Chinese Translation Of The Bible And Its Influence In China

The Bible is the most important classic in the west. It is a collection of sacred writings of the Christian faiths. It has been translated into more languages than any other books in the world. By now, it has been translated into more than 2000 different languages and dialects. In China, the Chinese translation of the Bible began in A.D.635 when Nestorianism, a branch of Christianity, was introduced to China.First, this thesis introduces the 1300-year history of the Chinese translation of the Bible in China, as well as its great achievements. At the same time, some mistakes about the Chinese translation of the Bible are corrected, and the disputes over Marshman 's Version and Morrison's Version are specially touched upon. The author initially divides the history into the following four periods: the Beginning Period (the Tang and Yuan dynasties), the Pioneering Period (1581—1842), the Prosperous Period (1843—1919), and the Flourishing Period (1919—). The Beginning Period refers to the Tang and Yuan dynasties when the Bible was first translated into Chinese language(s). The Pioneering Period refers to the one during which foreign missionaries in China translated the Bible into Chinese since 1581 when Michal Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci came to China. J.Basset's Version is the first formal Chinese version, Louis de Poirot SJ.'s Version is the second formal one and the first that contains both the Old Testament and the New Testament, although it is not a complete one. Marshman's Version and Morrison's Version are the first complete Chinese versions. The pioneering work of those missionaries in this period set a solid base for the latter versions. The signing of Treaty of Nanking in 1842 and a series of other unequal treaties later objectively facilitated the prosperity of the Chinese translation of the Bible. By 1919, within 77 years, more than 20 new influential Chinese versions appeared, and many versions in dialects and minority languages were also published in this period. The United Version which was published in 1919 marked the summit of the Chinese translation of the Bible. Since 1919, the Chinese translation of the Bible has witnessed a new period as the translation work has been mainly taken by Chinese scholars instead of by foreign missionaries. In recent years, there are many different versions in China, and the Bible translation is flourishing in China.Then the great influence of the Bible translation upon China is explored from the aspects such as religion, politics, language, literature, printing technology and socialcustoms. In the aspect of religion, Bible translation has spread Christian doctrines and encouraged the development of Christianity in China. In politics, the political life was influenced by the Chinese Bible. Hong Xiuquan, Sun Yat-sen, Feng Yuxiang, Tao Xingzhi and many famous figures were influenced by the Bible. The revolutionary careers led by Hong and Sun respectively changed the history of China. In language, the Chinese translation has enriched our language. Many words and phrases are borrowed from the Bible and have become very popular in China. And the Union Version played an important role in the language transition. Moreover, the Chinese Bible encouraged the development of anti-illiteracy campaign and education in China. The impact of the Chinese translation of the Bible on Chinese literature is also great and obvious. The Bible has been a source of creation for many poets and writers, especially after the May 4th Movement. Words and phrases from the Bible have entered many literary works. In order to print the translated Bible, foreign missionaries opened many printing houses in China, imported new equipments, and trained Chinese printers. As a result, Chinese modern printing developed.Based on its remarkable achievements and great influence on China, the author attempts to prove the importance of the study on the Chinese translation of the Bible, reveal its law, and predict its tendency. By comparing with the achievements of the study on Buddhist scriptures translation in China and those of the study on the translation of the Bible in the west, the author points out that by now little importance has been attached to the study of the Chinese translation of the Bible, nor has its position been established in the history of translation in China, not to speak of the establishment of its position as translated literature, which does not match its great achievements in practice. So it is strongly suggested in the thesis that Chinese scholars, especially those in the mainland of China, should see the history of the Chinese translation of the Bible in a new light, emphasize and strengthen the study about it, struggle to establish "Bible Translatology" in China so that there would be not only new excellent Chinese versions in practice but also important Chinese biblical translation theories, as well as world-known Bible translators. Only then can the Chinese translation of the Bible make its contributions to translation studies at home and abroad.