“主义”概念在中国的流行及其泛化

The Popularity and Generalization of “-ism” in China

在近代知识建构过程中,再没有比"主义"这个词更具有代表性了,各种思潮、各种观点都是以其名义得以传播。这些"主义"最早多出现在欧美,从17世纪到19世纪是其蓬勃发展期。将词缀"-ism"对译为"主义"是日本人所为,而且早期的许多"主义"是经由日本舶来的。关于这一点,只要看看"人道主义"、"社会主义"和"共产主义"等具体例子就可以知道日本的汉字译法是如何炮制的,而且是通过什么渠道在清末的中国得以展开并流行的。这里不容忽视的重要媒介当然是报纸杂志。通过《清议报》里"主义"使用的状况我们可以看出日本作为近代知识资源的一面,而进入民国后的知识传播,报纸杂志和近代辞典《辞海》的诠释、采录也为"主义"的传播做出了贡献。20世纪40年代以后,除去日本要素外,中国人对"主义"的翻译和创新更是别具特色了。

AThere are no representative other than ＂-ism＂ during the process of knowledge construction in modern times. Every type of thoughts and ideas has been conveyed under the name of it. The ＂-ism＂ firstly came up in Western, and reached its golden age through 17th to 19th century. However, the translation of ＂-ism＂ to ＂主义＂ was done by Japanese, and most of ＂-ism＂ are then pass along to China. We could see how it is translated in Japan through the examples such as ＂人道主义＂＂社会主义＂＂共产主义＂. The most important medium in the popularity of ＂-ism＂ in China is newspapers and magazines, especially ＂The China Discussion＂（《清议报》）which pulished in Japan at that time. In the era of Repulic of China, the dictionary make contribution on the propagation of ＂-ism＂. And the estabishment of ＂-ism＂ has more Chinese characteristics after Yan＇an era.