“晨昏朦影”和“小时”的来源

Tracing the Origin of"Twilight"and"Hour"in Chinese

明末清初,耶稣会传教士来华,不仅带来了宗教,还带来了西方的科学。他们为了介绍新知识,或改造或创制了一些新词汇。如“晨昏朦影”和“小时”这两个跟时间有关的名词,一直沿用至今。结合“历史文献考证法”“历史比较法”等研究方法,通过对拉丁原典、译著和中国古籍中相关词汇的考证,探明这两个名词的来源及演变。

The missionaries of the Society of Jesus arrived in China in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties,bringing in not only religion but also western science to the oriental country.To introduce new knowledge to the locals,missionaries modified or invented words,such as"chenhun mengying(twilight)"and"xiaoshi(hour)",two time-related nouns that have been used ever since.In this study,a mix of research methods such as"Classic Literature Research Method"and"Historical Comparative Method"is applied.Through textual research of relevant words in Latin original manuscripts and translations,as well as in Chinese ancient books,the origin and evolution of the two nouns are explored.