摘要
There is no evidence in the etymology of Western European languages to support the distinction between ＂civilization＂ and ＂state＂ stressed by some scholars, nor any to support the division of ＂civilization＂ into a dichotomy of ＂culture＂ and ＂society.＂ The original meaning of ＂civilization＂ is ＂state.＂ In discussing the origin of civilization, it is groundless to divide ＂civilization＂ into ＂culture＂ and ＂society,＂ or to interpret ＂civilization＂ and ＂state＂ as two different concepts. Given such considerations, there can only be one focus in studies of the origin of civilization, namely, changes in society and its management structure, or in other words, the changing social relations among people who live within a given territory.
在西欧文字词源学的角度上,找不到将"文明"与"国家"被一些学者那样区别来看的理由,更找不到将"文明"区别为"文化"与"社会"两大部分的根据。"文明"就是"国家",本义就是"国家"。将"文明"区别为"文化"与"社会"两大部分,正如将"文明"与"国家"解读为两个完全不同的概念,来解决文明起源问题,同样没有根据。因此,研究文明起源的重点只有一个,那就是社会及其管理结构的变化,也就是生活在一定地域范围之内的人与人之间的社会关系的变化。
