也谈大熊猫之今古称谓

On the Names of the Animal “Panda” in the Past and at Present

该文介绍了大熊猫一名的由来,指出“熊猫称panda(潘达)也不是洋名”一说断难成立;确认它是“舶来品”,并无损于我国国宝的固有光辉;论证我国古籍中大熊猫的确切称呼是猛、貘、貊,而貘与貊由猛的声转而来,实际上只有一个即猛;考察熊猫产地的两个民间称呼白熊与花熊,指出法国人戴维之所以将发现于四川穆坪的奇兽定名为黑白熊,正是受到此类称呼的影响。较为系统地考察大熊猫的今称、古称以及介于二者之间的民间称呼,有助于我国大熊猫文化的进一步发扬光大。

The paper introduces the origin of the names of “daxiongmao”,pointing out that the assertion that “the animal is called `panda' is not a borrowed name” is groundless.Admitting the name “panda” is a “foreign” name will not discolor the most treasured animal at all.It has been found that in China's ancient literature the animal was named meng, or mo, and the latter is just a pronunciation variant of the former,so there is only one,i.e.meng.The animal has two different names given by the folks living in the nearest places:white bear and spotted bear.That explains why the French,Davis,hurriedly named the wonderful animal he found in Muping,Sichuan Province,black and white bear:he was influenced by the local names.Studying systematically the animal's present names,ancient names,and the names between is bound to promote and popularize the panda culture in China and the world as well.