“日本”国号起源再考

Reexamining the Origin of "Japan" as the National Name

因中日两国史书皆缺乏明确的记述,故就开始使用"日本"这一国号的时间和是谁创造了这一国号众说不一。本文认为以往认识似乎都缺乏坚实的史料依据和令人信服的说理过程,并基于历史事件发生的时间与被记述的时间、记述者与当事者的关系最为接近的史书及其撰者乃最恰当的研究线索这一观点,推定"日本"这一国号似乎应该出现在武则天会见日本使者的公元702年当年或之前的一小段时间,其出自或如《史记正义》作者张守节所说,来源于武皇后的改名。

Lacking of historical records in China and Japan, when and who used ＂Japan＂ as the national name is controversial. This dissertation points out that the previous views are short of historical evidence and the explanation carries no conviction. The most important clue for studying is the nearest narration and the narrator. That is to say, history fabrication increases in each period. Basing on the above-mentioned theory, the dissertation concludes that ＂Japan＂ as a national name first appeared in or prior to A. D. 702, when Empress WU Ze - tian met Japanese envoys. It perhaps originates from Empress WU＇ s renaming of the nation, which ZHANG Shou -jie mentioned in Notes of Historical Records（ Shi Ji Zheng Yi）.