中英雙語話歷史 第72期:宋及並存的遼,金和西夏(西夏)
Founded by Li Yuanhao, known as Emperor Jingzong, the Western Xia was a dynasty of the Dangxiang people, with its capital in the Xingqing Prefecture (now Yinchuan in Ningxia).
His empire extended as far east as the Yellow River, as far west as Yumen(west of Dunhuang, Gansu), as far south as Xiaoguan (north of Huan County, Gansu) and as far north as the Gobi desert.
西夏疆域，東臨黃河，西至玉門關（今甘肅敦煌），南接蕭關(今甘肅環縣北），北抵大漠。At its height, the Xi Xia consisted of 22 prefectures covering northern Ningxia and Shaanxi, northwestern Gansu, northeastern Qinghai and part of Inner Mongolia.
盛時轄地22州，包括今寧夏及陝西北部、甘肅西北部、青海東北部及內蒙古部分地區。
Ruled by 10 emperors, the Xi Xia lasted 190 years and was a rival of the Liao, the Northern Song, the Jin and the Southern Song.
西夏共歷十帝，前後190年。與遼、北宋及金、南宋並存。By origin, Dangxiang was a branch of the Qiang nationality and they formerly lived in the vicinity of the Yellow River valley located in the southeastern area of present-day Qinghai.
党項族原屬於羌族的一支，居住在今青海東南部黃河曲一帶。Since the late Tang Dynasty to the Northern Song Dynasty, theTuoba family of this nationality, working as satraps of the Central Plains government, had been governing the Xia Prefecture (now Hengshan in Shaaxi) and four other neighbouring prefectures.
從唐末，經五代到北宋，党項拓跋氏均以中原王朝節度使的身分統轄以夏州（今陝西橫山）爲中心的五州之地。Due to the efforts of Li Jiqian (Li Yuanhao^ grandfather) and Li Deming (Li Yuanhao^ father), this nationality pursued a strategy of allying with the Liao. They made peace with the Song, attacked the Turbans and the Uygurs, and conquered the Xiliang Prefecture (now Wuwei in Gansu), the Ganzhou Prefecture (north of present-day Zhangye in Gansu) and the Guazhou Prefecture (present-day eastern Anxi in Gansu). Thus, the Dangxiang controlled all the areas along the western bank of the Yellow River and laid a solid foundation for Li Yuanhao to establish a dynasty.
經過李繼遷（元昊之祖父）、李德明（元昊之父）兩代人的艱苦努力，實施依遼和宋、用兵吐蕃與回鶻的戰略，向西發展佔領西涼府（今甘肅武威）、甘州 (今甘肅張掖北）、瓜州（今甘肅安西東）等州，控制了河西走廊，爲李元昊稱帝建國打下了堅實的基礎。In the 9th year of Tiansheng of Song Renzong (1031) Li Deming died and his throne went to his son Li Yuanhao. The new chief then refused the title conferred by the central government, replaced the surnames of Li and Zhao awarded by the Chinese court with Wei (on his own creation) and declared himself “Wuzu”（Son of Heaven).
宋仁宗天聖九年（1031),李德明死，李元昊繼位，不再接受封號，廢除唐、宋所賜李、趙姓氏，改姓嵬名氏，自號“兀卒”（青天子）。Li Yuanhao then carried out a series of reform, including changing the hairstyle, the dress code, creating a written language, simplifying ceremonies and setting up an administrative system. At the same time, he made Xingzhou the Xingqing Prefecture, enlarged his palace and made preparations for declaring himself emperor.
隨後，李元昊實行變髮式、定服飾、造文字、簡禮儀、立官制等一系列改革，並升興州爲興慶府，擴建宮城,準備建國稱帝。He attacked the Northern Song in the 1st year of Jingyou (1034) and defeated her forces in Fuzhou (now Fugu in Shanxi), Huanzhou (now Huanxian in Gansu) and Qingzhou (now Qingyang in Gansu).
宋仁宗景祐元年（1034),他開始不斷向宋發動攻勢，在府州（今山西府谷）、環州（今甘肅環縣）、慶州（今甘肅慶陽）等地擊敗宋軍。In the 1st year of Baoyuan (1038), Li Yuanhao formally assumed the imperial title, designating his reign Yanzuo, and his dynasty, the Great Xia, was also known as the Western Xia in history.
宋仁宗寶元元年（1038 )，元昊正式稱帝，改元天授禮法延祚元年，國號大夏，史稱西夏。Largely influenced by the Song Dynasty, the Xi Xia basically adopted her civil service system.
西夏的政治制度受宋朝影響很大,官制的設置基本上模仿北宋。Central Government consisted of a Secretariat, a Privy Council, a Military Council, a Treasury, a Prefecture of Kaifeng, and a Censor Department, a Taxation Department, an Agricultural Department, a Livestock Department, a Department of Tibetan Studies, a Department of Han Culture and several others.
中央行政機 構有：中書省、樞密院、三司、御史臺、開封府、翊衛司、官計司、受納司、農田司、羣牧司、飛龍院、磨勘司、文思院、蕃學、漢學等。Local governments were split into two levels, i. e. , prefectures and counties. Prefectures were also set up in strategic political centers and military places.
地方行政編制分州、縣兩級，在特殊的政治中心和軍事國防要地有時也設郡、府。The military service system was a mix of the tribal military service system of the Dangxiang and that of the Song.
