THE CHINESE BIBLE: HOW WE GOT IT AND HOW
WE NEED IT
Mans Ramstad (pseudonym;
picture not available)
Introduction
The topic of ¡§the
Bible and
The impact of the
Bible on Chinese literature and thought in the early part of the 20th
century was significant, and one gets the feeling that we are the verge of
another Biblical Revolution in
The History
of Bible Translation in
Early Beginnings
The Bible was
partly translated into Chinese during the Tang Dynasty (7th century
AD), when Persian Christian missionaries (Nestorians) arrived in China (Sunquist, 2001). During the Ming and Ching dynasties,
missionaries from Roman Catholic (Jesuit) and Russian Orthodox churches also
worked on translations of the New Testament and Psalms (Sunquist, 2001).[1]
The Protestant Bible
Beginning in the
early 19th century and up to the publication of the currently
dominant Union Version of the Chinese Bible, nine different translation teams
produced various translations of the Bible (Zetzsche (Zetzsche, 1999). The first challenge these translators
faced was what type of language to use.
There were three types of translation done: Wenli[2]
(high literary style, used by Morrision/Milne and Marshman), Easy Wenli (less
literary, used by Schereschewsky) and Guoyu (the national common language, used
by Medhurst).
The first Bible was
published by Marshman and Lassar in 1822.
It was rushed and in the end considered a poor translation. One year later the Morrison/Milne
translation was completed using the High Wenli language. Although this translation became the foundation
of Chinese Bible translation, it was ¡§wooden and unclear¡¨ (Pfister, 1998; Starr,
1998).
It was of poor quality because they did not involve local people in the translation
very much. In 1838 Karl Gutzlaff
published another High Wenli version of the Chinese Bible. In 1844 he formed the Chinese Union to
employ Chinese evangelists to distribute Scriptures and evangelize. But eventually he learned that many of
his preachers were unconverted opium-smokers and criminals who sold the
evangelistic materials to the printer, who then sold them back to Gutzlaff (Sunquist, 2001). This has become one of the most
ignominious events in Chinese missions history, and is still used as an example
of the danger of foreign missions in
The early
translations of the Bible followed classical Chinese patterns of literature,
where only the highly educated person could understand the text, and even then
it was only understood by the reader himself (reading was not an option for
women at that time). With high
illiteracy it was crucial that the common people could understand the Bible to
some degree when read aloud, requiring the use of the common people¡¦s
language. Surveys in the 19th
century discovered that Mandarin was the common basis of language from the
Great Wall to the
The Nanking Version came out in 1856 and the
Peking Version in 1872. The progenitor of the Union Version of the Bible was first
published in Easy Wenli in 1902.
This jump-started the process so that in 1907 a High Wenli version of
the Union Version was published. In 1919 the Union Version of the Bible was published. Foreigners were mainly responsible for
the translation of the Union Version,
which resulted in many translation problems, including word choice[3]
and problems in grammar and style.
Because it was made by foreigners, the Union Version was highly criticized. It was also not too faithful to the
original. But it was embraced by
the Chinese people, especially the overseas Chinese community, who resisted
changing it. They prevailed over
the opinions of some Mainland Chinese believers, who wanted to change it, and
thus we have our Union Version today.
This shows the at
times unfortunate influence that foreign missionaries have. At the time the missionaries said theirs
would not be a final product and they even expected the Chinese Christians to
improve on it, but it never happened. This shows how important it is to have
local people involved in translation and writing projects from the beginning. Their input is crucial. We currently see the blatant translation
of many, many Christian materials from the West into Chinese where the only
role the Chinese coworkers play is to translate and distribute the
materials. This is
unfortunate. We should learn from
history. This happened in the
middle of what Tang has called the "golden era" in terms of
dissemination of the Bible in
The Union Version still has the widest
following in Chinese churches throughout the world, even though the language is
now quite dated. Furthermore, it
has the emotional following that the King James Bible has among some Westerners,
so it is difficult to introduce new versions into the Chinese churches
today. There are several excellent
translations available now in both traditional and simplified script, but these
are not yet readily available in
Lessons Learned from the History of Bible
Translation in
This 100-plus year
process of Bible translation in
Generally speaking
the Protestant Bibles were made in great haste, which compromised their quality. There is a lesson for Protestants today
who are equally hasty to translate Christian books or training materials for
use in
Early versions of
the Bible had a huge impact on Chinese culture in the first part of the 20th
century, including the May Fourth movement. Are we allowing the Word of God to have
its due social and cultural impact or are we limiting the Bible to the personal
use of the individual believer? In
the early years the Chinese Bible as a piece of literature grew ever more
popular, even beyond the Christian church.
This leads to our next section, which is an introduction to the impact
of the Chinese Bible on Chinese society over the years.
