A Christian scholar suggested believers read different Chinese translations of the Bible to broaden their horizons.
A Christian scholar called W for short in South China urged that besides the Chinese Union Version (CUV) which is popular among the Chinese Christian community, Christians could also read some other well-translated Chinese Bible versions to broaden their horizons.
The Bible is the most authoritative religious scripture for Christians. The Chinese Union Version of the black leather bound and the red edge is the most widely used Chinese Bible translation.
He said, "There are different types of translations of the Chinese Bible. When we read other translations of the Bible which bring new vitality to the indigenization of theological education, we can better understand the Bible and God. "
Chinese Christians have deep emotional memories of CUV
W has the habit of reading kinds of books and consulting different versions of the Bible. He shared the importance of CUV which is the most commonly used Chinese translation. During the General Conference of Protestant Missionaries in Shanghai in 1890, it was proposed to translate the “Union Version” of the Chinese Bible into three languages-high Wenli or classical Chinese, easy Wenli (Wenli was a language of the Chinese classic), and Mandarin. The easy Wenli New Testament (NT) was published in 1904. Two years later, the deep Wenli NT and Mandarin NT were published. In 1919, they published the Wenli Union Version and Mandarin Union Version, the latter of which becomes CUV now.
In fact, in the past 100 years or so, no translation has been able to completely replace the CUV, though some of CUV’s nouns or grammatical methods are not widely used today. Even though some other versions may be also excellent, many Chinese Christians copied the CUV when it was rare and difficult to gain. The collective memory of Chinese Christians would not be easily lost due to historical reasons and emotional reasons,
There is an increasing need to access and read different versions of the Bible in Chinese.
But at the same time, due to the constant changes in different cultural backgrounds, it is necessary for the Christian community to come into contact with multiple versions of the Bible for reading.
W said that in addition to the CUV (Shangdi’s Edition and Shen’s Edition), the current mainstream versions are the revised version of the Contemporary Translation of the Bible, the New Translation of the Bible, the Chinese Standard Version, and Scotus Chinese Version which is an important Chinese edition of Catholic Church’s history. They are all worth reading to savor the subtle refinement in translation
Besides the New Translation of the Bible and the New Living Translation Version Bible which have superior translations, W advised believers to look at other excellent translations to better understand the relationship and connection between God’s words with their spiritual life and the current society.
Needs of reading different versions of Chinese Bibles in different groups
For lay believers: the Revised Chinese Union Version (RCUV) is worth promoting.
Most grassroots believers do not have the awareness to read different versions of the Chinese Bible, as pastors have not recommended different translations, and most ordinary Christians rely on the first version (CUV) they used. So many believers do not know or aren’t concerned about the fact that there are different versions of the Bible, and many do not even know that the Bible is translated from foreign languages.
W believed that it was necessary for pastors to spread this concept to church members, and encourage them to study different versions of the Chinese Bible so that they could study the Bible more deeply and accurately.
On the other hand, this scholar also expected that in the future, the translation of the Chinese Bible would be adapted to local culture.
For pastors: It is recommended to study three versions of the Bible.
To better understand the Bible, pastors need to learn and mediate on the basis of the words close to the original text and correctly handle the word of truth. When pastors can compare and study the three mainstream translations in Chinese, it will be better for believers to get the Biblical interpretation and practical application of God's words.
W said that if a better Chinese translation appeared in the future, it would prevent some pastors from looking up the Bible in Greek, Hebrew, or Latin for a more accurate understanding of the content of the original text.
For scholar Christians: the study and translation of the Bible is a long-term and arduous task.
W talked about the controversy over the translation of the Bible in history. For example, Christians discuss among the different versions of the Chinese Bible, which one is more accurate to translate God into "shen", "shangdi" or "shangzhu". In his view, different versions of the Chinese Bible are a tool for the study of Christianity, social culture, traditional culture, and theological development.
He also mentioned that he had read and compared the recent Chinese translation of the Bible by scholar Peter Feng and that the styles, ideas, and perspectives of different scholars could indeed give him a lot of inspiration.
