A Chinese professor introduced Bible translations in different historical periods after Christianity entered China, drawing an outline of the history of Bible translation in the country and how the holy book gradually became a part of China.
On September 20th, Professor Liu, a doctoral supervisor at the School of Philosophy of Fudan University, gave an online lecture titled “Abraham’s Three Religious Systems and Chinese Bible Translation: Taking the Eight Classic Translation Examples”.
Professor Liu began by introducing the main Bible translations in different periods based on Christianity’s introduction into China. He demonstrated a list of nearly 100 Bible versions: Roman/Chinese Catholic Chinese Bible Version, Protestant Bible Version, Protestant Mandarin/Mandarin Chinese Bible Version after the “Mandarin Union Version”, and Chinese dialectal versions, etc. After illustrating the eight major translations events, Liu introduced Nestorianism, the Torah of Jews in Kaifeng, Montecorvino’s version in Yuan Dynasty, Jean Basset’s version, Morrison-Marshman’s Version, Union Version, and John Duns Scotus’ Version. Showing the photos of original copies of those versions and analyzing the success or failure of each version, he discussed the process of sinicization of the Bible canon.
When introducing Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff’s Version, Liu said: “Although Gützlaff’s translation had not been very influential in China, it was adopted by Hong Xiuquan, who printed it in large quantities and sent the copies to his Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Army.” The version was published by a team of four translators led by Gützlaff. In 1837 and 1840 respectively, the team’s ‘New Testament’ and ‘Old Testament’ were published. However, when Hong Xiuquan (leader of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Army, translator’s note) used it, he revised the so-called “mistakes” in Gützlaff’s Versions and altered parts of the Bible.
When introducing the versions of different periods, Professor Liu emphasized, “All the Bible translation work involved Chinese participants including the Chinese Union Version.”
He explained that the early Chinese versions were all written in classical Chinese or high Wenli. At the beginning of the 19th century, due to the development of language and social changes, classical Chinese had been replaced by easy Wenli. Bible translation followed this trend by publishing easy Wenli versions, such as Griffith John’s Wenli Version and Samuel Issac Joseph Schereschewsky’s Versions (also called as One-finger and Two-finger Version as he painfully typed out with one or two fingers his Mandarin translation due to limb paralysis). Schereschewsky was a Russian Jew who was proficient in Hebrew, known as the Prince of Bible Translation. He was paralyzed by heatstroke during his translation work and he could only work with one or two fingers but still managed to complete it.
In the mid-19th century, Mandarin was used by Chinese imperial courts and officials all over the country. As a result, Mandarin versions were born. Walter Henry Medhurst and others translated the New Testament into Nanjing Mandarin; John Burdon and others completed the New Testament in Beijing Mandarin; Schereschewsky completed the Old Testament in Beijing Mandarin, and the British Bible Society printed them together as The Old and New Testament. The Mandarin Bible, which was translated by the Beijing Translation Committee in the 1970s was a vernacular Bible before the birth of the Chinese Union Version, had been widely used in the country for 40 years.
In 1890, the second General Conference of the Protestant Missionaries of China held in Shanghai decided to produce a nationwide translation of the Chinese Bible, which is called “The Union Version”, with the principle of “one Bible in three versions”. In the following year, three committees were formed to be responsible for the translation in three Chinese language styles - high Wenli, easy Wenli, and Mandarin. In 1907, after more than ten years’ translation of the three “Union Versions”, missionaries held a conference again in Shanghai. At the conference, it was decided to merge the “high Wenli” and the “easy Wenli” Versions, and only publish the “high Wenli and easy Wenli Union Version”. The “Mandarin Union Version” project was to be continued. In 1919, the “high Wenli and easy Wenli Union Version” and the “Mandarin Union Version” were published. The “Mandarin Union Version” was a pioneering masterpiece in the vernacular movement at that time.
After 1919, Bible translation was no longer led by missionaries but by the Chinese.
In 1715, the Russian Orthodox Church sent the first missionaries to Beijing to officially preach in China. They translated the Bible into Chinese for the first time in the late 19th century.
The first Old and New Testament translated by Roman monks in China, which was also the first Chinese version of the Bible translated to be from the original text, was the work by the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. There are more than 2,000 pages in the book, with a brief introduction, annotations, drawings, appendices, and many color maps. It is called “the first translation of Chinese Catholic Bible from the original text, with careful notes”.
Finally, Professor Liu concluded that after the hard work of missionaries and Chinese people in China, the Chinese Bible enjoyed a presentation of “100 versions of brilliant works”. Whether the Bible was translated under the auspices of missionaries or it was independently completed by Chinese later, in fact, there were indirect or direct efforts made by Chinese people. Bible translation in China itself was a process of communication and dialogue between the Chinese civilization and the Jewish-Christian civilization and was the fruit of mutual understanding and learning between the two civilizations.
