Translation of the Bible into Chinese

Ann Cui'an Peng is a senior associate with the Global China Center andserves as associate editor for the Biographical Dictionary of ChineseChristianity. She was co-translator for the GCC series Salt and Light:Lives of Faith that Shaped Modern China. Peng received her PhD in theologyfrom the University of Birmingham in 2007. She served as vice principal andlecturer in the 1990s at Nanjing Theological Seminary, where she had studied inthe 1980s.

'Ann Cui'an Peng offers us the remarkable history of Chinese Bibletranslation, the debates around creating the authoritative Chinese UnionVersion, and the challenges this tenacious version continues to pose to itsreaders today, a century after its first publication. An incredibly importantbook about the most important book of Chinese Christianity.' Alexander Chow,Senior Lecturer in Theology and World Christianity, University of Edinburgh'This well-timed volume, coinciding with the hundredth anniversary ofthe Chinese Union Version Bible, offers a highly readable and accessible studyof the translation history and reception of China's most widely read Bibleedition. Peng's study is particularly helpful in updating the story of theUnion Version to the present day as it contends with new translations andonline reading aids.' Chloe Starr, Associate Professor of Chinese Christianityand Theology, Yale University Divinity School'With the paucity of scholarship about the Bible in Earth's mostpopulous nation, Ann Peng's book is of inestimable value: it fills a lacuna inan accessible yet robust way, revealing the curious journey of the Scripturesin China and brilliantly explaining its current form. She does not avoidcontroversies, but addresses headlong the often-bumpy road behind thetransmission of God's Word. Monumental for its scope, this work helps us to seethe modern-day Chinese Bible aright.' Allen Yeh, Associate Professor of InterculturalStudies, Biola University

• Illustrations and SourcesPrefaceAcknowledgementsNote on LanguageAbbreviationsIntroductionPart I: A Historical Survey of Chinese Bible Translation1 The Beginnings of Chinese Bible Translation2 The Early Protestant Translations3 The Union Version ProjectPart II: The Evolution of the Mandarin Union Version4 Translations5 RevisionsPart III: Probing the Authority of the Union Version and Its Challenges6 Unique Significance7 Contemporary ChallengesConclusionAppendix 1: Comparison of The Chinese Bible Contents of Protestant with Roman CatholicAppendix 2: Three Executive Committees of The Union Version ProjectAppendix 3: Protestant Chinese Bible Translation in Three StagesAppendix 4: A List of Chinese Assistants in the History of Chinese Protestant Missionary Bible TranslationAppendix 5: Questionnaire for Chinese Bible ReadersAppendix 6: A List of Union Versions Translators with their Chinese NamesBibliographyIndex