6. From Antiquity to the Three Dynasties
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
周文王,称三王,夏传子,家天下。
English translation
Yu of Xia, Tang of Shang, and King Wen of Zhou are called the Three Kings. With Xia, rule passed to sons and became hereditary.
“Family possession of the realm” marks a shift from abdication to dynastic succession.
Original Chinese text
四百载,迁夏社,汤伐夏,国号商。
English translation
After about four hundred years, Xia’s altars passed away. Tang overthrew Xia and founded the state called Shang.
Dynastic change is presented in moral terms: loss of virtue brings collapse, renewed virtue brings rule.
Original Chinese text
六百载,至纣亡,周武王,始诛纣。
English translation
Shang lasted about six hundred years and ended with King Zhou. King Wu of Zhou rose and punished Zhou of Shang.
King Zhou is treated in traditional history as a tyrant, a figure used to explain the loss of the Mandate.
Original Chinese text
八百载,最长久,周辙东,王纲坠。
English translation
Zhou lasted eight hundred years, the longest of the dynasties. When the Zhou court moved east, royal authority declined.
The eastward move marks the weakening of Zhou kingship and the rise of competing regional powers.
Original Chinese text
逞干戈,尚游说,始春秋,终战国。
English translation
Weapons were freely used, and persuasion by roaming advisers was prized. This period began with Spring and Autumn and ended with the Warring States.
The line sketches Eastern Zhou: warfare, diplomacy, and the weakening of older ritual order.
Original Chinese text
五霸强,七雄出,嬴秦氏,始兼并。
English translation
The Five Hegemons grew powerful; the Seven Warring States emerged. The Qin house of Ying began to annex the others.
The sequence moves from rivalry among states toward Qin unification and centralized rule.
Original Chinese text
传二世,楚汉争,高祖兴,汉业建。
English translation
Qin lasted only to its second emperor; then Chu and Han contended. Gaozu rose and founded the Han dynasty.
Behind the short line is the fall of Qin, rebellion, and the formation of a new imperial order.
Original Chinese text
至孝平,王莽篡,光武兴,为东汉。
English translation
By Emperor Ping of Han, Wang Mang usurped the throne. Guangwu then rose and established the Eastern Han.
The line fixes the sequence: Western Han, Wang Mang’s Xin, and Eastern Han restoration.
Original Chinese text
四百年,终于献,魏蜀吴,争汉鼎。
English translation
Han lasted about four hundred years and ended with Emperor Xian. Wei, Shu, and Wu contended for the Han realm.
“The Han tripod” means the political inheritance of Han. The Three Kingdoms embody the empire’s fragmentation.