“诽谤”一词,在先秦时期本来是一个与“批评”同义的中性词。人们甚至经常用“立诽谤之木”作为歌颂上古明君勇于招谏、纳谏的开明美德。西周后期的著名的“厉王弭谤”事件,就是周厉王利用“卫巫”来制止国人对他的批评,不仅导致西周王朝的内乱,在历史上也留下了骂名和笑柄。直到春秋时代,“分谤”依然是贵族之间同心合作的美称。~①本文无意于考证“诽谤”的语义何时变性为带有“无中生有”、“恶意中伤”之 The term “defamation” was originally a neutral term synonymous with “criticism” during the pre-Qin period. People often even used the “libelous wood” to praise the enlightened virtues of the ancient monarch who were brave in recruiting and remonstrances and accepting remonstrances. In the late Western Zhou Dynasty, the well-known incident of “Li Wangzhe slander” was that Zhou Liwang used “Wei Wu” to stop people from criticizing him. It not only caused civil strife in the Western Zhou Dynasty, but also left infamy in history laughing stock. Until the Spring and Autumn Period, “slander ” is still the arrogance of aristocratic cooperation. ~ ① This article is not intended to verify that the semantic meaning of “defamation” is denied when there is “nonsense” or “malicious”