『御定朱書百選』 번역의 현황과 과제

Abstract

One Hundred Selected Letters from Zhu Xi by Jeongjo(Hereafter Hundred Letters) is, as the title reads, a collection of 100 letters that Zhu Xi had sent to his colleagues. In 1794, a selection that was overseen by King Jeongjo(1752-1800, r. 1776-1800) was completed and later circulated around Joseon both in moveable type and wood type editions. During the Joseon dynasty, there were multiple anthological works of Zhu Xi. Still, the most used ones were the Outlines and Explanations of Works of Zhu Xi (Hereafter Outlines of Zhu Xi) compiled by Yi Hwang (1510-1570) and Hundred Letters. The reason for their popularity is predictable. Outlines of Zhu Xi was not only the first but also compiled by one of the most prominent scholars of Joseon. On the other hand, Hundred Letters was a work of the king himself. The reason behind King Jeongjo's compilation was to re-establish his vision of scholarship and writing style. Therefore, King Jeongjo encouraged scholar-officials and students of the National Confucian Academy to read this, and thus the following generation of scholars after Jeongjo studied Hundred Letters. The significance of Hundred Letters in the history of thought is twofold. First, as Hundred Letters became an essential part of the curriculum regarding Zhu Xi in the later Joseon era, it enables us to understand the status of Zhu Xi studies during this time. Second, it shows the inner thoughts of King Jeongjo himself. The process of selection itself is a deliberate job. Thus, by examining the contents of these selected Zhu Xi’s works, we can understand the viewpoint of the selector himself, King Jeongjo. The letters included in Hundred Letters are vast and diverse, and it enables us to see how Zhu Xi envisioned the 1) world and personal relations, 2) politics, and 3) scholarship – among others. This article provided an overview of the currently available Korean translations of Hundred Letters, mainly categorizing my analysis based on the three areas of analysis above. Based on my analysis, I come to the following conclusion. Previously available translations have accomplished a commendable job as they have provided a complete translation of Zhu Xi's works without skipping challenging phrases. Thus, it has contributed significantly to the studies of Zhu Xi in the Joseon dynasty. However, there are noticeable and significant mistranslations and an overall lack of additional commentaries that could potentially help the reader. I believe that this is because previous scholarship has not fully incorporated the works of other reliable commentaries, such as Collections and Commentaries on the Complete Works and Letters of Zhu Xi. Thus, I hope there will be more accurate and detailed translations that utilize these commentaries in the future.