The Historical
Impact of the Bible on
The Word of God
changes lives as it is the Spirit-empowered medium of humanity¡¦s encounter with
God. Under the Holy Spirit,
unbelievers see and hear God, grow to admire Jesus Christ, God-incarnate, and
open themselves up to God. Through
His Word and the work of the Holy Spirit, some of them come to believe in God,
and then His Word becomes the means by which they come to know this God, the
foundation upon which they build their lives (Luke 6:48), and the means to know
how to worship Him (John 4:24). The
Word of God has impacted Chinese culture in many ways, both in transforming
people into followers of Jesus Christ, and in changing society.
Chinese people
revere holy scriptures of any kind, including the Bible. This has influenced the extent to which
the Bible has been respected by Chinese people. In the past, the Bible impacted
The Bible had a
strong impact on addressing social injustice. During the 19th century women still
endured the torture of foot binding.
In 1874, women in a church in
The Bible also had
an empowering impact on the lives of people, especially women. The Bible as a piece of literature
available in the language of the common people, coupled with the Christian
conviction of the need for education for all, especially women, spurred
literacy in China in a remarkable way.
In the 19th century 99% of women and 90% of men in the north
were illiterate. As women began to
come through the wide open door of the church, the church discovered that these
women needed to improve their level of education. In order to receive baptism, new
believers needed to memorize the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer and other
passages, but at that time most of the women were illiterate and unable to
learn these important Christian statements. Therefore the main component of most
women's worship services and gatherings was teaching the women songs, Chinese
characters and the Bible. Later
they began using "1000 Characters" as a textbook. Some churches and rural evangelistic
meeting points established short-term literacy and preaching classes and even
schools for the women. In some
cases they would attend class for a set time, such as a half a day, during
which they would learn to read and write, for the purpose of eliminating
illiteracy (Cao, 1995).
The May Fourth
Movement of 1919 represented a major transformation in education and Chinese
society. It meant liberation from
the limitations of classic literature with a movement toward embracing the
common people and their language as the medium for communicating important
literary works. Although the impact
of the Bible on the May Fourth movement and the people involved was mixed, it
did have a significant impact (Li, 2004).[4]
For example, the Bible brought to Chinese literature a variety of literary
expression such as parables and poems and the many forms of writing that are
found in its pages. [5] This influenced the way Chinese scholars
began to write, which had previously followed a poetic formula. Early reformers such as Liang Qichao,
once an advisor to the Empress Dowager, cited the Bible¡¦s teaching of ¡§the
spirit of love¡¨ (³Õ爱ºë¯«boai jingshen) in his political
advocacy. Even Communist reformer
Chen Duxiu loved the thoughts (²z©Àlinian) and example of Jesus Christ.
During the years of Communist rule prior
to the opening and reforms of Deng Xiaoping, it was dangerous for Chinese
citizens to be found in possession of anything vaguely foreign¡Xincluding Bibles
and other religious materials. Many
Christians hid precious Bibles or committed long-portions of text to memory in
order to preserve God¡¦s word. I had the privilege of seeing a
friend¡¦s family Bible and hymnal, which still had the stains of manure on them,
for it had been buried in the ground under the sheep pen during the Cultural
Revolution. Mao¡¦s death and the end of the Cultural Revolution enabled
Christians to slowly come back into public view. These early fellowships recovered their
hidden Bibles while at the same time calling for more. Overseas Christians responded by
carrying Bibles into
Aware of the desperate need for more
Bibles in
Opportunities
and Challenges Regarding the Role of the Bible in
Bible
Publishing
Between 1985 and
2002 over 26 million Bibles were printed in
An ever-increasing
variety of scriptures are becoming available in the local church bookstores in
Secular bookstores
in
Revival on the Way
Living in China one
gets the feeling that we are on the verge of another revival of the impact of
the Bible on society (Aikman, 2003). The space within which Christian faith
is allowed to exist in Chinese society is growing. I frequently find officials to own
Bibles and to have a deep interest in understanding the content of the
Bible. Whether for personal reasons,
or to better understand Christian culture, it reveals the extent to which they
are aware of the power of the Bible.
It is crucial that we be ready with ¡§a word in good season,¡¨ and
likewise to be training up young believers who are able to ¡§rightly handle the
word of truth,¡¨ including weighing it up well with classical and contemporary
Chinese literature and thought.
A popular phrase
in
The Bible and Education
The Bible is
recognized in Chinese education circles as a crucial piece of literature to
understanding Western culture. However, the Bible it is still vehemently
opposed by the Chinese education system as a means of education. Furthermore public school text books
still contain propaganda opposing religion and highlighting the historical
mistakes of missionaries and the Christian church. So in educational circles,
the Bible and faith are still sensitive topics.
Many universities
in
Christians working
in
The main education
role for the Bible now is in educating new believers in literacy and basic
language skill. In the churches, especially
in rural areas, there are many illiterate women. Many churches have already established
Bible Reading Clubs for the women, using A
Basic Christian Reader as a textbook.
This is useful for the women to learn to read and also to understand
basic Christian teachings. Of
course, educating women doesn't stop at wiping out illiteracy, it also includes
improvement in Bible study methods and the use of Bible study aids (Cao, 1995).
