“效实”名义考

An Investigation into the Meaning of “Xiaoshi”

作为甬上名校的宁波效实中学,其校名长期被认为是取自《天演论》的"物竞天择,效实储能",但事实上原书中并无此句。"效实"一词的内涵,其实经历了从赫胥黎到严复再到效实创办者的两次创造性"误读"。"效实"二字不仅蕴含着近代甬籍人士"教育救国"的务实精神,也继承了深厚的浙东学术传统。透过"效实"之义,也可对宁波地域文化作更深入的理解。

As aprestigiousmiddle school in Ningbo,the name Ningbo Xiaoshi High School has long been considered to derive from the sentence“wu jing tian ze,xiao shi chu neng”(物竞天择,效实储能)in Evolution.But infact there is no such sentence in this book.Actually,the meaning of“Xiaoshi”has experienced a double“misreading”from Huxley to Yan Fu and then to the founders of Xiaoshi Middle School.The word“Xiaoshi”not only contains the pragmatic spirit of“saving the nation through education”on the part of the modern Ningbonese;it also inherited the profound tradition of east Zhejiang academic.Through the meaning contained in“Xiaoshi”,we can gain a deeper understanding of the regional culture of Ningbo.