“文明”一词古已有之，意义也相当广泛。最早的“文明”，实则是文化，中国、印度、埃及、巴比伦被称为四大“文明古国”，皆与其灿烂的古老文化分不开。及至“五四”前夕，随着西方近代思潮的涌入，各种新生事物层出不穷，也给“文明”赋予了新的含义，凡新式的东西莫不冠以 The term “civilization” has existed for a long time and has a wide range of meanings. The earliest “civilizations” were actually cultures. China, India, Egypt and Babylon were called the four “ancient civilizations” inseparable from their splendid ancient culture. By the eve of the May 4th Movement, with the influx of modern Western thought, all kinds of new things came forth endlessly and new meanings were also given to “civilizations.”