日本「自然」概念考辨

'Nature' Running Its Course: A Study of the Concept of Japanese Shizen

「自然」是一個語義複雜的概念。漢語的「自然」一詞源於老、莊，意為「自己如此」。就哲學內涵言，是用作「道」的屬性，但因為道家的道通常是內在於天地萬物，而常含有「能產的自然」之義。日本的「自然」若以西學傳入為界，此前者為「古語」之自然，此後者為「新詞」之自然。古語「自然」主要承自老、莊，作狀詞用，在哲學內涵上則偏重「能產的自然」之義；玄學興起後，產生「萬一」、「一旦」之義，有別於老、莊原意。古語「自然」隨順日本思想風土及日語語境而發展，曾轉化為數種不同的「音讀」及「訓讀」，來到十八世紀初，安藤昌益（1703－1762）所詮釋的「自然」具備了當今主流的用法、作為名詞的「自然界」之義，可謂為「自然」新意的萌芽。十八、十九世紀之交，蘭學、西學傳入後，「自然」成為“nature”的譯語（即新詞「自然」），此義在明治二十二年（1889）經過巖本善治（1863－1943）與森鷗外（1862－1922）針對「自然」用法的文學論戰之後，才定型下來。本文乃是就（1）承自老、莊之「自然」，（2）承自玄學之「自然」，（3）作為「自然界」之「自然」等三個語義史的「自然」演變脈絡為經，哲學內涵之「自然」變化為緯，對日本的「自然」概念分析的一個嘗試。The semantics of ziran (nature) are conceptually complex. In sinology, the term ziran came from Laozi and Zhuangzi, meaning 'spontaneously as it is.' Interpreted philosophically, ziran is one of the qualities of dao (way). The dao in Daoism usually indicates the universe and includes 'the nature of one's own creativity.' In Japanese, shizen (nature) had a classical meaning before the demarcation point of the introduction of Western learning, and a new one after that point. The classical meaning of shizen mainly derived from Lao-Zhuang thinking, as an adverbial modifier having more focus on 'the nature of one's own creativity.' With increasing interest in metaphysics, shizen developed meanings of 'by any possibility' (wanyi) and 'as soon as' (yidan), in addition to its original Lao-Zhuang meanings. Moreover, the classical meaning of shizen was influenced by the linguistic contexts of Japanese culture and thought. Thus it was transformed into several readings and nuances. Shizen was not interpreted as the noun used in current, mainstream academia, 'the world of nature' (shizenkai), until Ando Shoeki (1703-1762) did so in the early eighteenth century. His new interpretation can be considered as the initial stage in the development of new meanings. During the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries, after the study of Rangaku entered Japan, shizen became the Japanese translation of the word 'nature' (as the new meaning of shizen). This meaning prevailed after the literary controversy in 189 led by Iwamoto Yoshiharu (1863-1943) and Mori Ogai (1862-192). This paper is an attempt to trace the etymological changes of shizen by connecting its meanings acquired from Lao-Zhuang, metaphysics, and 'the world of nature,' while also aiming to elucidate the concept of shizen philosophically.