在翻译或注释有关前近代中国社会经济史的中文文本时,许多汉学家同笔者一样,常常在为一些中文术语寻找合适的英文或日文对应词汇遇到困难,反之亦然。一个常见的例子是“所有权”(ownership),对这一英文术语的解释源于古罗马法,指(物主)对具有经济价值的物的完全支配。若我们严格遵循这一解释,那么中国古代并没有“所有权”(ownership)或财产权(title to property),而不动产尤为明显。另一个例子则有关“城市化”(urbanization)这一现代城 When translating or annotating Chinese texts on the social and economic history of pre-modern China, many Sinologists, like the author, often encounter difficulties in finding appropriate English or Japanese counterparts for some Chinese terms and vice versa. A common example is “ownership ”. The interpretation of this English term derives from the ancient Roman law, which refers to the total domination of economically valuable objects. If we strictly follow this interpretation, then ancient China did not have “ownership” or “title to property”, and immovable property was particularly evident. Another example is about the modern city of “urbanization ”