朱子命蔡沈編修《書集傳》考

Zhu Xi's Request to Cai Shen to Compile the Collected Commentaries on the Book of Documents

朱子經學著述豐富，卻缺《尚書》及《春秋》著述。一般認為朱子將注解《尚書》託付予蔡沈，從而得出蔡沈為朱子《書》學得意門人的結論。此文則梳理書翰、語錄相關記載，分析朱子遲未注《尚書》的主觀心理因素，並考察朱子晚年選定門人參與編修《書傳》的實際過程，發現蔡沈並非朱子原本屬意門人，而是逝世前半年開始注意到蔡沈在《尚書》方面的見解，並有意安排他參與《書集傳》的編修。無奈朱子驟然辭世，倉促之下，便遺命蔡沈撰作《書集傳》，也從而造成蔡沈與朱子《書》說存在出入的現象。

Zhu Xi 朱熹 wrote extensively on the Classics, but not on the Book of Documents 尚書or the Spring and Autumn Annals 春秋 It is generally believed that Zhu Xi entrusted Cai Shen 蔡沈 with the task of annotating the Book of Documents, and therefore that Cai was his favorite pupil with respect to the Book. This study brings together relevant records such as quotations and letters to analyze why Zhu Xi did not produce his own annotated Book of Documents. and investigate how he actually came to select his pupil to compile the Collected Commentaries on the Book of Documents 書集傳. This study finds that Cai Shen was not initially one of Zhu Xi's favorite pupils; it was in fact only six months before his death that Zhu Xi began to take notice of Cai Shen's understanding of the Book of Documents, and purposely arranged for Cai Shen to participate in the compilation of the Collected Commentaries. Unfortunatey, Zhu Xi suddenly became ill and died, hurriedly leaving instructions that Cai Shen should write the Collected Commentaries himself. This resulted in the inconsistencies that exist between master and pupil's views on the Book of Documents.