本文追溯从18世纪初至20世纪初中文文献中指称美洲胭脂虫的术语及这些术语背后的知识史。胭脂虫原产于墨西哥及中美洲地区,因虫体内富含胭脂红酸,是制作高饱和度红色的原料。在化学合成染料发明之前,胭脂虫是全球贸易中最为昂贵的天然红色原料。在16世纪20年代西班牙征服墨西哥后,胭脂虫逐渐成为西属美洲最为重要的出口商品之一,为西班牙帝国带来丰厚的利润,仅次于白银。约在16世纪末,美洲胭脂虫作为一种昂贵的红色颜料进入中国,之后亦用于丝织品染色。虽然昂贵的胭脂虫从未在中国成为大众消费品,但中文文献中却存在大量指称该物的术语,包括“洋红”、“各作泥腊”、“呀兰米”、“呀兰米虫”及“胭脂虫”等等。这些术语的诞生呈现了中国不同时期、地域、人群对于舶来品的认知与探索,而这些术语的消失也反映了其所附着的历史的变迁。
This article examines the history of Chinese terminology for American cochineal from the early eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Native to Mexico,the cochineal insect is known for its rich dye content,which yields an intensely brilliant and enduring red color. After the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the 1520s,cochineal emerged as one of the most profitable American exports during the early modern period under the Spanish Empire,surpassed only by silver. By the sixteenth century,American cochineal gained global popularity and made its way into China as a luxury red pigment,and it was used to dye silk no later than the eighteenth century. Despite never being utilized as a daily consumer good in China,cochineal has historically been referred to in Chinese sources by a plethora of terms,such as yanghong (洋红),gezuonila (各作泥腊),yalanmi (呀兰米),yalanmichong (呀兰米虫),among others. The term yanzhichong (胭脂虫) ultimately emerged as the standard terminology in the early twentieth century. The evolution of the nomenclature for cochineal in China sheds light on the patterns through which diverse Chinese groups perceived and sought to understand this foreign good. The disappearance of these terminologies also serves as a reflection of the history associated with specific aspects of the material thing.