西夏的軍事制度是在党項部落兵制的基礎上吸取宋制而發展起來的。The Military Council was the highest military body, consisting of several departments.
樞密院是西夏最高的軍事統御機構，下設諸司。The military forces comprised the imperial army, the “capture” army and local troops.
軍隊由中央侍衛軍、擒生軍和地方軍三部分組成。The imperial army was divided into three groups that performed different duties.
中央侍衛軍包括“質子軍”、皇帝衛隊和京師衛戍部隊。The Zhizi Army was an elite force of 5 000 men who were excellent horsemen and archers. Chosen from aristocrat families, they were actually the armed escorts of the emperor and were on duty on three shifts a day in the palace.
“質子軍”人數約5000人，是由豪族子弟中選拔善於騎射者組成的一支衛戍部隊，負責保衛皇帝安全，號稱“御圍內六班直”，分三番宿衛。Another group of the imperial army, amounting to 3 000 soldiers, was top cavalrymen chosen from local armies across the country and who would follow the emperor into battle.
另有皇帝親信衛隊3000人，是從境內各軍中精選出來的強勇之士組成，皆爲重甲騎兵，分爲十隊，每隊300人，隨皇帝出人作戰。But the main part of the imperial army was the garrison force stationed in the capital. This well-armed army had 25000 soldiers in total. The Mcapturearmy, amounting to 100 000 men, was the main fighting force of the Xi Xia. It was called “capture”in that the enemy troops were always caught alive and then forced to become slaves.
京城地區還屯駐一支訓練有素的衛戍部隊，共2.5萬人，裝備優良,是中央侍衛軍的主力，擒生軍人數約10萬，是西夏的精銳部隊，主要任務是承擔攻堅和機動作戰，因在戰鬥中生擒敵軍爲奴隸，故此得名。The local forces, under jurisdiction of several departments of the Military Council, consisted of roughly 500 000 cavalrymen and infantrymen.
西夏的地方軍由各監軍司所轄, 共有50萬人，軍兵種主要是騎兵和步兵兩種。The Xi Xia practiced a policy ofevery citizen a soldier” i. e. Soldiers engaged in agriculture during times of peace and fought in war time.
西夏兵役制度是全民皆兵制，平時 不脫離生產，戰時參加戰鬥。The Dangxiang had originally lived by livestock husbandry and hunting, but later learnt more advance agricultural techniques.
党項族原來主要從事畜牧業和狩獵，通過學習漢族先進的農業生產技術，農業經濟得到迅速的發展。By the time the Xi Xia was founded, farming had become the main sector in its economy.
到西夏建國時，農業生產已成爲西夏社會經濟的主要部門。Emperor Jingzong (Li Yuanhao) placed even higher emphasis on agricultural development. He not only had large-scale irrigation works built, but also personally took charge of the building of a canal from the Qingtong Gorge to Pingluo, called MKing Hao Canar, or “King Li Canal”.
西夏建國後，景宗李元昊更加重視農業生產的發展，大力興修水利工程，並親自主持修築了從今青銅峽至平羅的灌渠，世稱“昊王渠”或“李王渠”。Afterwards, the areas of Xingqing and Lingzhou became the main bases for grain production.
以後，興慶府、靈州一帶，一直是西夏糧食生產的主要基地。Attention was also paid to animal husbandry.
在發展農業的同時，西夏統治者也較重視畜牧業生產。In the central government, a special department was set up to be responsible for its development.
國家專門設立羣牧司負責畜牧業的管理。Livestock husbandry areas were mainly scattered north of the Heng Mountain and along the corridor on the western bank of the Yellow River. Sheep, goats, horses, camels, cattle, asses, mules and pigs were the main animals domesticated.
西夏的畜牧地區主要分佈在橫山以北和河西走廊地帶，牧養的牲畜以羊、馬、蛇、牛爲主,還有驢、驟、豬等。Handicrafts and commerce also flourished then. The Xi Xia had a high output in the industries of metallurgy, salt collecting and refining, brick and tile making, pottery and china making, textiles, paper making, printing, wine making, and the making of gold, silver, and wooden utensils.
由於農、牧業的發展，社會生產力的迅速提高,西夏的手工業生產和商業貿易也隨之迅速發展起來。西夏的冶煉、採鹽製鹽、磚瓦、陶瓷、紡織、造紙、印刷、釀造、金銀木器製作等手工業生產也都具有一定的規模和水平。With the promotion of its rulers, the Dangxiang received more of the Han culture than any other nationality at the time.
在西夏統治者的倡導下，党項族是同時期接受漢文化較多的一個民族。One can say that the core culture of the Western Xia was Confucianist.
可以說,西夏文化的核心是儒家文化。Towards the end of the Xi Xia, its government was in chaos and the political opponents and different interests groups were rival for controlling of the government.
西夏末期，朝政長期處於內亂之中，政敵和宗黨間的鬥爭激烈。After the founding of the Kingdom of Mongolia, there were wars between them. With many years of fighting finally in the 2nd year of Baoyi (1227) of the last emperor，s reign，the Western Xia ended in the hands of the Mongolia.
蒙古汗國建立後，幾次征討西夏，經過長期的抗爭，西夏於末帝寶義二年 (1227)被蒙古所滅。