He emphasized that the greatest and most outstanding achievement of the sinicization of Christianity was the Chinese Bible translations, among which the Chinese Union Version and John Duns Scotus’ Version had the highest achievements.
“The Chinese Union Version and John Duns Scotus’ Version have become the models of how the Bible became part of China,” he concluded.
- Translated by Charlie Li
一名教授介绍了基督教进入中国后不同历史时期的圣经译本，提纲掣领地宏观描述了圣经在华翻译史。
9月20日，复旦大学哲学院教授、博士生导师刘平教授开讲以“亚伯拉罕三大宗教体系与中国圣经译本：以八大译经事件为典范”为题的网络讲座。
首先，刘平教授从基督教传入中国的历史，介绍不同时期的圣经翻译主要的译本，列举出：罗马/中国天主教中文圣经译本、新教圣经译本、“官话和合译本”后新教国语/普通话译本中文圣经翻译、汉语方言译本等近100种的圣经翻译版本。之后通过八大译经事件历程，刘教授介绍了景教译经、开封犹太人的妥拉、元朝孟高维诺译经、白日陹译本、二马译本、和合本译本、思高译本，并展示了不同翻译版本的圣经的图片，通过分析每时期的成败与得失来探讨圣经正典中国化进程。
刘在介绍郭实腊译本时讲到：“郭实腊译本虽然在华语的影响力不是很大，它曾被洪秀全采用，大量印刷，发给太平军。”此译本是由郭等人组成的译经小组于1837年出版《新遗诏圣书》，1840年出版《旧遗诏圣书》。不过，洪秀全在使用时修订了郭译本中所谓的“记讹”之处，并对圣经进行了删改。
在介绍这些不同时代的译本时，刘教授强调说：“这些所有的圣经译本都有中国人的参与，包括和合本等。”
他解释说，最开始中译本都用文言文或深文理。十九世纪初，由于语言发展与社会变迁，文言文已被通俗的浅文理取代。圣经翻译配合这个趋势，出版浅文理译本，如杨格非浅文理译本和二指版或一指版（施约瑟浅文理译本）。二指版或一指版译者施约瑟是一个精通希伯来文的俄籍犹太人，有译经王子之称，他在翻译时中暑瘫痪，只能用一两只手指工作，依然奋力完成。
19世纪中叶，中国朝廷和各地官员所使用官话通行全国。于是，官话译本因应而生，麦都思等人译成南京官话新约权属，包约翰等人完成北京官话新约全书，施约瑟完成北京官话旧约全书，英国圣经公会将两者合印为《新旧约全书》。19世纪70年代由北京翻译委员会翻译的官话圣经，是和合本诞生之前的白话文圣经，曾经风靡全国有40年之久。
1890年，上海宣教士大会决议出本一本全国通用的中国圣经译本，称之为“和合译本”，䦺以“圣经唯一，译本则三”为原则。次年成立三个委员会，分别负责三种汉语语体——深文理、浅文理以及官话的翻译工作。1907年，三种“和合译本”进行十多年译经工作之后，传教士再次在上海举行会议。此会议决定合并“深文理和合译本”与“浅文理和合译本”，只出版“文理和合译本”，另外继续出版“官话和合译本”。1919年出版官话和合译本和文理和合译本。官话和合译本是在当时白话文运动中的先锋巨作。
1919年以后，圣经翻译工作不再是以传教士为主导，开始以华人为主导。
而俄罗斯东正教于1715年派遣第一届驻北京传导团来华正式传教，在19世纪后期第一次将圣经翻译为中文。
罗马天主教修士在中国翻译完成的第一部《新旧约圣经》，也是第一本译自原文的圣经中文译本，是由思高圣经学会译出。全书共有2000多页，附有简短的引言、批注、绘图、附录以及彩色地图多幅，被称为中国天主教“第一部译自原文，并仔细写下了注释的译本” 。
最后，刘教授在结论部分总结说，圣经在中国经过传教士和中国人自己的辛勤耕耘，呈现出“百译齐放、百本争鸣”的局面。无论是传教士们主持翻译的圣经，还是后来华人独立完成的圣经，实际上都有华人间接或直接付出的心血，在华圣经翻译本身就是一个中华文明与犹太-基督教文明之间交流与对话的过程，是两种文明之间相互理解和学习结出的果子。
他强调说，基督教中国化最大最杰出的成果就是汉语圣经译本，其中以和合本与思高本成就最高，“和合本与思高本成为从‘圣经在中国’到‘圣经属中国’转型的典范。”
学者刘平教授：回溯千年圣经在华翻译史——从圣经在中国到圣经属中国的过程
A Chinese professor introduced Bible translations in different historical periods after Christianity entered China, drawing an outline of the history of Bible translation in the country and how the holy book gradually became a part of China.
On September 20th, Professor Liu, a doctoral supervisor at the School of Philosophy of Fudan University, gave an online lecture titled “Abraham’s Three Religious Systems and Chinese Bible Translation: Taking the Eight Classic Translation Examples”.
