中英雙語話中國歷史名人 第10期:漢武帝

Han Wudi (157 B. C.--87 B. C.) was originally named Liu Che.

漢武帝，名劉徹，生於公元前157年，卒於公元前87年。

He came to the Han throne at the age of 16 but did not take the government into his own hands until 131 B. C.

武帝16歲登上帝位，但是直到公元前131年才執掌朝政。

He was firmly determined to wield imperial power to a greater extent than any of his predecessors in the (Former) Han Dynasty had done.

武帝支配皇權的決心比以往任何一位漢代皇帝都大。

In his administration of justice，for example，all but one of his seven prime ministers between 121 and 88 were convicted of crimes and met violent deaths.

比如，在執法方面，公元前121年至公元前88年，武帝的7位承相中有6位被判罪處死。

The numerous laws were harshly applied throughout the empire，thus creating a style of government unknown aMong his Han predecessors but strikingly similar to that of Qin Shi huang-ti.

數目衆多的法律在全國範圍內得到嚴格的應用。這樣，武帝創造出一種不同於前幾位漢代皇帝，卻與秦始皇驚人地相似的統治風格。

Wudi (meaning “martial emperor") was a well-deserved title.

武帝這個稱號真是名副其實。

His campaigns toward the southeast，into the coastal regions，determined in large part the southern boundaries of China.

武帝往東南攻至沿海，基本上確定了中國南部的邊界。

His conquests along China's northern frontiers，if less permanent，were even more impressive.

武帝對北方的征服可能不是那麼長久，但是卻更加令人難忘。

After a costly series of wars he drove the nomadic Hsiungnu north as far as the Gobi Desert in 119 B. C.

經過一系列開銷巨大的征戰之後，武帝於公元前119年把匈奴人趕到了戈壁沙漠。

By 104 B. C. Emperor Wu's military might had reached beyond the Pamir Mountains to Russian Turkistan.

到公元前104年，武帝的武力越過帕米爾羣山，抵達俄屬士耳其斯坦。

Similarly. The empire that Wu-ti created，surpassing in size the contemporary Roman Empire，was the greatest in the world.

漢武帝創建的帝國比同時期的羅馬帝國還要大，是當時世界上最大的帝國。

When Emperor Wu came to the throne，the Han Dynasty was financially very strong.

漢武帝登基時，漢朝經濟力量非常強大。

But his wars were terribly costly. So too were construction projects that he initiated.

但是武帝打仗的花費同樣驚人的，發起的建設工程的花費也是驚人的。

Expenses were met by a variety of means.

武帝通過各種手段籌集費用。

The tight net of the law meant that the government could remit punishments for cash or goods and thus add to the state's coffers.

嚴格執法意味着犯人可以交錢或貨物來獲得較輕的處罰，甚至得以無罪釋放，這樣國庫就又有了補充。

Those without money were condemned to penal servitude as soldiers or laborers.

那些沒錢的罪犯被判以充軍或服勞役的刑罰。

Although new taxes were created and old ones increased，there was still not enough money.

儘管開徵了新稅，加重了舊稅，錢還是不夠。

Hence，salt, iron，and liquor were made state monopolies.

所以，國家就壟斷了鹽、鐵和酒的經營。

These measures produced widespread discontent and some uprisings.

這些措施引起了廣泛的不滿和一些起義。

By the end of Wu-di's reign the finances of the empire had been badly strained，and his successors had to institute ameliorative policies.

到了漢武帝統治末期，帝國財政非常緊張。後代君主不得不制定改善措施。

Emperor Wu is also famous for granting exclusive recognition to Confucianism as the official state philosophy.

漢武帝還因尊儒而聞名。

Soon after he ascended the throne，he ordered that students of the Legalist philosophy，which had been the dominant school of thought in the Qin period，be banished from the government.

法家思想在秦朝居於統治地位。武帝繼位不久即把法家學派的學者驅逐出政府。

In 135 B. C. he established the Office of Erudites for the five Confucian classics. The Erudites served as advisers to the Emperor and as teachers of future officials.

公元前135年，武帝設立五經博士，博士們擔任皇帝的顧問和未來官員的教師。

The office was not new; there had earlier been Erudites for the Confucian classics，but Wu-di's decree meant that from then on there would only be Confucian Erudites.

這種學校以前也有。以前也有博士，但是武帝的法令意味着從此以後只能有儒家的博士。

Eleven years later he founded the Imperial University，where the Erudites taught the better students.

11年後，武帝設立太學。博士們有了更好的學生。

It is difficult to overemphasize the importance of these decisions.

這些決定怎麼強調都不爲過。

From this time on，for over 2 000 years，men who wanted to become officials were expected to study the Confucian classics.

從此以後，2000多年裏，想做官的人一定要讀儒家經典。

Although the results of these policies were not immediate，they are of the most profound signiflcance to all later Chinese history.

儘管這些政策的影響並非立竿見影，但是它們對後來所有的中國歷史產生了最爲深遠的影響。