When talking about the expectation for the future, he said that if Christian scholars artfully translate together with theologians in the future, a new version of the Chinese Bible suitable for modern Chinese people to read can come out which will be a beautiful thing in the long river of history. They should break through the problems of "translatability", "interpretation conflict", and "communication dilemma" of the existing versions, and find solutions to these problems from the perspective of diachronic, constantly changing tensions, communication, and interaction between communicators and receivers.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
《圣经》对基督徒来说是具有最高权威的信仰阅读著作。而对于中国的基督徒来说，黑皮红边的中文和合本圣经再熟悉不过了。
日前，华南一位基督徒学者W弟兄建议当下的基督徒除了和合本，也可以阅读其他一些翻译地很好的中文圣经版本，以开阔视野。
他说：“中文圣经的翻译版本有不同的种类，我们多去阅读其它翻译版本的圣经时，其益处是在于帮助基督徒群体更好得理解圣经和上帝。同时，也为教会牧者以及本色化神学教育的发展带来新的活力。”
中国基督徒对和合本的情感记忆很深
W弟兄有广泛阅读各种书籍，以及查阅各种版本圣经的习惯。他谈到和合本对中国教会和基督徒的重要性。和合本圣经（Chinese Union Version）是现在使用最普遍的一种中文译本。1890年在上海第二次的宣教士会议时，决定推派代表来翻译通用的译本。所以三个委员汇出三种译本，深文理，浅文理和官话。于1904年，《浅文理和合译本》出版《新约》。1906年，《深文理和合译本》（High Wenli Union Version）亦出版《新约》和官话《新约》。1919年出文理和国语的新旧约，所以那时候和合本就全部和在一起出版。至今大部份的教会用的圣经仍是和合本的译本。
事实上，这100年多间还是没有一个译本能够完全地取代和合本；虽然和合本当时所用的一些名词，或者一些文法的方式，我们今天读时可能有一点点不习惯，他认为，可能从其他角度上有的版本做的也很优秀，但是由于历史原因，特别是感情上的原因，比如历史上在圣经很稀少阅读很困难的年代，很多基督徒就是靠着手抄的和合本这样一步步走到来的。这样的感情已经成为中国基督徒的集体记忆，是不会湮没的。
接触和阅读不同中文版本圣经的需要日增
但与此同时，因社会的不断变迁，以及对生活在不同文化处境下的中国人来说，基督徒群体又有接触多个不同版本的圣经进行阅读的必要。
W弟兄介绍说，除了和合本（上帝版和神版）的圣经翻译版本以外，其实现在主流的版本还有《圣经当代译本修订版》、《圣经新译本》、《中文标准译本》、以及天主教历史上很重要的中文版本《思高本》等，这些都值得我们去阅读和品味其中的细微的翻译上的精进之处。
他特别提到，对于新教基督徒来说《圣经新译本》和《新生版命圣经》本的都它们在翻译上的长处。而与此同时同时我们也要看其他的优秀的译本。当基督徒群体打开这样新的阅读和思考维度的时候，基督徒群体便可以更好的理解上帝的话语和我们的信仰生活与当下社会的关系与连接。
不同群体阅读不同版权中文圣经的需要
——对于平信徒的而言：和合本修订本值得推广
但现实的情况是，对于大部分基层信徒而言，他们是没有多读不同版本的中文圣经这个意识的，这是因为中国教会普遍的问题是，一方面是牧者群体并没有积极推荐不同译本圣经给信众的意识；另一方面，人们最开始信仰使用的版本会产生程度的依赖心理。因此，大部分的基督平信徒对圣经有不同版本的这件事并不太熟悉和关心，甚至很多人不知道圣经是翻译来的。
因此，W弟兄认为，牧者有必要把这种理念推广到自己所带领的信众中，鼓励他们研读不同版本的中文圣经，从而可以在查经和对话语理解的方面变得更加准确和丰富。
另一方面，这位学者也期待，未来中文版圣经在翻译的层面上有望更加贴近受众群体的本土的文化路径的需要。
——对于牧者而言：建议研读三种版本的圣经
牧师需要更好的理解圣经，就需要在贴近原文的意义的基础上学习和耕种，之后在讲台上传递上帝的话语，按照正意分解圣经。当牧者可以把中文三个主流的翻译版本对照查询和研读的时候，可以更好的让信众得到上帝话语的解析和落地的应用。
W弟兄说，将来如果出现更好的中文翻译版本，也就省去了有些牧者为了更准确的理解圣经原意而去查考希腊文、希伯来文或拉丁文的圣经了。
——对于学者基督徒而言：对圣经的研究和翻译仍然任重而道远
W弟兄谈到历史上的圣经翻译之争说，比如在不同的版本的中文圣经之中，将GOD翻译成“ 神”、“上帝” 、“上主”哪个更为准确，这其中都存在着争议，在他看来不同版本的中文圣经是研究基督信仰与社会文化、传统文化以及与神学发展相结合的事奉工具。
他也谈到自己曾阅读和对比过学者冯象翻译的圣经版本，不同学者的风格、思路和角度的确可以给他带来不少启发。
谈及未来的一种期待，他与笔者在交流中说到，在不同的版本的研读与对比中，基督徒学者群体如果在未来与神学家们一同精进翻译，融会贯通地突破现有版本的“可译性”、“诠释冲突”、“传播的两难”等问题，尝试从历时的、诸种张力不断变动的、传播者与接受者交流互动的角度为这些问题寻找出路，最终一定可以把更加贴合现代中国人阅读习惯和理解力的汉语版圣经翻译出来，那便是一件留在历史长河之中的美事。
对话| 中国基督徒可更多通过阅读不同版本的中文圣经开阔视野
A Christian scholar suggested believers read different Chinese translations of the Bible to broaden their horizons.
