从“大书院”到“大学”:近代中国对university的翻译

From Dashuyuan to Daxue: Modern Chinese Translations of “University”

近代以来university的主要汉译及其升降起伏具有丰富的历史和文化意涵,揭示了中国人认识西方大学、探索大学理念的不同心态和视角。从1866到1895年是无可争议的“大书院时代”,尽管多种翻译并存乃至竞争,“大书院”却处于一种绝对的优势地位。从1895到1911年,“大学堂”逐渐取代“大书院”成为官方认可的翻译。直到民国以后,“大学”作为university的标准翻译最后确立。甲午战前中国人对西方和日本多种大学模式均有观察和体验,他们往往重视书院与英美大学的比较,甚至认为英美大学与当时的书院相比更好体现了书院的理想,这是他们多用“大书院”翻译university的理由。甲午战败之后,日本模式取得了独尊的地位。但是,最后确定的标准翻译“大学”,虽然直接来源是日本,却在中国本土文化中具有丰富的含义,在全盘西化、日化的时代,承载着民族的教育理想。

Modern Chinese translations of“university”and their ups and downs have rich historical and cultural meanings.They reveal various mentalities and perspectives that enabled the Chinese to understand universities and explore the idea of a university.The period from 1866 to 1895 was an undeniable“Era of dashuyuan”:although a few translations coexisted and competed with each other,dashuyuan was the prevalent one.From 1895 to 1911,daxuetang gradually replaced dashuyuan as the official translation of“university.”It was not until the very beginning of the Republican period that daxue became the standard translation.Before the First Sino-Japanese War,the Chinese observed and experienced different models of universities in the West and Japan.They often compared shuyuan with Anglo-American universities and considered that Anglo-American universities better embodied the idea of shuyuan than contemporary Chinese shuyuan.That explains why they chose shuyuan to translate“university.”Since the end of the War,the Japanese model of a university became the dominant one that shaped the higher education reform in China.Yet,today’s standard translation daxue,though it came from Japan,has profound meanings in the native tradition of China.