《明心寶鑑》版本再考及其輯錄俗談的意義——兼與《治家節要》之比較

A Re-examination of the Editions of Mingxin Baojian and the Significance of Its Collection of Proverbs: A Comparative Study with Zhijia Jieyao

《明心寶鑑》自1393年初刊後立刻在東亞各國廣為流傳，更是很早就被翻譯至西方，是一部著名的格言集。然而目前對於該書的編者范立本及其著述的相關說明仍不清晰。本文詳細介紹1406年刊行的范立本的另一著述——《治家節要》的朝鮮覆刻本，並重新考察了其編者身份、版本流通以及俗談輯錄的性質等問題。范立本並非有名的文人，但以家庭管理為主題，出版了兩部具有相關性的著述。這些著述日後成為各階層的日常生活指南，是指導家庭管理的實用書。其中朝鮮清州本《明心寶鑑》與初刻本最為接近。本文以此為基準，釐清明清、日本和朝鮮各版本之間的關係，指出大部分版本中出現的編者名和自序的遺漏、錯誤字、編輯上的謬誤、縮略及肆意的添加等問題。在分析《明心寶鑑》中多達774條的格言後，發現它們大都是口口相傳的歷代賢人的處世相關語錄和流行於民眾之間的口傳俗談，從而確定了《明心寶鑑》格言集和俗談集的雙重特性。這些俗談大都與家庭管理和處世等主題相關，既有采錄自前代各類文獻中的古俗談，又匯集編者當代的俗談，基於這些研究證明了《明心寶鑑》作為早期俗談資料集的歷史地位。

Since its first publication in 1393, Mingxin Baojian has been translated into multiple lan-guages and remains widely read across Asia and even in the West. However, the authorship of Fan Liben and the details surrounding its compilation remain unclear. This study introduces the Joseon-era reprint of Zhijia Jieyao (1406), another work attributed to the same author, and, based on this examination, explores the authorship, circulation of different editions, and the character-istics of the collected proverbs. The study identifies the author as an anonymous intellectual with a keen interest in household management, who published two closely related works. These works functioned as practical manuals, offering guidance applicable to daily life across all social classes. Using the Cheongju edition from the Joseon period—the edition closest to the original—as a reference, this study critically examines the issues present in later editions from the Ming and Qing dynasties, Japan, and Joseon. The findings reveal that many editions exhibit omissions of the author's name and preface, excessive typographical and editorial errors, arbitrary abbrevia-tions, and unauthorized additions. A detailed analysis of the 774 aphorisms in Mingxin Baojian suggests that it is not only a collection of wise sayings passed down orally but also a compilation of folk proverbs. The study further confirms that the text extensively records both ancient and contemporary proverbs related to household management and personal conduct, drawn from var-ious earlier sources. As one of the earliest documented collections of proverbs in a literary con-text, Mingxin Baojian holds significant historical value in the study of proverb literature.