论古文献磁性“司南”之证及“北斗说”之误  

On Evidence for the Magnetic Sinan in Ancient Chinese Texts and Errors in Opposing Opinions

作　　者：闻人军 WENREN Jun(Sunnyvale,California 94087,USA)

机构地区：[1]美国加利福尼亚州桑尼维尔市94087

出　　处：《自然科学史研究》2023年第1期1-22,共22页Studies in The History of Natural Sciences

摘　　要：“司南”一词多义。《论衡》等古文献中记载的“司南”是否为磁性指向器,事关指南针发明史,学术界对此争论已久。2022年1月,有人再度发文,坚称中国古文献中的司南都不是磁性指向器。该文误以为《论衡》、《瓢赋》中的“司南”指“北斗”,称先秦著作《鬼谷子》“司南”句是虚妄之言。本文论证,不但《鬼谷子》、《论衡》、《瓢赋》中所载是磁性司南,而且《抱朴子》、《玄览赋》、《樊逊传》中的指南、司南也非磁性指向器莫属。“磁石引针”、“磁石引长针”、好磁石“悬吸针”、“磁针”及磁性“针石”与一系列古文献中的司南、指南相互参证,构成了中国古文献中磁性司南的明确证据链。The term sinan(司南,south-pointer)has multiple meanings.The sinan mentioned in ancient texts is related to the invention of the compass and has been debated in academic circles for a long time.In January 2022,an article was published in the Journal of Dialectics of Nature insisting that the sinan in ancient Chinese texts is not a magnetic pointer,mistakenly proposing that the sinan mentioned in the Lun heng(论衡)and Piao fu(瓢赋)refers to the Big Dipper,and the sentence about sinan in the Guigu zi(鬼谷子)is fabricated.The author of this paper proves that the sinan,not only in the Guigu zi,Lun heng,and Piao fu,but also in the Baopu zi(抱朴子),Xuanlan fu(玄览赋),and the Biography of Fan Sun(樊逊),is the magnetic pointing device.The phrases“attracting the needle with the lodestone,”“attracting the long needle with the lodestone,”“drawing a series of needles with the lodestone,”the term magnetic needle,and a series of ancient documents concerning sinan cross reference each other.They constitute a solid chain of evidence for the meaning of magnetic sinan in ancient Chinese texts.

关 键 词：磁针 司南 《鬼谷子》 《论衡》 《抱朴子》 《玄览赋》 《樊逊传》 《瓢赋》 

分 类 号：N092[自然科学总论—科学技术哲学]