建築考義——由一個埃及象形文看建築的內蘊

An Exegetic Search for the Meaning of Architecture from an Egyptian Hieroglyph

西文 architecture 於廣袤中文地區譯為「建築」久矣。唯究architecture 此字之精髓，竟非中文「建築」所能達意。蓋名不正則侈言後續，遑論對architecture 產生正確之認知。然「建築」二字行之有年，筆者作此文之目的亦非急下architecture 新譯。本文重點在於探索architecture 此字本質真義。且引一字，一個古老埃及象形文字/kd/，點出architecture之內蘊為工具、工法、材料、敬業精神、洞見，人與環境的互動，以說明architecture 之所以為至高之藝所恃。筆者受路康之影響鉅，服膺越接近初始的事物益貼近本質，以此距今五千多年前之象形文，探究architecture，頗能收他山之石成效。此文為拋磚之舉，願能有助於architecture 的真實理解，並望能促使architecture 得有更適切之中譯。

ARCHITECTURE has been transliterated as “Jien-Zhu” for a long time in the vast Chinese-speaking land. Jien-Zhu, however, with its Chinese connotation of construction, is not a proper translation of ARCHITECTURE. Since one of the biggest problems in architectural realm argued by some renowned scholars recently is that the confusion between building and architecture. In fact the meaning of architecture is far beyond the scope of construction. To establish a correct definition of architecture and endow a more proper, perhaps, is an urgent task in this land. Influenced deeply by Louis Kahn, this author believes that the more primitive the closer to the essence is. Therefore, this author not only to retrace, but to retrieve the very meaning of architecture thru the interpretation an Egyptian hieroglyph, /kd/, an over five thousand year old glyph. Six levels of meaning, namely, tools, materials, methods, workmanship, the relation between humane beings and their surroundings, and finally the man’s insight of his built environment are discussed in this paper. Their mutual interplays also are touched to render a contour of the complex architecture. Hopefully this paper may do a little good to the real understanding of architecture and further an appropriate Chinese translation for ARCHITECTURE.