經濟制度。

　　These developments, which probably occurred in the latter Zhou period, were manifested in greater central control over local governments.

　　這些發展，可能出現在周朝後期，表明了中央對於地方政府的掌控。

　　The Zhou adopted much of the Shang lifestyle.

　　周朝採納了商朝許多的生活方式。

　　In order to utilize the knowledge of the Shang artisans, they often imported Shang families or communities to the new towns they built.

　　為了利用商朝工匠的知識，周朝讓商朝的家族或團體居住在他們修建的村莊裡。

　　The Zhou also adopted much of the Shang writing system, rituals, and administration techniques.

　　周朝還採納了商朝很多的文字系統、儀式和管理技巧。

　　Agriculture in Zhou Dynasty was more intensive.

　　周朝的農業更加集中。

　　All farming lands were owned by nobles, who then gave their land to their serfs,

　　貴族擁有所有的土地，然後把這些土地給他們的奴隸。

　　a piece of land was divided into nine squares in the shape of the character jing, with the grain from the middle square taken by the government and that of surrounding squares kept by individual farmers.

　　一塊地會被劃分成“井”字型的九塊，中間那塊的糧食收歸政府所有，旁邊土地的糧食分給個體農戶。

　　This way, the government was able to store surplus food and distribute them in times of famine or bad harvest.

　　通過這種方式，政府可以囤積足夠的糧食並在饑荒或收成不好時分配糧食。

　　Some important manufacturing sectors during this period include bronze making, which was integral in making weapons and farming tools.

　　這個時期重要的生產部門包括青銅製造，而青銅是武器和農具製造中必不可少的一部分。

　　Again, these industries were dominated by the nobility who direct the production of such materials.

　　同樣，這些產業由貴族掌控，他們管理著這些材料的生產。

　　Historians divide the Zhou era into Western Zhou from late 10th century BC to late 9th century up until 771 BC and Eastern Zhou from 770 up to 221 BC.

　　歷史學家將周朝分為西周公元前10世紀至公元前9世紀末，直到公元前771年和東周公元前770年至公元前221年。

　　The beginning year of Western Zhou has been disputed----1122 BC，1027 BC and other years within the hundred years from late 12th century BC to late 11th century BC have been proposed.

　　西周開始的年份存在爭議。有可能是公元前1121年，公元前1027年或者是公元前12世紀至公元前11世紀100年之間的某一年。

　　Chinese historians take 841 BC as the first year of consecutive annual dating of the history of China, based on the Records of the Grand Historian 史記by Sima Qian 司馬遷.

　　中國的史學家依據司馬遷《史記》的記載將公元前841年定為連續紀年的元年。

　　From the beginning of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the unification by Qin, China was marked by disunity and continuous conflicts.

　　從東周的開始到秦朝的統一，中國一直處於割據戰亂的狀態。

　　：Western Zhou 西周

　　After defeating the Shang, King Wu founded the Zhou Dynasty, making Haojing his capital city, near the present city of Xi'an in Shaanxi Province.

　　打敗商朝之後，武王建立了周朝。他定都鎬京，也就是今天的陝西省西安市附近。

　　Historians call this period Western Zhou Dynasty the 11th century B.C.—771 B.C..

　　歷史學家將這一段時期成為西周公元前11世紀至公元前771年。

　　The Zhou kings maintained control over their vassals for more than two centuries.

　　周朝的君主維持了超過兩個世紀對其諸侯國的統治。

　　Like the Shang, the Western Zhou achieved a flourishing age during its period of rule.

　　和商朝一樣，周朝在其統治期間達到了鼎盛時代。

　　However, as generations passed, vassal lords traded and sold land they had acquired from the Zhou kings.

　　然而，一代代過去了，諸侯們交易、賣出了他們從周王那裡得到的土地。

　　This gradual change in ownership created larger more profitable estates.

　　這種所有權上逐漸的變化創造了更大、更獲利的地產。

　　In turn, this strengthened position of the feudal lords giving them greater autonomy.

　　反過來，這種諸侯地位的加強給予了他們更大的自治權。

　　As the Zhou kings were no longer the sole possessors of the land, the ties of kingship and vassalage inevitably weakened.

