中英雙語話歷史 第67期:五代十國(北方的五代)
The founders of these entities were all frontier commanders of their former states. Because they gained their power through military separatism, frequent warfare and changes of administration marked the period.
Of the five dynasties, the Later Liang, the longest one, lasted only 17 years. Then came the Later Tang which lasted 14 years and the Later Jin which lasted 11 years；while the Later Han existed for only 4 years and the Later Zhou 9 years.
在五個朝代中，後梁維持的時間最長，也只有17年，其次後唐14年，後晉11年，而後漢僅僅4年，後周9年，都不足十年。There were struggles for power all throughout the period.
其實，即便在一朝之內，其權位之爭亦超乎尋常。
For example, Zhu Wen(Taizu), the first emperor of the Later Liang, was murdered by his second son Zhu Yougui after only five years on the throne.
如後梁太祖朱溫登上皇位才5年,就被其次子朱友硅所殺。Zhu Yougui, shortly after having taken power, was murdered by his younger brother Zhu Youzhen.
而朱友硅上臺不久,又被其弟朱友貞所殺。In the Later Tang, Li Congrong, Emperor Mingzong^ son, rose to seize power, but ended up losing his own life.
再如後唐明宗李嗣源的兒子秦王李從榮，亦曾以兵奪權，未能成功，反丟了性命。After the death of Emperor Mingzong, his cousin, Li Conghou succeeded to the throne, but was deposed only one year later by Li Congke, the adopted son of Emperor Mingzong.
明宗去世之後，其弟五子李從厚繼位,僅一年，其位即被明宗的養子李從珂所奪。These series of murder brought nothing but suffering and disaster to the people.
頻頻兵戎相見，給百姓帶來了極大痛苦和災難。The Later Liang ： Liang was founded by Zhu Wen, a traitor of uprising peasants and a garrison commander of the preceding dynasty. After having succeeded in reMoving the separate military regimes and unified the Yellow River Valley, Zhu deposed Emperor Ai of the Tang, took Kaifeng as capital and established Liang, which was called the Later Liang.
後梁:唐末農民起義軍叛徒、唐宣武節度使朱全忠（原名朱溫），消滅了許多割據勢力，初步統一了黃河流域以後，於907年廢唐哀帝自立，國號樑，定都開封，史稱“後梁”。After became an emperor, Liang Taizu, Zhu Wen continued his war with Li Keyong, a warlord and a noble clan of Shatuo nationality for the last say in the north. The wars did not yield with harvest and the separation remained.
後梁建立後，梁太祖朱全忠與河東軍閥、沙陀貴族李克用繼續爭奪霸權，交戰不已，各地藩鎮的驕橫局面也沒有多大改變。In 912, Emperor Zhu Wen was killed by his son and the situation grew more shaking, which invited the downfall from the Later Tang.
公元912年，朱全忠被其子 殺死後,政局更爲混亂，結果爲後唐所滅。In all, the Later Liang lasted 17 years.
後梁統治共17年。The Later Tang： In April 923, Li Cunxu, son of Li Keyong ascended the throne. He was called Emperor Zhuang, his regime named Tang. In October, Emperor Zhuang defeated the Later Liang and named Luoyang as capital. His administration was referred as the Later Tang.
後唐:公元923年4月，李克用之子李存勖稱帝（莊宗），國號唐，10月攻滅後梁，建都洛陽,史稱“後唐”。In 926, the military coup was broken out in Weizhou (now southeast of Da Ming, Hebei) and Emperor Zhuang was killed by a flying arrow.
公元926年發生魏州（河北大名東南）兵變，莊宗斃於流矢。Li Siyuan, known a$ Emperor of Ming, the adopted son of Li Keyong came to Luoyang and succeeded the throne.
李克用養子，李嗣源人洛陽稱帝（明宗）。He carried out reforms and discarded some unreasonable practice which created a peaceful time in his seven-year-reign. During this period, there was harvest of the grain and people were blessed to enjoy their life temporarily.
唐明宗改革了莊宗時的一些弊政, 在位七年，戰事減少，農業屢有豐收，人民獲得了短期的喘息。However, the rulers of the Later Tang waged war to murder each other after the death of Emperor of Ming. Short after, the Later Tang was destroyed by Later Jin after 14 years of ruling.
明宗死後，由於最高統治集團內部互相殘殺，不久被後晉所滅。後唐統治14年。The Later Jin ： In 936, the garrison command of the later Tang, Shi Jingtang (Shatuo origin) bought assists from Liao at the expense of ceding the sixteen cities of Yanyun (now the northern parts of Hebei and Shanxi and some area of inner Mongolia), of paying 30 000pi of silk annually and admitting the subordinate position of his kingdom by accepting Yelu Deguang ,the ruler of Laio as the father emperor. He set up his regime of Jin and moved the capital to Kaifeng. His kingdom was known as the Later Jin.
後晉:公元936年，後唐河東節度使，石敬瑭（沙陀人）以割讓燕雲十六州（今 河北、山西的北部和內蒙古的一部分）、歲貢綃帛30萬匹和認遼朝君主耶律德光爲父皇等條件，取得遼兵的援助，推翻了後唐，建立了政權，國號晉，遷都開封，史稱 “後晉”。After the Later Jin, the sixteen cities of Youyun was a base for Liao to attack and grab from the Central Plain, which brought havoc in north China.
