中英雙語話歷史 第37期:漢朝(東漢經濟)
Agriculture in the Eastern Han was More advanced than that of the Western Han, for iron farm tools and ox plough were popular, which was not only used in the central plain, but in the remote areas, like Gansu and Guangdong, as well.
In most cases were two oxen drawing a plough, while occasionally one ox was used.
大多數是二牛擡槓,也有少數用一牛的。In the earlier years of the Eastern Han, the government had attached importance to constructing water conservancy, in the reign of Emperor Ming, the noted specialist Wang Jing and Wang Wu organized the huge project to repair and harness the Yellow River and the Bianqu canal, in which hundreds of thousands of people were recruited.
東漢初年，官府已注意水利的興修。明帝時，命民間水利專家王景和將作謁者王吳主持修治黃河和汴渠，併爲這項工程而徵調數十萬人。
As a result, major breaks in the dykes or changes in the river course did not occur through the following 800 years.
黃河經過這次整治後, 大約有800多年的時間，未再發生決堤改道之事。Many magistrates also paid attention to the local water conservancy.
有些郡守縣令也重視本地區的水利興修。A lot of canals and ditches were rebuilt or dug, which contributed to the agricultural irrigation and water transport.
溝渠的修復或開鑿，對於農田灌溉和交通運輸都起了很大的作用。Water power had been applied to the production activities in the early Eastern Han.
東漢初年，各地已在利用水力進行生產。Besides the hydraulic water lifting devices, winnowers and water-powered mills were introduced, which raised efficiency by a wide margin.
除先進的汲水工具外，風車、水磨坊亦投人使用，極大地提高了生產效率。Landlord manors came into being gradually in this period.
東漢時期地主莊園逐漸形成。A landlord possessing a large-scale field was a manor landlord, while the manor county estate.
擁有大範圍田地的地主可稱爲莊園地主，莊園就是田莊。Manors included arable fields, mountain forests as well as rivers and pools, which were all in the possession of landlord.
莊園中不僅有耕地，其中的山林川澤也爲地主所霸佔。Most of peasants on the manors were renders ,who engaged in agriculture or sideline activities under the instruction of landlords or his agents.
在地主莊園內，絕大多數農民是地主的佃戶。佃農們在地主或其手下的指揮下，從事農業或副業生產。The tenant farmers did not pay taxes to the state but only pay rental money to the landowner.
佃戶不必向國家交稅，但要向地主交租。The farmsteads comprised not only the huge buildings for the living of the noble family but also farm buildings, mills and factories, which were surrounded by a wall that made the farmstead a small fortress.
莊園中不僅有供貴族家庭居住的高大建築，還有農舍，磨坊和作坊。莊園主築起圍牆將整個莊園圍起來，使得莊園有如城堡一般。A few large estate owners also possessed a private army to defend their possessions.
少數的莊園主還擁有武裝，用以保護自己的私產。Generally speaking, a manor was a self-supporting economic unit in landlord -making, iron-smelting, bronze-casting, Lacquer wares and cloth-weaving were principle handicraft trades, most of which were privately running and superior in technology to that of the Western Han.
東漢時期的重要手工業有煮鹽、冶鐵、鑄銅、漆器、紡織等，以私營爲主,生產技術都較西漢進步。The iron-smelting industry was kept freely.
冶鐵業自由經營。The state-owned one was engaged in the making of weapons, chariot and horse gears as well as other implements of production and living.
國家或官府經營的冶鐵業以製造國家或官府需要的兵器、車馬具及其他生產、生活用具爲主。To meet the demands of market, the private industry focused on the production of commodities, including farm tools, manual instruments and living appliances.
民營的冶鐵業以生產商品爲主，以供市場上的需要。產品以農具、手工工具及生活用具爲最多。Pottery objects found their way into the daily life of the common people as they were in the families of privileged aristocrats.
陶器不再是達官貴族家中的稀罕之物,也開始進人尋常百姓之家。A great progress was made in the technique of smelting, like the invention of steel making at a low temperature.
東漢的冶煉技術有很大的進步，發明了低溫鍊鋼法。With the spread of this technology, steel was more popularized.
這一技術的發明和推廣, 使鋼的使用更加普遍。Thus, iron and steel replaced bronze in making principal weapons like swords.
於是，鐵兵器如刀、劍等最後完全代替了銅兵器。With an enlarged planting of mulberry and hemp, sericulture, silk and flax fabrics weaving industries grew rapidly, and the weaving technology was also improved.
東漢的桑、麻種植的範圍比西漢擴大，養蠶和絲織業、麻織業都有很大的發展，紡織技術也有進步。Modern Shandong and Sichuan Provinces were the major producing area of silk.
主要絲織品產地在今山東、四川等省。Business was booming, for the growth of agriculture and handicraft industry brought about more products in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
東漢時期，由於農業和手工業的發展，商品較多，因之商業也在發展。In 40, Liu Xiu decreed to recast 5-zhu -coin with the abolition of the old currency, which got rid of the disordered currency and promoted the economic development.
建武十六年(公元40年），劉秀下令重鑄五銖錢，廢除了一切舊幣，消除了貨幣混亂的局 面，促進了商業的發展。Luoyang became the commercial center of the whole country. Other cities, such as Yangzhou (present Yangzhou City in Jiangsu Province), Jingzhou (present Shashi City in Hubei Province) ,and Yizhou (present Chengdu City in Sichuan Province) all witnessed prosperities in their handicraft industry and commerce. The urban population increased argely.
洛陽成了全國商業中心，南方的揚州（今江蘇揚州一帶）、荊州（今湖北沙市一帶）、益州（今四川成都一帶）的手工業商業也都很興旺，城市人口大量增加。During the reign of Emperor Zhang and Emperor He, silk from China was becoming familiar to people as far away as the Roman Empire. In return, China received variety of exotic goods.
章帝、和帝統治時期，中國的絲綢已爲羅馬人所熟知，而大量的異域商品也不斷涌人。The increasing transaction sped up the development of traffic.
陸路與海外貿易的發展，促進了交通事業的發展。The thousand-mile-long plank road leading to economically important region of Ba Shu (modern Sichuan) was repaired many times, and many official roads were built, along which there were post stations to secure the safety of businessmen and travelers, provide accommodation and facilitate traffic.
自關中通向巴蜀的千里棧道多次得到整治，又修築多條官道。這些找道、大道的沿途，多築有亭障、郵驛，以保衛商旅，安頓食宿，便利交通。
