中国近代“社会”观念的生成

西语“society”在近代中国经历了术语生成和观念再造的三次转变：以“会”或“民景”、“国中之民”等对译，强调社会组织和“民”、“民俗”、“民景”、“为民”的内容；以“群”为主的对译形成以“群”为基础、目的和根本的“群本”式现代化思想，倡导善群、合群和变革以强国；以“社会”为主的对译，在对理想社会和理想国家的诉求与探索中确立了近代中国“社会”观念普遍价值的基础。术语的生成与时代的变化同步，观念的再造体现了近代学人积极参与现实改造的紧迫感与责任感和直面人类终极前途的理想情怀。

The Formation of Modern Chinese Notion of “Society”

There had been three stages of concept reengineering and three times of changes after the concept of “society”entered China：At the first stage，foreigners in China used translational Chinese concept “hui”(“association”)，emphasizing the characteristics of assembly and collection. Yan Yongjing，as a representative of Chinese people，used “folk scene” and “people of State” to translate “society”， putting more emphasis on“people”，“folk”，“scene” and “for people”. In the second stage，the modern Chinese intellectuals preferred “qun”(“group”) as the corresponding Chinese translation of “society”，which represented a modern inclination to the idea of “group” rather than “individual”. It was composed of three aspects：Firstly，trying to balance individual rights and group rights，“qun” still put more emphasis on the rights of group；Secondly，it advocated to become a good group by using the strength of human nature，such as benevolence，love，and so on.And thirdly，it emphasized on achieving a rich and strong nation by various social change and means.The notion of “group” represented strong tension，responsibility and positive social participation of the intellectuals facing a national crisis. In the third stage，Chinese scholars mainly used “shehui” to translate “society”，which established the basis of common values of modern Chinese concept “society”. As the result of exploring ideal society and ideal government systems，the new concept of “society” replaced “group” eventually due to two reasons：one was the spread of new thoughts，especially the thoughts of “socialism” and “revolution”，and the other was the scholars pursuit of ideal society and state. From “association”，“group” to “society”，the shift profoundly embodied that the Chinese intellectuals finally have returned to their own traditions：actively involving in the responsibility of real social transformations and concerning about the ideal feelings of the Human ultimate future，namely the consciousness of “Tianxia”.