Evolution Of Translation Thoughts In The Introduction Of The Holy Bible Into China

The Holy Bible is not only a classic of Christianity, but also one of the important masterpieces in the world. Its translation has undergone a long history since its introduction into China in Tang dynasty. The importance and necessity of its translation studies should not be ignored in history. In this long period, through great efforts by foreign missionaries as well as Chinese scholars, there have appeared many eminent versions.In the process of translating The Holy Bible, facing the gap between different religions and different cultures, translators should not only respect the original of Christianity, but also try to make Chinese understand biblical expressions, therefore, the Chinese Bible translation practice is also one of cultural communication between the East and the West. During the long Chinese Bible translation practice, the translation thoughts varied. From the very beginning when the Nestorians came to China in Tang dynasty, confronted with the dominant Chinese culture, the missionaries tried to borrow the expressions of Buddhism and Taoism. When it came to Ming and Qing periods, Jesuits adapted their translations to the Confucian culture at that time; they attempted to preach through spreading academic dissemination. Until the 19th century, Morrison put forward faithfulness, perspicuousness and simplicity and began to translate The Bible faithful to the original text. At the beginning of 20th century, the Chinese Union Version was the acme in the history of the introduction of the Scripture into China. Being faithful to the original text and even having a tendency of literal and formal correspondence made the version the most popular one in today's churches. Besides, Today's Chinese Version in 1970 is another important version, which follows Nida's "dynamic equivalence"Through analyzing some eminent versions, comparing specific chapters from The Holy Bible, this thesis attempts to explore the evolution of the translation thoughts, from convergence to divergence from the point of cultural change and from religious approach to literary approach from the point of the nature of the scripture. In addition, it also tries to sum up their influences upon Chinese language, literature, and translation. The biblical expressions have enriched the Chinese language, while allusions and idioms from The Bible have found their ways into modern literary writings. The subject matter as well as the style of many literary works is affected by the Chinese Bible versions. Chinese Bible translation practice was a indispensable branch during the four tides of Chinese translation history; moreover, the translation thoughts explored by foreign missionaries as well as Chinese scholars also played an essential part in the Chinese translation studies.