量子力学是20世纪最伟大的科学成就之一,考察"Quantum"一词在日本、中国的翻译传播是理解现代科学思想"东渐"的重要一环.本文以"Quantum"的中文翻译为研究对象,考察其语词来源、翻译传播方式、跨学科间的流变以及在中文中的接受理解,以此来刻画量子力学东传历程,丰富现代物理学东传的整体图景.首先,基于文献和概念分析法,理清了"Quantum"一词的产生与流变.其次,考察了中国科学家群体对"量子"概念的中译实践,梳理了"量子"概念传入路径和统一过程.最后,从翻译视角呈现了量子理论传入初期中国学者对"量子"概念的接受、演变过程,阐明了中国早期的量子力学学者对量子力学的传播实践.整体上,以期通过对"量子"在西方、日本和中国传播实践的考察,为理解量子力学在东方的传播实践提供一个实证案例.
Quantum mechanics was one of the greatest achievements in physics in the 20th century.How to translate"quantum"into Chinese was an important issue in the field of scientific translation history.Based on literature research and conceptual analyses,this paper first clarified the earliest use of the term quantum in the field of geometry,and the origin and use of the term as a physics term.It then discussed the background of the spread of"quantum"to the east,the important figures in the process of its transmission and their contributions,and the meaning of the Japanese kanji(量子).Finally,the paper shows the initial appearance,translation and introduction of the concept of quantum in China,delineating,from the perspective of scientific translation,the acceptance process at the beginning of the introduction of quantum theory by the Chinese.The ultimate aim is to provide a case study of the transmission of the scientific term quantum.