20140925b
Date: 25Sept., 2014
Subject:Wycliffe Global Alliance: History of Bible Translation in Chinese
Wycliffe Global AllianceHistory of Bible Translation in Chineseby Ling LamCHINA...The Early AttemptsThe earliest record of Bible translation in Chinese can be traced back to the 7th century, during the Tang Dynasty when the Nestorian Christians first came to China. According to the Nestorian Stele, a monument that documents the early years of Christianity in China, a Nestorian Christian missionary named Alopen arrived in Chang'an (the then-ancient capital, today known as Xi'an) during the period of the Tang Emperor Taizong. Alopen was the first Christian missionary to ever visit China. He found favor with Taizong and was granted permission to “translate the Scripture and build the church.” The Emperor himeself even learned about Christianity from Alopen in the privacy of his own home. The Stele also mentions the “Old Law” and “the 27 Books,” which implies that there were attempts to translate the Bible at that time. However, all these translations have disappeared.Thereafter, from the 13th to the 18th century, various other attempts were made to translate the Bible into Chinese. During the Yuan Dynasty, the Franciscans translated some Scriptures, yet this was in Mongolian, not in Chinese. In the time of the Ming Dynasty, Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit, came to China and did some translation work as well. Then during the Qing Dynasty, Jean Basset of Paris Foreign Missions translated almost the whole New Testament. That translation is known as “the Chinese Manuscript in the BritishMuseum” since that’s where it is kept today. Louis De Poirot, another Jesuit, translated nearly all the books of the Bible into Chinese. That manuscript is preserved in the Beitang Library in Beijing. Although neither of these translations had a great impact on the people of China at that time, their value as references for future translations – including Morrison’s – was significant....Morrison and His WorkWhen talking about the first full Bible in Chinese, Robert Morrison and his colleagues are generally attributed with that achievement. Morrison's primary task in coming to China was to learn the Chinese language and translate the Bible. In 1807, he arrived in Macau. Since the Qing government didn't welcome foreign religions at the time, Morrison had to work secretly on Bible translation. Yet he was not discouraged. He worked more than ten hours a day. In 1811, a translation of the Book of Acts was completed and published. After that, with William Milne joining the work, the first Chinese New Testament was completed in 1814 and the full Bible in 1819. The manuscripts were sent to Malacca for printing in 1823.The publication of the Morrison Bible was not only a milestone for the development of the ChineseChurch, but was also a catalyst for transformation in the lives of Chinese people. Among those whose lives were changed, printing workers Cai Gao and Liang Fa were two outstanding examples. It was through their close contacts with Morrison, Milne and the work of printing the Bible that Cai and Liang began to understand and embrace the Christian faith, and were baptized. Years later, Liang Fa returned to Guangzhou from Malacca and was ordained by Morrison to be the first Chinese pastor.With this first Chinese Bible and numerous Chinese language materials that he compiled, Morrison laid the groundwork for other missionaries who followed.It is worth noting that during this same time, another Chinese Bible translation project was underway in India. Joshua Marshman, a British missionary, was leading that work, which was published in 1822. According to the year, it would seem that Marshman's translation was even earlier than Morrison's. However, as Morrison's translation was actually completed earlier and in China’s territory, most people agree that his version was the first full Chinese Bible....The Birth of the Chinese Union VersionA hundred years after Morrison, there was another Chinese version translated and published. The impact of this translation on the global ChineseChurch has been dramatic. Generations of Chinese Christians have memorized and recited numerous verses out of this version, that their spiritual life could be nurtured by the Word of God in their language. This version has been read by almost every Chinese Christian today – the Chinese Union Version.Due to the breakout of the Opium War, China's door for missionaries was opened. At first, various protestant denominations attempted to work together to revise the older Chinese translations of the Bible. However, because of theological disputes, and the many different dialects spoken in the provinces of China, the denominations began working independently, and many different versions of Chinese translations sprang up. It wasn’t until 1890 that the denominations, mission agencies, and the Bible Societies of Britain, the United States and Scotland, finally agreed to join hands to work together on one Chinese translation. (That is why this Bible is called the “Union Version”.) After thirty years of diligent work, in 1919, the Chinese Union Version (CUV) was completed.Unlike all previous translations in classic Chinese, the CUV was the first translation written in vernacular Chinese. Because it could be easily understood by the general public, and with the onset of the New Culture Movement, the CUV quickly became the prefered Bible....Revised Chinese Union VersionNot long after the completion of the CUV, tensions in China increased. After World War II, in 1950, the Bible Society set up an office in Hong Kong, which gradually became a worldwide supply centre for Chinese Bibles. Since 1970, a couple of new Chinese translations have been published, including Lu Zhenzhong's Translation (1970), Chinese Living Bible (1979), Today's Chinese Version (1979) and New Chinese Version (1993). These translations each have their strong points, yet the CUV is still the most influential version in use today.However, the CUV is one hundred years old. Over time, the Chinese language has changed considerably and this early translation has become difficult to understand by many of today’s modern readers. What’s more, with the discovery of ancient Biblical manuscripts (e.g., the Dead Sea Scrolls) and related scholarly research, and considering the fact that the CUV was not translated directly from the original biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek, the United Bible Society initiated meetings with various Chinese church leaders to discuss whether they should revise the CUV, and if so, how. The final decision was, “yes - the CUV needs to be revised.”The work of revision started in 1983. Its goal was to update the language according to modern Chinese usage while maintaining as much of the original translation as possible. The revision to the New Testament was published in 2006, and revisions of the entire Bible in 2010....Forging Ahead into the FutureTranslating the Bible itself is not easy; but translating it into a difficult language with a long history, blending it into a mature and complicated culture, and setting its foot in a feudal and closed society is even more difficult. It’s obvious that during the early days of mission work in China, translating the Bible was an extremely difficult task for those who first came to China. They had many challenges to overcome. Nevertheless, these pioneers fixed their eyes on God and His mission. They insisted on translating the Word of God into a language the Chinese people understood best. Their faith in God, loyalty to their mission and love for the Chinese deserve the respect of all Chinese people. Today, Chinese people around the world are able to learn about God, the Christian faith and Biblical teachings through the Scripture in their heart language, such that many can even participate in God's mission, including the Bible translation ministry, themselves. The contributions of those early pioneers will never be obliterated.*
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