The Bible and Society
Early on, the Bible's influence was mainly as
mediated by missionaries. But their activities led to significant cultural
transformation and reform in
From its
beginnings, the Bible has been a source of social reform and progress. And yet in some evangelical circles
today, the Bible is treated primarily as a book to bring personal comfort to
the believer or a tool to help one deal with personal problems. Have we deprived the world of enjoying
the riches of the Word of God by refusing to more creatively relate the Bible
to the world and her needs? We need
to re-learn from Reinhold Neibuhr the use of ¡§middle level axioms,¡¨ the use of
jargon and concepts that we share with the world, as a vehicle to communicate
precious Biblical truths.[6]
Awa
The Bible has been responsible for every manner of
social movement ¡V literary, social and otherwise over time, including in
Globalization and the Bible
A healthy market
economy requires justice and integrity which is not part of human nature. The philanthropic teachings of Jesus
Christ, Amos¡¦ call for justice and
Paul¡¦s exhortation to ¡§be transformed by the
Theology and
church leadership are also being globalized, but as with economic
globalization, the flow is primarily from the West to the rest. The majority of the teaching aids and
theological works used in
The Bible and the Church
The growth of the
Chinese church in this generation is nothing short of remarkable. There are
many things we can learn from the Chinese church (Hwa, 2004). Chinese Christians are
deeply committed to the authority of Scripture and have a hunger for God¡¦s
Word. There is a strong emphasis on obedience, discipleship and sacrifice, with
a deep commitment to prayer. Repentance, with a strong emphasis on turning from
sin, characterizes the church. The
church in
The Chinese church
has much to teach us about respect and love for the Word of God. Perhaps due to familiarity or postmodern
influences, Western Christians have grown somewhat casual toward the
Bible. Much preaching even in
evangelical churches moves quickly from the text to application. Chinese evangelists stick close to the
Biblical text when they preach, and often read an entire chapter or more in
preparation for the sermon. They
tend to allegorize and some hermeneutics are risky, but they stick to the
Bible. This is a good example for
we sometimes over-educated Westerners.
The Chinese church
also faces some challenges, some of which are elaborated in this paper. For
example, there is a desperate shortage of trained leadership. There is a
legalism in some churches, perhaps as a carryover from the fundamentalistic
legacy of the foreign missionaries in the early part of the 20th
century. Some fellowships in
Bible Study and Theological Training
The Bible is God¡¦s
Word given to humanity, to teach us about Him and to lead us to Him. Once we come to Him we are a part of His
body, which is the church. God then
uses His Word and the Holy Spirit to lead and guide the church. Therefore, at the end of the day, the
Bible is especially for the church.
I will conclude this essay with thoughts on the need for Bible study and
training among believers and within the church.
There are 23 official
Protestant seminaries and Bible Colleges in
There are also
many Bible training centers that function covertly. The quality and content of these covers
a wide range. Some are highly
sectarian, disengaged from society and antagonistic to other churches,
especially the open church. Others
are orthodox and provide good teaching, and avoid divisive attitudes as they
seek to provide excellent and much-needed Bible training to lay workers and
evangelists. Because of
restrictions, there is a severe lack of coordination among the various training
centers. This contributes to
divisiveness and extremist teaching.
God¡¦s Word is
loved by Chinese believers. It is
now a wide-open playing field for Bible training in the midst of rapid church
growth with a dearth of qualified church leaders and Bible teachers. This training must be done in ways that
are appropriate to the China context and not for the aggrandizement of the trainers
(Rowe & Strand,
2006).
In terms of
teaching style, preaching and Bible teaching in
Bible training in
Sometimes I fear
that the Chinese church¡¦s opposition to society and fundamentalist suspicions
toward education and academics will produce a generation of shallow Christian
leaders ill-equipped to lead the church into a fierce and highly confident
world. We should learn from history
that a good Bible teacher is also one who can handle other forms of literature
and knowledge. In the fourth
century the ancient church engaged in a controversy when the Emperor Julian
tried to impose a policy barring Christians from studying Greek
philosophy. ¡§After all, should not
Christian young people study simply the Bible?¡¨ it was asked. Basil of Caesarea saw this as a threat
to the long-term welfare of the church; for this would prevent the church from
nurturing young people in an atmosphere of intellectual rigor (Poon, 2004). Similarly, young churches today still
have to capture the best minds of society and prepare them well. Let¡¦s avoid attitudes that feign
spirituality but are actually insecurity that either the individual or the Word
of God itself cannot stand in the face of so-called worldly knowledge.
Chinese theologians
in
Summary
The written word
is precious to Chinese people and has been from antiquity. This gave the Bible a good welcome into
Chinese culture when it first appeared in the 19th and 20th
centuries. The Bible was readable,
when their own classic texts weren¡¦t, so it brought literacy to many people,
and still does. The Bible not only
provided the Word of God to people, it also brought liberation and opportunity
to women and people of all classes.
The Bible has impacted
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Published in www.globalmissiology.org in
Contextualization section, January, 2007