美国“内战”名称考

Reconsidering the Name for the American War of 1861-1865

1861—1865年美国国内爆发的战争有多种名称。这些名称反映了交战各方对战争责任的不同认识,并带有为各自行动的合法性和正当性做宣传的意图。受到南北和解、美西战争等时代因素的影响,以及内战解释、西部史学等历史争论的演进,“内战”逐渐取代“叛乱战争”“国与国之战”成为这场战争的官方名称。中国国内最早将这场战争称为“南北战争”。现在学界一般通用“南北战争”或“内战”。不过,“南北战争”是对“Civil War”的误译。它不仅忽视了特定时代背景下的政治博弈,而且一定程度上误导了人们对战争性质的认识。

The American War of 1861-1865 has various names.These names reflect different interpretations on the warring faction's responsibility and aim to legitimize and justify their respective actions.With the influence of historical factors such as the reconciliation between the North and South and the Spanish American War,as well as the change of historical debates such as the interpretation of the"Civil War"and"Western historiography","Civil War"gradually replaced"War of the Rebellion"and"War between the States"as the official name for the war.The earliest term used domestically for this war was"the American Civil War",which was understood as"the war between the North and the South".Nowadays,the current common academic term is"Civil War"or"War between the North and the South".However,"War Between the North and the South"is a misinterpretation of the American War of 1861-1865.It not only ignores the political games of the specific historical context but also to some extent misleads people's understanding of the nature of the war.