A new version of the Bible translated into vernacular Chinese has been created as a result of nine years of hard work by leaders of the Protestant Church, theological research workers and local and foreign linguists, led by Paster Chou Lien-hua, Lo Wei-jen and Hsu Mu-shih. Though the original Chinese-language Bible, translated 60 years ago, has been used to win millions of converts to Christianity and provide inspiration for many disciples, there were pressing reasons why it was felt a new version was necessary.
Pastor Chou pointed out that many young people complained that they had difficulties in reading the original edition because it was translated by foreign missionaries. As their knowledge of Chinese was limited, it is sometimes difficult to understand the meaning of the text without consulting footnotes. In addition, the Chinese language has been modernized to become an everyday means of communication over the past six decades. Most people today do not have the time or patience to work out the real meaning of the old Chinese text.
The modern Chinese Bible is characterized by its usage of fluent everyday language, which nevertheless sounds impressive when spoken, sub-headlines and footnotes for every chapter to provide a clearer interpretation, and illustrations to enhance the text. The emphasis has been placed on free translation rather that a word-by-word literal rendition. The calculation of weights and measures has been adopted to correspond with the modern system. As a result of these features, all people above the junior high school level are able to appreciate the true meaning of the Bible.
Pastor Chou pointed out that the free translation, adoption of special literary styles such as parallelism, and the elimination of conjunctions as far as possible, have allowed the true meaning of the Bible's religious terminology and idioms to be preserved. The manipulation of punctuation marks, verbs and direct and indirect quotations, have also helped to make the modern Chinese Bible more colloquial, simple, graceful and beautiful.
Perhaps most important, members of the translation team tried to make sure that their work corresponded with the Chinese customs. For instance, in the Bible, the dragon is considered to be a symbol of evil while to the Chinese, it is regarded as an auspicious creature. So the word "evil" was added before dragon, to emphasize its wickedness. Standardized translations of place names have also been used to replace those in the old version of the Bible.
On the eve of the late President Chiang Kai-shek's birthday anniversary, a six-member group, including Pastor Chou, Lou and Hsu, presented the new vernacular Bible to President Chiang Ching-kuo on behalf of all Protestants in the Republic of China. The President expressed his appreciation for the gift of this significant work.
The late President once said that to read the Bible and have religious beliefs helps people to understand universal truths and to find a worthwhile way of life. The publication of the new Chinese Bible will go a long way to enhancing knowledge of Christianity in the Republic of China.
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1. The publication of the new Vernacular Chinese Bible is a significant event for Protestants within the Republic of China and abroad. 2. Minister of Interior Chiu Chuang-huan participating in the worship service. He also received a copy of the new Bible printed with his name. 3 & 4. Pastor Chou Lien-hua gives testimony at the dedication service, attended by 800 people.
He also received a copy of the new Bible printed with his name.
Pastor Chou Lien-hua gives testimony at the dedication service, attended by 800 people.
Pastor Chou Lien-hua gives testimony at the dedication service, attended by 800 people.
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