物在時空流動中不斷經歷著知識生產和意義再造,不同社會對它的認知和使用豐富了物的知識體系。從既定的知識體系出發,反觀物質塑造的時空過程是物質文化研究中不可或缺的視角。本文基于中外文獻和對丁香原產地印度尼西亞北馬魯古群島的實地調查,通過對丁香這種物質實體在不同時空網絡中流動的考察,重點分析其與海島東南亞、中國以及歐洲的社會、經濟與文化關聯,展示了馬魯古丁香知識體系形成的歷史進程。

Theoretically speaking,the meaning of an object changes constantly,and new knowledge about this object emerges. Different understanding and utilization of this object from different societies have enriched its genealogy. Therefore,the retrospection of the history and the space processes of the object from the current knowledge system are indispensable for the cultural studies of this object. On the basis of historical documents and the first-hand field materials of North Maluku Islands in Indonesia,this article presents the historical course about the formation of clove’s knowledge system through the mobility of Maluku cloves,and analyzes the economic and cultural connection between the clove and different types of societies,especially Southeast Asian islands,ancient China and European society before modern times.