中英双语话史记 第51期:新朝

Xin Dynasty

新朝

The Xin Dynasty (新朝）was a “dynasty”（even though， contrary to the usual meaning of a dynasty, it had but one emperor) in Chinese history.

新朝是中国历史上的一个“朝代”（尽管它和普通朝代的意义有所不同，它仅有一位皇帝）。

It followed the Western Han Dynasty and preceded the Eastern Han Dynasty.

它上乘西汉下启东汉。

The Xin Dynasty’s sole emperor, Wang Mang (王莽） was the nephew of Grand Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun, and he became powerful after the death of her step-grandson, Emperor Ai in 1 B.C.

新朝唯一一位帝王王莽是太皇太后王政君的侄子，公元前1年，他在王政君的继孙汉哀帝驾崩后夺权。

After several years of cultivating a personality cult, he finally took over as emperor in 8 A.D.

建立了多年的个人崇拜之后，他最终在公元8年自立为帝。

However, while he was a creative scholar and politician, he was an incompetent ruler, and his capital Chang’an was sieged in 23 AD by peasant rebels.

然而，尽管他是一个极富创造力的学者与政治家，他却是一个无能的帝王，他的都城长安在公元23年被农民起义者围攻。

He died in the siege.

他死于那场围攻之中。