Professor Liu began by introducing the main Bible translations in different periods based on Christianity’s introduction into China. He demonstrated a list of nearly 100 Bible versions: Roman/Chinese Catholic Chinese Bible Version, Protestant Bible Version, Protestant Mandarin/Mandarin Chinese Bible Version after the “Mandarin Union Version”, and Chinese dialectal versions, etc. After illustrating the eight major translations events, Liu introduced Nestorianism, the Torah of Jews in Kaifeng, Montecorvino’s version in Yuan Dynasty, Jean Basset’s version, Morrison-Marshman’s Version, Union Version, and John Duns Scotus’ Version. Showing the photos of original copies of those versions and analyzing the success or failure of each version, he discussed the process of sinicization of the Bible canon.
When introducing Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff’s Version, Liu said: “Although Gützlaff’s translation had not been very influential in China, it was adopted by Hong Xiuquan, who printed it in large quantities and sent the copies to his Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Army.” The version was published by a team of four translators led by Gützlaff. In 1837 and 1840 respectively, the team’s ‘New Testament’ and ‘Old Testament’ were published. However, when Hong Xiuquan (leader of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Army, translator’s note) used it, he revised the so-called “mistakes” in Gützlaff’s Versions and altered parts of the Bible.
When introducing the versions of different periods, Professor Liu emphasized, “All the Bible translation work involved Chinese participants including the Chinese Union Version.”
He explained that the early Chinese versions were all written in classical Chinese or high Wenli. At the beginning of the 19th century, due to the development of language and social changes, classical Chinese had been replaced by easy Wenli. Bible translation followed this trend by publishing easy Wenli versions, such as Griffith John’s Wenli Version and Samuel Issac Joseph Schereschewsky’s Versions (also called as One-finger and Two-finger Version as he painfully typed out with one or two fingers his Mandarin translation due to limb paralysis). Schereschewsky was a Russian Jew who was proficient in Hebrew, known as the Prince of Bible Translation. He was paralyzed by heatstroke during his translation work and he could only work with one or two fingers but still managed to complete it.
In the mid-19th century, Mandarin was used by Chinese imperial courts and officials all over the country. As a result, Mandarin versions were born. Walter Henry Medhurst and others translated the New Testament into Nanjing Mandarin; John Burdon and others completed the New Testament in Beijing Mandarin; Schereschewsky completed the Old Testament in Beijing Mandarin, and the British Bible Society printed them together as The Old and New Testament. The Mandarin Bible, which was translated by the Beijing Translation Committee in the 1970s was a vernacular Bible before the birth of the Chinese Union Version, had been widely used in the country for 40 years.
In 1890, the second General Conference of the Protestant Missionaries of China held in Shanghai decided to produce a nationwide translation of the Chinese Bible, which is called “The Union Version”, with the principle of “one Bible in three versions”. In the following year, three committees were formed to be responsible for the translation in three Chinese language styles - high Wenli, easy Wenli, and Mandarin. In 1907, after more than ten years’ translation of the three “Union Versions”, missionaries held a conference again in Shanghai. At the conference, it was decided to merge the “high Wenli” and the “easy Wenli” Versions, and only publish the “high Wenli and easy Wenli Union Version”. The “Mandarin Union Version” project was to be continued. In 1919, the “high Wenli and easy Wenli Union Version” and the “Mandarin Union Version” were published. The “Mandarin Union Version” was a pioneering masterpiece in the vernacular movement at that time.
After 1919, Bible translation was no longer led by missionaries but by the Chinese.
In 1715, the Russian Orthodox Church sent the first missionaries to Beijing to officially preach in China. They translated the Bible into Chinese for the first time in the late 19th century.
The first Old and New Testament translated by Roman monks in China, which was also the first Chinese version of the Bible translated to be from the original text, was the work by the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. There are more than 2,000 pages in the book, with a brief introduction, annotations, drawings, appendices, and many color maps. It is called “the first translation of Chinese Catholic Bible from the original text, with careful notes”.
Finally, Professor Liu concluded that after the hard work of missionaries and Chinese people in China, the Chinese Bible enjoyed a presentation of “100 versions of brilliant works”. Whether the Bible was translated under the auspices of missionaries or it was independently completed by Chinese later, in fact, there were indirect or direct efforts made by Chinese people. Bible translation in China itself was a process of communication and dialogue between the Chinese civilization and the Jewish-Christian civilization and was the fruit of mutual understanding and learning between the two civilizations.
He emphasized that the greatest and most outstanding achievement of the sinicization of Christianity was the Chinese Bible translations, among which the Chinese Union Version and John Duns Scotus’ Version had the highest achievements.
“The Chinese Union Version and John Duns Scotus’ Version have become the models of how the Bible became part of China,” he concluded.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Professor Liu Ping: A Thousand Years of Bible Translation History in China
