Trinitas——三位一體在明清之際的漢譯經過了很長的「改進」 歷程。利瑪竇時期尚無正式的譯名；1615年左右，Trinitas 被分別 表述為一體三位與三位一體；1625年景教碑出土後，三位一體逐 漸成為主導的譯介，並形成了「三一」的專名。在Trinitas——三 位一體譯名的改進中，由於語法上的誤解，「位」由量詞向名詞 「位格」變異，最終成為 personae 的譯詞，呈現出「作為面具」的 含義；並且，為了與佛教的一性三身相區別，傳教士與儒家相結 盟，選擇「一體」而非「一性」來翻譯 una Substantia，但在實際的 內涵上，又把儒家的「一性」作了狹義化的理解，不僅要求「性 質一樣」，同時也要求「空間上相連」。Trinitas——三位一體譯名 「改進」的歷程，本質上乃是在跨語際跨文化的語境下確立其自 身文化身分的過程。

The Chinese translation and introduction of Trinity had experienced a very long “improvement” procession in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. During the period of Matteo Ricci, there is no formal translation. And around 1615, Trinity was translated into one Ti, three Wei（一體三位）and three Wei, one Ti（三位一體）. With the discovery of the Nestorian Tablet（景教碑） in 1625, three Wei, one Ti gradually became the dominant translation, and formed a title of “Three-One” （三一）. In the improvements of the translation, because of misunderstanding, Wei（位） became a noun from a classifier and the translation of Persona. In order to distinguishes from Buddhism, missionaries allied with Confucianism and selected one Ti （一體）rather than one Xing（一性）to refer una Substantia. But in the actual connotation, they made a narrow understanding of one Xing, not only required “the same in nature,” but also required “connecting in space.” This process of the translation improvement is essentially a process of establishing its own cultural identity in a translingual and transcultural context.