　　當週王不再是土地唯一的所有者，王權和諸侯之間的維繫就弱化了。

　　Added to this, although Zhou was the most powerful kingdom at the time, it actually didn't rule the whole of China, which then consisted of a number of quasi-independent principalities.

　　進一步說，儘管周王朝是當時最強大的國家，事實上它並沒有統治整個中國，而且它還是有許多準備獨立的諸侯國構成的。

　　During the reign of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the central plains had reached the peak of the Bronze Age while the neighboring regions lagged behind.

　　在商周時期，中原已經達到了青銅時代的頂峰，周圍地區卻落後了。

　　In search of more wealth, the Western Zhou launched many wars against those kingdoms.

　　為了獲取更多的財富，西周對那些國家發動了多次戰爭。

　　At the same time, the Quanrong, an ancient ethnic group lived in the north¬west, constantly harassed the Zhou, becoming the biggest threat to the Zhou Dynasty.

　　同時，犬戎，一個生活在西北部的古老的民族，不斷攻擊周朝，它也成為了周朝最大的威脅。

　　During his reign King You indulged Baosi, one of his concubines, and this engendered a power struggle within the kingdom.

　　周幽王在位時沉迷於他的一個妃子褒姒，這造成了王朝內權利的鬥爭。

　　The Chinese idioms “A single smile costs one thousand pieces of gold” and “the sovereign rulers are fooled by the beacon fire” have been passed down to us from the King You's reign.

　　中國的俗語“千金買笑”和“烽火戲諸侯”自周幽王時期流傳至今。

　　King You's neglect of duty finally led to the fall of the dynasty.

　　周幽王對於國事的疏忽最終導致了王朝的覆滅。

　　In 771 B.C. when several of the vassals rebelled, the army of the Quanrong ethnic group took its chance, captured Haojing and killed King You.

　　公元前771年，當許多諸侯國造反時，犬戎族的軍隊趁機奪取了鎬京，殺掉了周幽王。

　　The Western Zhou Dynasty collapsed.

　　西周王朝滅亡了。

　　The next year, in 770 BC, King Ping moved the capital to Luoyi now Luoyang City in Henan Province.

　　一年後，公元前770年，平王遷都至洛邑今天的河南洛陽。這是東周公元前770年至公元前221年的開始。

　　：Social and Economy 西周的社會與經濟

　　The Western Zhou made a further achievement in social economy.

　　西周在社會經濟方面取得了進一步的成就。

　　Slaves were popularly exploited in pursuit of the production of greater surpluses, thereby creating wealth for their owners.

　　為了獲得更多的生產剩餘，奴隸總是被剝削來為他們的主人創造更多的財富。

　　Handcrafts progressed in this period and the bronze industry was especially important.

　　手工藝在這段時期發展進步，而青銅工業是最重要的。

　　Besides the bronze workshops controlled by the central government, the small kingdoms also had foundries of their own.

　　除去被中央政府管理的青銅器作坊，小國家同樣有他們自己的鑄造廠。

　　Bronze products greatly increased in quality, quantity and variety so that their use covered nearly all aspects of life.

　　青銅製品的質量、數量和種類大幅上漲以至於生活的每一個方面都被其覆蓋。

　　The Western Zhou Chariot Burial Pit unearthed near Xi'an exemplifies the high technical standard of bronze production of this period.

　　在西安被開採出的西周戰車埋葬坑說明了這一時期青銅製造的高技術水平。

　　The development of the bronze industry also promoted the prosperity of other industries.

　　青銅產業的發展同樣促進了其他工業的繁榮。

　　In agriculture, iron tools and the coupling-plough were brought into use for the first time, this greatly enhanced productivity.

　　在農業上，鐵具和耦合犁第一次被投入使用，它們極大地提高了生產力。

　　Bazaars appeared in some larger towns, where silk, weapons, cattle as well as slaves were traded.

　　在大一些的城鎮，市場出現了，在那裡可以買賣絲綢、武器、四輪馬車和奴隸。

　　In addition, script became more widely used.

　　除此之外，文字得到了更加廣泛的使用。

　　People not only engraved inscriptions on oracle bones, but also engraved epigraphs on thousands of bronze utensils, recording the social life of that time.

　　人們不再僅僅將銘文刻在龜甲獸骨上，而是將銘文刻在數以千計的青銅器皿上，這些銘文記錄了那時的社會生活。