「自然」究竟何時以及如何開始承載「自然界」之意?針對這問題，本文 將從「自然」與na!t凹的翻譯史角度切入，並提出「自然」作為「譯語」與 「新詞」之間的差異，以作為釐清問題的關鍵。「自然」與nature 在中國境 內的翻譯史，主要可分為三大時期十九世紀上半葉、十九世紀下半葉，與二 十世紀初期，其間以鴉片戰爭與甲午戰爭為分界。在第一期， nature 主要譯為 「性、天地J 而「自然」只用來對譯natural I naturally 鴉片戰後，伴隨 大量新詞湧入， nature 譯法雖然不變，但natural 相關詞組的譯語卻是買得怕當 紛亂~Jj結;直至甲午戰後， nature 以及natural 詞組方與「自然」建立起穩定 的對譯關係。因此，自然」即使早在十九世紀初即已成為natural 的譯語， 然直至二十世紀初，自然」才以「新詞J (自然界)的面貌出現在華文世界 中。審視「自然」與nature 的翻譯史，不難發現詞義的轉變與自然觀(甚或 世界觀)的變化呈現平行的關連。當詞彙用法改變，透過這詞彙建構的概念世 界也隨之經歷顛覆與重構。透過鬆動「自然」能指與所指之間的緊密關連，或 可進一步鬆動現代看似穩固的物質化的「自然觀」。

When and how did the meaning of "ziran" change , such that it began to refer to the material world? This article looks at the history of the translation of ziran , utilizing the diHerence between ziran as a "translated word" versus ziran as a "new word" as the key to elucidate the answer to this ques tion. The translation history of ziran and nature can be divided into three periods by the Opium war (1 840-2) and the Sino-Japanese war (1 894-5). In the early nineteenth century, "nature" was translated in to "xi咚\" (性) or "tiandi" ( 天地)， while ziran was only used to translate the words "natural" and “ naturally." After the Opium war, new terms began f100ding into China, and although the translation of “ nature" itself did not change , the translation of “ natural" and other related words became complicated and tangled. Nonetheless , after the Sino-Japanese war, the translation of ziran 叫“ nature" and “ natural" stabilized. Although ziran had become a “ trans lated word" in the early nineteenth century, it did not become a "new word" until one century late r. In considering this translation history , it becomes apparently that while the meaning of ziran changed , the Chinese view of nature (or worldview) changed along with it. By unraveling the relationship between the intimately intertwined signifier and signified of ziran, perhaps we can start to challenge the modern and materialistic view of nature that seems so well established.