新「自然」考
摘要
When and how did the meaning of ”ziran” change, such that it began to refer to the material world? This article looks at the history of the translation of ziran, utilizing the difference between ziran as a ”translated word” versus ziran as a ”new word” as the key to elucidate the answer to this question. The translation history of ziran and nature can be divided into three periods by the Opium war (1 840-2) and the Sino-Japanese war (1894-5). In the early nineteenth century, ”nature” was translated in to ”xing” (性) or ”tiandi” (天地)， while ziran was only used to translate the words ”natural” and ”naturally.” After the Opium war, new terms began flooding into China, and although the translation of ”nature” itself did not change, the translation of ”natural” and other related words became complicated and tangled. Nonetheless, after the Sino-Japanese war, the translation of ziran as ”nature” and ”natural” stabilized. Although ziran had become a ”translated word” in the early nineteenth century, it did not become a ”new word” until one century later. In considering this translation history, it becomes apparently that while the meaning of ziran changed, the Chinese view of nature (or worldview) changed along with it. By unraveling the relationship between the intimately intertwined signifier and signified of ziran, perhaps we can start to challenge the modern and materialistic view of nature that seems so well established