국내 소장된 《西漢演義》의 서지학적 고찰 ― 《西漢演義》의 “中國版本”을 중심으로

Abstract

Introduced to Korea around Japanese invasion of Korea, Xi-han-yan-yi, more familiar to us as its another title Chohanji, drew lots of attention from readers and its popularity has continued until today. There are dozens of kinds of Xi-han-yan-yi block books still remaining in Korea, including book translated/published and book adapted/published, as well as Chinese book published, and this indirectly proves that this book had gained lots of popularity from readers of the time. The earliest block book of Xi-han-yan-yi and most widely read version in Korea is Xinkejian xiao ge pi ping Dong Xi Han tong su yan yi, which was published at the late years of the Ming Dynasty. The earliest block book of Xi-han-yan-yi currently existing in Korea is Dong Xi Han quan chuan(1815) which is possessed by Korea University. As the woodblock printed book, it is comprised of 11 rows and 26 characters. There are 101 books in total. It is the republished version of Xin ke jian xiao ge pi ping Dong Xi Han tong su yan yi in later years. However, the Yeungnam University-owned Xi-han-yan-yi which was newly found this time is distinguished from the existing woodblock books, as it was woodblock printed by the government offices. As the only woodblock book comprised of 13-row/40characters per page, it is regarded that it was probably introduced to Korea around the mid or late 1700s. Since the exact date of publication is not specified, it would be hard to come to a definite decision. But the introduction of the woodblock book printed by the government officesseems to show a significant fact that the publication culture of the late Ming Dynasty was prevalent at that time.