古代中西方成矿理论之比较

古代中国和西方对矿物成因之解释都很早。西方早在公元前4世纪,有希腊的亚里斯多德(Aristotle)认为地下矿物是干气和湿气所造成的。中国早在先秦时代,也有《周礼·考工记》认为是“地气”使然。本文详细说明中国和西方16世纪以前的成矿理论,比较其差异,并详细说明两者的优点和缺点,探讨它们之间是否发生相互影响,最后以现代矿床学思想和理论批判中国和西方古代之成矿理论。

A COMPARISON OF ANCIENT THEORIES ON MINERAL FORMATION BETWEEN CHINA AND THE WEST

The origin of minerals was explained rather early in ancient China and theWest. In the West, as early as the 4 th century B. C., Aristotle (384--322 B. C.),a Greek scholar, believed that minerals in the Earth's crust were formed by dryand moist exhalation. In China an ancient book named"Chou Li. Khao Kung Chi"written prior to the Qin Dynasty (221--206 B. C.) proposes that minerals origi-nate by"Ti Chi" (earth exhalation). This paper not only elucidates the theorieson mineral formation in China and the West prior to the 16 th centuty but alsopoints out their differences, introduces their advantages and disadvantages andtheir mutual influences and finally comments on these theories by means ofmodern thoughts and concepts about mineral formation.