中英双语话历史 第55期:南北朝(刘宋)

In 420, Liu Yu dethroned the Emperor of Jin and declared himself as the Emperor of Song, which was known as Liu Song to distinguish from the Song set up by Zhao Kuangying after the Tang Dynasty.

公元420年刘裕废晋帝自立，国号宋。为区别于后世赵匡胤建立的宋朝，史学家常称之为“刘宋”。

Born in a humble family, Liu Yu realized that it was the uprisings of the great noble clans that caused the downfall of the Eastern Jin therefore he would by no means put the members of the prestigious on the important ead, the military power was in the hands of his sons and other important posts were filled with persons from the poor origin.

刘裕出身贫寒,又看到了东晋因大族屡屡兴兵反抗而使其灭亡的教训，故而在他登基后，不再重用名门大族，其用人也多为贫寒出身，兵权则主要交予自己的皇子，所以没有重蹈东晋发生大族割据的覆辙。

By these measures he did successfully avoid the separate regimens set up by the noble clans, however, he failed to foresee the conflicts between his princes after his death.

然而，由于皇子相互间的争权夺利，最后以至于相互残杀,这是刘裕始料未及的。

In 422, Uu Yu died, his two sons Shao and Wen took the throne in succession.

公元422年，刘裕卒，宋少帝、文帝相继即位。

Worthy to mention is during Wen’s reign, there appeared a prosperous comfortable society characterized by social stability, economic growth and cultural flourishing.

其中，文帝刘义隆在位的30年间，是宋朝最繁荣的一段时期，这时南方的经济、文化真正有所发展，出现了一个所谓“小康”的局面。

There were wars broken out between the Liu Song and Wei in the north； however, both suffered great loss and dared not to launch a large-scale campaign towards each other.

此间，宋与北朝的魏国交战虽各有胜负，但却都损失惨重，使南北方均无能力再发生大战。

Since then, there was a relative tranquil period till in the year of 454, Emperor Wen died and was succeeded by two tyrannies of Xiao Wu and Ming of Liu Song.

从此，南北方相对稳定下来。公元454年，文帝薨。

These two cruel emperors even plotted to kill their family members besides suspecting their own followers, which caused a constant chaos situation in their kingdom.

文帝死后，宋孝武帝、宋明帝先后为帝，但他们俩都是有名的暴君，不仅对诸将疑忌，而且兄弟间相互残杀，政治一度混乱。

Xiao Daocheng, Commander of Liu, aslo the Imperial Guards, gained his own weight in this confusion, usurped the power of Liu Song and changed its name to Qi in 479, which brought an end to the end of the Liu Song.

在此期间，刺史萧道成趁政治混乱之机而形成了较强的势力。公元479年，萧道成灭宋，建立齐。至此，刘宋宣告灭亡。