Bible In China

The Union Version, China's preeminent and most widely used translation of the Bible, had achieved the status of a sacred Chinese classic within the Chinese Church not long after its publication in 1919. Jost Zetzsche's monograph on this remarkable translation traces the historical and linguistic background that led to the decision to translate the Union Version, with detailed analyses of the translation efforts that preceeded it. Special attention is given to the cooperation and confrontation among Protestant denominations as well as the rising prominence of the Chinese translators as these groups attempted to form a cohesive translation of the Bible. This is set against the background of the development of the Chinese language during the 30-year translation process, both in the perception of the translators and in the country at large.

The Union Version, China's preeminent and most widely used translation of the Bible, had achieved the status of a sacred Chinese classic within the Chinese Church not long after its publication in 1919. Jost Zetzsche's monograph on this remarkable translation traces the historical and linguistic background that led to the decision to translate the Union Version, with detailed analyses of the translation efforts that preceeded it. Special attention is given to the cooperation and confrontation among Protestant denominations as well as the rising prominence of the Chinese translators as these groups attempted to form a cohesive translation of the Bible. This is set against the background of the development of the Chinese language during the 30-year translation process, both in the perception of the translators and in the country at large.

This edited volume starts from the perspectives of Beijing in how it sees that religion should serve the interests of the state. From China’s viewpoint, religion should act as a stabilizing force of society, or else the Christian Churches will lose their reason for existence. This might be incomprehensible to Western Christians, who believe in the freedom of religion and their right to embrace their faith. This collection of articles represents the concerted efforts of Chinese, Italians, and an American—who live in China, Europe, and the United States and belong to different disciplines, such as History, Religious Studies, and Language Studies—to promote a better understanding of the Catholic Church in the world and in China.

Looking into the translation, publication, circulation and use of the Mandarin Bible, this book examines the relationship between Protestant Bible translation and the development of Mandarin into the national language of China during the late Qing and Republican era.

The volume presents the contributions of an international workshop held in Jerusalem in 1996. It includes a general index with glossary.

The first full-length monograph on the history of the translation of the Bible into Chinese, this book tells a fascinating story beginning with Western missionaries working closely with Chinese assistants. They struggled for one hundred years to produce a version that would meet the needs of a growing Chinese church, succeeding in 1919 with publication of the Chinese Union Version (CUV). Celebrating the CUV’s centennial, this volume explores the uniqueness and contemporary challenges in the context of the history of Chinese Bible translation, a topic that is attracting more and more attention. Peng’s experiences give her a unique perspective and several advantages in conducting this research. Like the majority of readers of the CUV, she grew up in mainland China. When Chinese Christians went through severe political and economic ordeals, she was there to witness the CUV comforting those who were suffering under persecution. She has participated in Chinese Bible revision under the United Bible Societies. She was also director of the Commission on Bible Publication at the China Christian Council and chief editor of the CUV concise annotated version (1998).

This updated edition by one of the world's leading apologists presents a systematic, positive case for Christianity that reflects the latest work in the contemporary hard sciences and humanities. Brilliant and accessible.