Text B The Qin and Han Dynasties
导 读
公元前221年，秦吞并其他六国后统一了中国主体部分，成为中国历史上第一个统一的中央集权制国家，定都咸阳（今西安附近）。由于秦王嬴政自认为“功盖三皇，德过五帝”，于是改用皇帝称号，自封始皇帝，人称秦始皇，传位后的皇帝称二世，直至千世万世。秦始皇对国家进行了许多项改革，包括确立了中央集权，取代了周朝的诸侯分封制；统一了文字，方便官方行文；统一度量衡，便于工程上的计算。秦始皇还大力修筑驰道和直道，并连接了战国时赵国、燕国和秦国的北面围城，筑成了西起临洮、东至辽东的万里长城以抵御来自北方的匈奴、东胡等游牧民族的侵袭。秦始皇推崇法治，重用法家的李斯作为丞相，并听其意见，下令焚书坑儒，收缴天下兵器，役使七十万人修筑阿房宫以及自己的陵墓，包括兵马俑等。
The Qin,the first feudal empire and most short-lived dynasty in Chinese history,unified the country on an unprecedented scale since the Shang and Zhou dynasties and established an form of government which had a lasting influence on Chinese feudalism and proved to be the most long-lasting of all human political institutions.
After the founding of the Qin Dynasty,centralization of power increased dramatically.The power of the aristocrats was broken by the apportionment of their land to private farmers.Books written before the Qin period were destroyed to wipe out ideas which conflicted with the emperor’s.Prisoners of war and peasants who had lost their land were drafted to build public works like the Great Wall across North China and was designed to keep the northern nomads at bay.A network of roads was built connecting the capital with distant parts of the empire.Weights,measures,coinage and the writing system were standardized.The foundations of a large,unified Chinese empire were laid.
Although the First Emperor thought that he had founded an empire that would last for “10 thousand generations”,it outlasted him by only 4 years.When Qin Shihuang died a rebellion broke out and Xianyang,the Qin’s capital (near present-day Xi’an),was captured by an army led by a commoner named Liu Bang.He seized the throne and established the Han Dynasty which lasted from 206 B.C.to 220 A.D.corresponding roughly in time to the heyday of Rome.The Han Dynasty also rivaled Rome in power,prestige and historical significance.Even today the Chinese refer to themselves as “men of the Han”,and the Chinese characters are called “the Han characters”.During this period the pattern of the modern Chinese state was also established and the empire reached its zenith.
During the Han Dynasty,the Chinese empire reached a high level of development.Agriculture and handicraft industry developed significantly.Iron implements and ploughs drawn by oxen were used everywhere for farming purposes,and farming techniques were improved.Large numbers of irrigation projects were constructed,at the same time advances were made in iron smelting techniques and silk weaving.Commerce flourished and brisk trade was carried on with foreign countries.
There was a variety of notable achievements in culture and science,including Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian,China’s first comprehensive historical work,and the seismograph invented by Zhang Heng.In addition,the invention of paper,perhaps China’s greatest contribution to world culture,was also a product of this period.Chinese written language was standardized and all the 5 different styles of writing were developed.In the meantime,physicians mastered acupuncture and the prescription of herbal medicines.Craftsmen produced exquisite wool,cotton and silk fabrics.
Emperor Wudi，the 5th Han emperor,came to power in 147 B.C.and his far-flung military campaigns further expanded the empire’s boundaries.Emperor Wudi decreed that Confucian texts and teachings be a prerequisite for appointment to government positions.A university was set up in the capital to teach Confucianism,and examinations in the Confucian Classics were instituted.Confucianism became the basis of education and admission to the Chinese civil service for the next 2,000 years.Strains on the empire’s economy and a succession of weak rulers led to power struggles between strong regional rulers and their armies.The Han Empire finally split into three separate kingdoms in 220.
Notes
1.The Great Wall（长城）：a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China，built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups.Several walls have been built since the fifth century B.C.that are referred to collectively as the Great Wall，which has been rebuilt and maintained from the fifth century B.C.through the 16th century.One of the most famous is the wall built between 220 B.C.—206 B.C.by the first Emperor of China，Qin Shi Huang.Little of that wall remains； the majority of the existing wall was built during the Ming Dynasty.
2.Sima Qian（司马迁）：a prefect of the Grand Scribes （太史公） of the Han Dynasty.He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work，Records of the Grand Historian （史记），a “Jizhuanti”-style general history of China，covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to Emperor Wudi.His definitive work laid the foundation for later Chinese historiography.
3.Zhang Heng（张衡）：a Chinese astronomer，mathematician，inventor，geographer，cartographer，artist，poet，statesman，and literary scholar from Nanyang，Henan.He lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty （25—220） of China.He was educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang’an，and began his career as a minor civil servant in Nanyang.Eventually，he became Chief Astronomer，Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages，and then Palace Attendant at the imperial court.His uncompromising stances on certain historical and calendrical issues made Zhang a controversial figure，which prevented him from becoming an official court historian.His political rivalry with the palace eunuchs during the reign of Emperor Shun led to his decision to retire from the central court to serve as an administrator of Hejian in Hebei.He returned home to Nanyang for a short time，before being recalled to serve in the capital once more in 138.He died there a year later，in 139.
