日本江户兰学中的中国知识及其局限——以《厚生新编》(1811-1845)对《本草纲目》的参考为中心

The Functions and Limitations of Chinese Knowledge in Rangaku(Dutch Learning) During Japan’s Edo Period: With a Focus on Kōsei Shimpen(1811-1845) and Its References to the Bencao Gangmu

一般说来,学界将日本学者系统翻译介绍西方近代知识追溯至江户时代的兰学,即借助荷兰语译介欧洲科技文献的学术运动。值得注意的是,兰学并非单纯的西学移入,兰学家于翻译之际确曾积极参考并利用相关的中国知识。其中,尤以作为幕府翻译事业的日用百科全书《厚生新编》对本草学巨著《本草纲目》的参考最为显著。译者群体普遍具有的汉学素养与医学背景,使其在翻译之初构建起西方百科知识与东方本草学的对应。在利用本草学相关资源吸收消化译文内容的过程中,译者亦逐渐强化了对二者的区别意识,在诸多具体问题上对本草知识予以批判,并通过评判性的比较研究,获取更为实用、准确的新知识。

It is generally acknowledged that Japanese scholars’systematic introduction via translation of modern Western knowledge could date back to Rangaku or Dutch learning,an academic movement of translating European scientific and technical books via the Dutch language during the Edo period.It was a remarkable fact that Dutch learning was not merely an import of Western knowledge,for the Dutch learners also actively integrated Chinese knowledge into their studies of Western culture.The best example is Shogunate’s translation of Kōsei shimpen that frequently referred to the monumental botanical work of the Chinese Bencao gangmu.With their education in Chinese learning and traditional medicine,the Japanese translators correlated Western encyclopedic knowledge with Eastern botany from the very beginning of their studies.In making use of the latter to absorb the former,they became more aware of their differences,which eventually led to their thorough criticism of the latter.Such critical and comparative research helped the translators obtain new knowledge that was more practical and accurate.