“大众”概念的语义溯源

在西方话语体系中,"大众"概念主要有两个英文词:Popular和the Masses。这两个词分别对应着西方语境中"大众"概念的两种不同的知识脉络。与西方的"大众"概念不同,中国当代"大众"在经历了从"革命主体"到"消费主体"的语义流变,形成了独具中国特色的"大众"概念。但是,当下的"大众"概念往往把西方"大众"的两种"所指"都归结在同一个概念里,并以西方的"大众"概念为参照系,这不仅造成对"大众"概念使用和理解的混乱,而且也模糊了中国"大众"的民族特色。

Semantic Traceability of the Concept of "the Public"

In the western discourse system, the concept of "the Public" mainly has two English words:Popular and the Masses. These two words correspond to two different knowledge contexts of the concept of "the Public" in the western context. Different from the concept of "the Public" in the west, "the Public" in contemporary China has gone through the semantic change from "revolutionary subject" to "consumer subject", forming the concept of "the Public" with unique Chinese characteristics. However, the current concept of "the Public" tends to combine the two "referents" of "the Public" in the west into the same concept and take the concept of "the Public"in the west as a reference, which not only causes confusion in the use and understanding of the concept of "the Public", but also blurs the national characteristics of "the Public" in China.