明末來華耶穌會士對西方哲學和神學的譯介構成了歷史上最早的中西哲學和宗教對話。其中大部分內容尚未得到哲學層面上的深入研究。本文從耶穌會士對來自亞里斯多德的重要概念「自立體」的翻譯入手，考察其在古希臘文中的詞源、哲學意義以及在拉丁文翻譯中的傳承和演變，並比較利瑪竇《天主實義》和傅汎際、李之藻合譯的《名理探》中對該詞的中文翻譯，探討譯名中包含的儒家思想及其所引發的中西哲學比較問題。藉此一概念之迻譯，可管窺耶穌會「補儒」策略在傳播西學時的體現，並反思中西思想差異和跨文化對話。

The introduction of Western philosophy and theology into China by the Jesuits during the seventeenth-century constituted the first philosophic and religious dialogue between China and Europe. The philosophic content of Jesuits’ writings on this subject has not yet been explored in depth. This article focuses on the translation of the concept “substantia” which derives from the term “ousia” used in Aristotle’s philosophy. It analyses the etymology of the term and its usage in Greek philosophy. It then considers the translation of ousia into Latin and its transformation in Christian theology. Afterwards, it discusses two Chinese translations of this term in the Tianzhu shiyi by Matteo Ricci and the Mingli Tan by Francisco Furtado and Li Zhizao, thereby uncovering the connotations of the Chinese words chosen by the translators and the underlying problems of comparative philosophy. While the translation of “substantia” reflects the strategy of accommodation adopted by the Jesuits, it also reveals the differences between Chinese philosophy and Western philosophy.