Transmission of Physics Terminology in the New Encyclopedia of Natural Sciences in the Late Qing Dynasty
Since the spread of Western learning in the late Qing Dynasty,the first problem to be solved for the expression and dissemination of concepts is the translation and standardization of techni-cal terms,and the selection of appropriate Chinese names is particularly crucial.Since Morrison came to China in 1807,the translation of Chinese scientific terms has been gradually unified over the past 100 years through the efforts of Chinese and foreign personnel.The New Encyclopedia of Natural Sci-ences published in 1855 was the first comprehensive scientific work introduced into China from the West.On the basis of inheriting the achievements of his predecessors,its author Benjamin Hobson cre-ated a series of new physics terms by"using old words as new names"and giving new meanings to old words to the maximum extent.Among them,"air pressure"was created by Benjamin Hobson in the New Encyclopedia of Natural Sciences,and spread to later generations with the unification of Chinese scientific terms.
the New Encyclopedia of Natural Sciencesphysics nounBenjamin Hobsontransla-tion of technical terms