새로 발굴된 번역소설 필사본 <후셔유긔>에 대하여

Abstract

This study presents the recently unearthed Korean translated version of Husyeoyu gui. The paper examines the entrance route of Houxiyouji後西遊記 during the Joseon Dynasty and the reception of the Korean translated version Husyeoyugui among the people at the time, as well as related bibliographies and characteristics of the resources. Based on Jungguksoseolhoemobon中國小說繪模本 and Yun Deok-hee(尹德熙)’s Soseolgyeongnamja小說經覽者, both written in 1762, it is assumed that Houxiyouji entered Korea before the mid-18th century, and was read in the royal court and by the aristocratic class. Therefore, the Chinese version of Houxiyouji read by Yun Deok-hee dates further back than its oldest known woodblock-printed version published in 1793 as a Jinchang-Shuyetang-Kanben金閶書業堂刊本, which indicates a now missing older woodblock-printed edition. The existence of the Korean translated version was confirmed later in the bibliographies of Chaeknyeolmyeongnok and Eonmunchaekmoknok, bibliographic resources written in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. However, no actual copy has yet been discovered. Historical value can be attached to the Korean manuscript of Husyeoyugui presented in this paper, because it is unique and indicates the existence of the Korean translated version of Houxiyouji. Of the 11 books containing 20 volumes of the Korean manuscript Husyeoyugui, 9 books have been preserved, while books 1 and 5 are missing. The books are written in a refined half-cursive calligraphic style, and display numerous traces of correction throughout the length of the copy. From this, it is inferred that the copy is the original translated script. The translation is faithful to the original book without any changes in the storyline, with a few exceptions. For example, the chapter titles are identical to those of the Chinese woodblock-printed version, except for one or two characters, and the original name of the hero Son So-seong孫小聖 is translated as Syon Yi-sil, not Son Yi-jin孫履眞. This allows the assumption that the present Korean manuscript Husyeoyugui was translated from a copy of a version other than the preserved woodblock-printed one. Other noteworthy features are the frequent use of slang and loanwords faithful to the colloquial style of the original novel reflective of modern Chinese, especially Wu吳 dialects. However, from the quasi-absence of archaic words, the time of this Korean translation of Houxiyouji is estimated to be around the end of the 19th century.