Words & Expressions
1.feudalism['fjuːdəlizəm] n.封建主义；封建制度
2.centralization[，sentrəl'zeiʃn] n.集中；中央集权
3.dramatically[drə'mætikəli] adv.戏剧地；引人注目地
4.aristocrat['æristəkræt，ə'ristə-] n.贵族
5.apportion[ə'pɔːʃən] vt.分配；分派；分摊
6.nomad['nəumæd，'nɔ-] n.游牧民；流浪者
7.bay[bei] n.海湾；狗吠声
8.standardized['stændə，daizd] adj.标准的；标准化的；定型的
9.rebellion[ri'beljən] n.叛乱；反抗；谋反；不服从
10.commoner['kɔmənə] n.平民；自费学生；下议院议员
11.rival['raivəl] v.与……相匹敌；比得上
12.prestige[pre'stiːʒ，-'stiːdʒ，'prestidʒ] n.威望；声望；声誉
13.zenith['zeniθ，'ziː-] n.顶峰；顶点；最高点
14.commerce['kɔməːs] n.贸易；商业
15.flourish['flauriʃ] vt.夸耀；挥舞
vi.繁荣；兴旺；茂盛；活跃；处于旺盛时期
16.seismograph['saizməɡrɑːf，'sais-，-，ɡræf] n.地震仪
17.acupuncture['ækju，pʌŋktʃə，，ækju'pʌŋktʃə] n.针刺；［中医］针刺疗法
18.prescription[pris'kripʃən] n.药方；指示；惯例
19.herbal['həːbəl，'əː-] adj.草药的；草本的
20.exquisite['ekskwizit，ek'skwizit] adj.精致的；细腻的；优美的；高雅的；异常的；剧烈的
21.fabric['fæbrik] n.织物；布；组织；构造；建筑物
22.decree[di'kriː] vt.命令；颁布；注定；判决
vi.注定；发布命令
23.prerequisite['priː'rekwizit] n.先决条件
24.institute['institjut，-tuːt] vt.开始（调查）；制定；创立；提起（诉讼）
25.strain[strein] n.紧张；拉紧；负担；扭伤；血缘
Exercises
I.Fill in each of the following blanks with the most suitable word given below.Change the form if necessary.
feudalism institute prerequisite flourish split
acupuncture prestige standardize decree snake
1.Robber reflected the youth revolting the________system.
2.The road________along the valley far below.
3.Attempts to________English spelling have never been successful.
4.The teaching profession has lost the________it used to have.
5.The plants________in the warm sun.
6.________has been used to treat other medical conditions during pregnancy,like pain and nausea.
7.To________the quality criteria on arthrolithiasis odynolysis plastics and make a better quality controllability.
8.A reasonable proficiency in English is a________for the course.
9.The King________that there should be an end to the fighting.
10.The party________over segregation.
II.Decide whether each of the following statements is true (T) or false (F) according to the passage.
1.The Qin was the first feudal empire and most short-lived dynasty,which unified the country on a famous scale and established a form of government.( )
2.The Qin Dynasty intensified the centralization of power.( )
3.The Great Wall was designed to keep the nomads at bay.( )
4.The First Emperor founded an empire intended to last for “10 thousand generations”.( )
5.Qin Shihuang died in a rebellion.( )
6.The Qin’s capital was captured by an army led by the commoner Liu Bang.( )
7.The Qin established the Han Dynasty which lasted from 206 B.C.to 220 A.D.( )
8.During the Han Dynasty the pattern of the modern Chinese state was established.( )
9.During the Qin Dynasty,the Chinese empire reached a high level of development.( )
10.Sima Qian wrote China’s first comprehensive historical work and also invented seismograph.( )
III.Try to fill in each of the following blanks with a suitable word.
Qin’s power continued to grow in the following century after Shang Yang’s reform,owing the success to the (1)_______of its people.The Qin kings (2)_______many state development projects,including large public works such as irrigation canals and defensive structures.
One of the most obvious results of the reforms was the change in Qin’s military.Previously,the army was under the control of Qin’s nobles and after Shang Yang’s reforms,the aristocracy system was (3)_______and replaced by one based on meritocracy,in which ordinary citizens had equal opportunities as the nobles to be promoted to high ranks.In addition,military discipline was strongly enforced and the troops were trained to (4)_______better to different battle situations.Qin’s military strength increased largely with the full support of the state.In 318 B.C.,the states of Wei,Zhao,Han,Yan and Chu (5)_______an alliance and attacked Qin,but failed to advance beyond Hangu Pass,and were defeated by counter-attacking Qin forces.The alliance crumbled due to mistrust and suspicion and lack of coordination among the five states.
Apart from the effects on Qin’s (6)_______,Shang Yang’s reforms also increased labour supply for numerous public works aimed at boosting (7)_______,and made it possible for Qin to (8)_______and supply an active military force of more than a million troops.This feat could not be (9)_______by any other state except Chu during that time.Qin’s conquests of the southern states of Ba and Shu in present-day Sichuan Province also provided Qin with major strategic advantages.The lands in the new territories were very fertile,and helped serve as a “backyard” for supplies and additional manpower.It was hard for Qin’s rivals to (10)_______Ba and Shu,since the territories were located deep in the mountains upstream of the Yangtze River.At the same time,Qin’s strategic position in Ba and Shu provided it with a platform for launching attacks on the Chu state,which lay downstream of the Yangtze.