A Christian scholar called W for short in South China urged that besides the Chinese Union Version (CUV) which is popular among the Chinese Christian community, Christians could also read some other well-translated Chinese Bible versions to broaden their horizons.
The Bible is the most authoritative religious scripture for Christians. The Chinese Union Version of the black leather bound and the red edge is the most widely used Chinese Bible translation.
He said, "There are different types of translations of the Chinese Bible. When we read other translations of the Bible which bring new vitality to the indigenization of theological education, we can better understand the Bible and God. "
Chinese Christians have deep emotional memories of CUV
W has the habit of reading kinds of books and consulting different versions of the Bible. He shared the importance of CUV which is the most commonly used Chinese translation. During the General Conference of Protestant Missionaries in Shanghai in 1890, it was proposed to translate the “Union Version” of the Chinese Bible into three languages-high Wenli or classical Chinese, easy Wenli (Wenli was a language of the Chinese classic), and Mandarin. The easy Wenli New Testament (NT) was published in 1904. Two years later, the deep Wenli NT and Mandarin NT were published. In 1919, they published the Wenli Union Version and Mandarin Union Version, the latter of which becomes CUV now.
In fact, in the past 100 years or so, no translation has been able to completely replace the CUV, though some of CUV’s nouns or grammatical methods are not widely used today. Even though some other versions may be also excellent, many Chinese Christians copied the CUV when it was rare and difficult to gain. The collective memory of Chinese Christians would not be easily lost due to historical reasons and emotional reasons,
There is an increasing need to access and read different versions of the Bible in Chinese.
But at the same time, due to the constant changes in different cultural backgrounds, it is necessary for the Christian community to come into contact with multiple versions of the Bible for reading.
W said that in addition to the CUV (Shangdi’s Edition and Shen’s Edition), the current mainstream versions are the revised version of the Contemporary Translation of the Bible, the New Translation of the Bible, the Chinese Standard Version, and Scotus Chinese Version which is an important Chinese edition of Catholic Church’s history. They are all worth reading to savor the subtle refinement in translation
Besides the New Translation of the Bible and the New Living Translation Version Bible which have superior translations, W advised believers to look at other excellent translations to better understand the relationship and connection between God’s words with their spiritual life and the current society.
Needs of reading different versions of Chinese Bibles in different groups
For lay believers: the Revised Chinese Union Version (RCUV) is worth promoting.
Most grassroots believers do not have the awareness to read different versions of the Chinese Bible, as pastors have not recommended different translations, and most ordinary Christians rely on the first version (CUV) they used. So many believers do not know or aren’t concerned about the fact that there are different versions of the Bible, and many do not even know that the Bible is translated from foreign languages.
W believed that it was necessary for pastors to spread this concept to church members, and encourage them to study different versions of the Chinese Bible so that they could study the Bible more deeply and accurately.
On the other hand, this scholar also expected that in the future, the translation of the Chinese Bible would be adapted to local culture.
For pastors: It is recommended to study three versions of the Bible.
To better understand the Bible, pastors need to learn and mediate on the basis of the words close to the original text and correctly handle the word of truth. When pastors can compare and study the three mainstream translations in Chinese, it will be better for believers to get the Biblical interpretation and practical application of God's words.
W said that if a better Chinese translation appeared in the future, it would prevent some pastors from looking up the Bible in Greek, Hebrew, or Latin for a more accurate understanding of the content of the original text.
For scholar Christians: the study and translation of the Bible is a long-term and arduous task.
W talked about the controversy over the translation of the Bible in history. For example, Christians discuss among the different versions of the Chinese Bible, which one is more accurate to translate God into "shen", "shangdi" or "shangzhu". In his view, different versions of the Chinese Bible are a tool for the study of Christianity, social culture, traditional culture, and theological development.
He also mentioned that he had read and compared the recent Chinese translation of the Bible by scholar Peter Feng and that the styles, ideas, and perspectives of different scholars could indeed give him a lot of inspiration.
When talking about the expectation for the future, he said that if Christian scholars artfully translate together with theologians in the future, a new version of the Chinese Bible suitable for modern Chinese people to read can come out which will be a beautiful thing in the long river of history. They should break through the problems of "translatability", "interpretation conflict", and "communication dilemma" of the existing versions, and find solutions to these problems from the perspective of diachronic, constantly changing tensions, communication, and interaction between communicators and receivers.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Different Chinese Bible Translations Can Broaden Christians’ Horizons, Says Chinese Scholar