後晉以後,幽雲十六州成爲遼軍南下攻掠中原的基地，致使北方地區的社會經濟遭受嚴重破壞。At the dawn of 947, Liao marched his army southernwards and took Kaifeng. The Late Jin ended after 12 years of existence.
公元947年初，遼兵攻入開封,後晉亡。後晉共存在12年。The Later Han：After Liao seized Kaifeng, the garrison commander of the Later Jin, Liu Zhiyuan (Shatuo origin) proclaimed to be Emperor of Gao Zu in Jinyang(now Taiyuan). He still named his regime the Later Jin in order to win the from the former Jin ministers.
後漢:遼兵攻入開封后，後晉河東節度使，劉知遠（沙陀人）在晉陽（太原）稱帝 (高祖），仍用後晉天福年號以爭取後晉舊臣歸附。He entered Luoyang and Kaifeng, made Kaifeng as capital and called his administration Han, which known as the Later Han shortly after Liao drew back to the north.
當遼兵北退後，他很快進入洛陽和開封，並在開封建都，國號漢，史稱“後漢”。Eleven months later, Emperor Gaozu of the Later Han passed away and his nephew Liu Chengyou (Emperor of Ying) carried out the line. The new emperor was always suspicious of and put his ministers to death which caused the garrison commander Guo Wei to lead an uprising.
後漢高祖做了11個月皇帝就死了，其侄劉承祐（隱帝）繼位後，忌殺大臣，天雄節度使郭威被迫起兵反漢，隱帝被殺。Four years later, the Emperor was killed and the shortly existed Later Han came to an end.
後漢僅統治四年就滅亡了。The Later Zhou： In January 951, Guo Wei declared himself the emperor in Kaifeng and named his kingdom Zhou, in history the Later Zhou was the name of-ten referred to. Guo Wei was Emperor Taizu.
後周:公元951年正月，郭威在開封稱帝（太祖），國號周，史稱“後周”。Born in the poor family, Emperor Td-zu experienced the hardships of life and hence introduced political and economical reforms after became emperor.
周太祖出身貧寒，知道民間疾苦，稱帝后虛心納諫，生活節儉。He led a thrifty life and encouraged his followers to speak out their opinions on the state affairs. To avoid the overweight of the army leaders, he tried to find the capable persons and put them in positions. In addition ,rents and taxes were reduced, sentences for committing crimes lighted, and corrupted officials punished. Favorable conditions for agricultural production were created. Thousands of people flocked from other places to the Later Zhou for settlement.
他吸取前四代過分信任武夫的教訓，留心人才，併力圖革除弊政，採取了嚴懲貪官污吏、獎勵生產、興修水利、廢除苛捐雜稅以及免除牛租等措施，提高了農民的生產積極性，百姓從四面八方來周定居，社會生產得到發展。In 954,the Emperor Taizu passed away, the next person coming to power was his adopted son Guo Rong ( the original surname was Cai, the nephew of the former emperor).
公元954年，周太祖死，養子郭榮（原姓柴，太祖內侄)繼位（世宗）。The new emperor was Shi Zong, who was an impressive statesman in Chinese history. He followed the path of the former emperor, developed the economy and strengthened his armies to the unification of the imperial China.
周世宗在周太祖改革的基礎上，繼續革新政治，訓練軍隊，開始進行統一戰爭。他是中國歷史上一位很有作爲的政治家。Shortly after Guo Wei died, Liu Chong of the Northern Han, who formed an alliance with the Khitan to attack to the Late Zhou.
周太祖死後，北漢劉崇勾結契丹一同出兵進攻後周。Cai Rong took the personal command of the Later Zhou?s army and defeated Liu Chong at Gaoping (now Gaoping County, Shaanxi).
周世宗柴榮親自率領軍隊在高平(今陝西高平縣）打敗劉崇。Liu Chong fled with hundreds of his cavalrymen.
劉崇只帶了幾百騎兵逃走。After this battle, Cai Rong began to think seriously of unifying the country.
此後，周世宗開始仔細思考統一大業。With his territory extending as far as the northern bank of the Yangtze River, he succeeded in recovering a number of strategic points from Qidan, such as Ningzhou (now Ning coun-ty,Hebei) and Yijinguan Pass (Baxian County, Hebei).
後周的疆域南至長江北岸，向北收復了寧州（今河北寧縣） 和一些重要關溢，如益今關(今河北壩縣）。All these achievements pave the way for the north to bring to an end the prolonged division of the country and to establish a central authority over all of China.
這一切都爲後來北宋結束長期分裂割據局面，統一中國，準備了重要條件。Worth noticing in this period of history was that the founders of three dynasties (the Later Tang, the Later Jin and the Later Han) all came from the Shatuo.
這一段歷史，有一點值得特別注意,即在五朝之中，有三朝，即後唐、後晉、後漢的開國之君都是沙陀人。Meanwhile, the Khitan and Tartars in the north became increasingly strong. The frontier commanders and the Khitan Tartars joined forces and formed a big military group, burying the seeds for a later confrontation between the Song, the Liao and the Jin.
同時，北方的契丹人亦不斷強大，他們互相勾結利用，逐步形成了一股強大的政治力量和軍事集團，爲以後宋、遼、金對峙形成中國歷史上第二個南北朝，埋下了深深的禍根。
