07-014 Scriptures of The Latter-day Saints and their Chinese translations

07-014
Scriptures of The Latter-day Saints and their Chinese translations 

Now, we are going to move on further to discuss Chinese translations of scriptures used by the Latter-day Saints, a.k.a. the Mormons.

“Hey! The Mormons are NOT Christians!” Yes, I know someone may complain. Personally, I am a Protestant Christian. My Bible contains only 66 books. Moroni was not found anywhere in my Bible. But as I mentioned earlier, the purpose of this blog is to discuss about culture. I am not going to judge whether a religious text is inspired or not. I simply list them out, telling you that they exist in my culture. You can have your own judgement, of course, but I would like to keep that away from my post.

Called as “the Standard Works”, scriptures of the Latter-day Saints consist of 4 parts:

1. The Authorized King James Version as the official scriptural text of the Bible
2. The Book of Mormon, subtitled since 1981 "Another Testament of Jesus Christ"
3. The Doctrine and Covenants (D&C)
4. The Pearl of Great Price (containing the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith–Matthew, Joseph Smith–History, and the Articles of Faith)

Let us see how well “the Standard Works” were translated.

According to the record of Hong Kong library, the first Chinese translation of The Book of Mormon was completed as early as 1967. The translator is Hu Wei-I (胡唯一). Hu was a Taiwanese Latter-day Saint. The Taiwan mission team invited him to translate The Book of Mormon into Chinese. After completing the Chinese translation of The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) and The Pearl of Great Price were also translated and first published as a single volume in 1982.

Early Chinese translation of The Book of Mormon

For the Bible part, although the Chinese King James Version CKJV is now available, the LDS church prefers using the Chinese Union Version CUV in their sermons. Furthermore, they are now in the progress of revising the original 1919 Chinese Union Version CUV text. Since CUV is already a century old translation, it has fallen into the public domain and anyone modify it without infringing any copyright.

Chinese translation of The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants (D&C)
and The Pearl of Great Price in one volume

Therefore, together with the widely available CUV, translations of Latter-day Saints’ scriptures into Chinese were completed in the early 80s. Since 2007, Chinese name of The Book of Mormon was renamed from《摩門經》to《摩爾門經》. All early translations were then revised and are now available on the official website of the Latter-day Saints or through their Bible app Gospel Library (iOS / Android).

The Book of Mormon is giving away free of charge

Physical copy is available to purchase through their online store. The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) and The Pearl of Great Price in a single volume is now selling at USD 6.75 each. Or, try visiting the LDS church in Hongkong. Sometimes, you can get a copy of The Book of Mormon from there free of charge. Early translations can be found in Hongkong Central Library reference book section.

Other, smaller branches of Latter Day Saints include other scriptures. Since those branches do not exist in my city, I am not going to mention them here. As far as I know, there are no official Chinese translations of those scriptures.

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07-013 Chinese translation of “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures”

07-013
Chinese translation of “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” 

In the 19th century, various people claimed to have spiritual encounters with God or heavenly beings. Some of them managed to transform their personal experiences into new denominations or religions. One of them was a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Ellen Gould White. I have written a post about her works and their translations.

In this post, I am going to talk about another woman who was born in the US around the same time as Ellen White. Her life was also full of miracles. She also founded her own church. She wrote a book that she upheld as equal to the Bible. And many patients claimed to have received miraculous healing just by reading her book. Her name is Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science.

Christian Science

Mary Baker Eddy

Mary Baker Eddy was born in 1821 in New Hampshire, USA, to a devout Christian family. She loved the Bible and had a keen interest in religion and spirituality. She suffered from various illnesses and injuries throughout her childhood and adulthood, which led her to explore different methods of healing, such as homeopathy, mesmerism, and hydropathy.

In 1866, after recovering from a severe fall that had left her bedridden, she claimed to have discovered the science of divine healing through prayer and the application of her metaphysical system. She named this system Christian Science and wrote her main textbook Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures to explain it. She also founded the Church of Christ, Scientist in 1879, which grew rapidly and attracted many followers.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, is, along with the Bible, one of the two central texts of the Christian Science religion. Eddy described it as her "most important work". She began writing it in February 1872, and the first edition was published in 1875. The book appears as its finalized form from 1910.

Christian Science develops its theology and its healing method from these statements contained in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The book encapsulates the teachings of Christian Science and Christian Scientists often call it their "textbook". At Sunday services, the sermon consists of passages from the Bible with "correlative passages" from the book. Eddy called the two books Christian Science's "dual and impersonal pastor".

Christian Science in Hongkong

The First Church of Christ Scientist, Hong Kong

The First Church of Christ Scientist, Hong Kong is located in a historic building at 31 MacDonnell Road, Central. Built in 1912, the church is now a Grade II historic building in Hong Kong. The building is two stories high, with a pyramidal roof and elegant stone columns and porch at the entrance.

The church has a history of more than a century

Christian Scientists arrived Hong Kong in the early 20^th century. It was the first branch of the church in Hong Kong and Asia. The Christian Science Society, Hong Kong, was formed in 1905 and began holding services in a small meeting house in Zetland Street, until the property at Macdonnell Road was acquired in 1910. The first public Christian Science lecture in Hong Kong was given in 1911. Annual lectures have been sponsored by the Church ever since, with Chinese translations accompanying since 1961.

Translation of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures

The First Church of Christ Scientist, Hong Kong uses the Bible translation Chinese King James Version (CKJV) in their service. For their other central text, the Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, they finally have their draft translation in 2020. Digital copy of the Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures / 科學與健康附聖經之鑰匙 is available on their official website. Since the translation is only a draft, physical copy of the Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is not available to purchase at the moment.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures / 科學與健康附聖經之鑰匙

Is the message inside the Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures inspired? Is there any miracle inside the book? If I am sick, should I consult a doctor or just read Eddy’s book and pray? I believe you have your answer.

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07-012 Ellen White’s writings, and their Chinese translations

07-012
Ellen White’s writings, and their Chinese translations 

After talking about different Chinese translations of the Protestant Bible, the Catholic Bible, the Apocrypha, and the Orthodox Bible, I am going to move away from biblical texts. From this post onward, I will start investigating those non-biblical texts that are accepted by certain Christian denominations as inspired, and the availabilities of their Chinese translations.

Let us start with the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA).

The Adventists have been evangelizing the Chinese society for a long time. The church has deep roots in Hong Kong. It provides social welfare. It is big here.

Even in mainland China, where religion is more restricted, SDA can operate. It is one of the Christian denominations recognized by the Chinese government.

My church also has a good relationship with them. We often book their church buildings for weddings. Their campsite is gorgeous, with beautiful grasslands and sea views. I enjoyed every moment I spend there. The only complaint is, I am forced to be a vegetarian inside and have no morning coffee.

Ellen Gould White

SDA is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination that is distinguished by its observance of Saturday as the Sabbath. The church places an emphasis on diet and health, including adhering to kosher food laws, advocating vegetarianism, and holding a holistic view of human nature—that is, that the body, soul, and spirit form one inseparable entity. The Adventists do not smoke or take drugs. They also avoid alcohol, tobacco, and other harmful substances. Because caffeine is considered harmful, coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola are generally discouraged. The most controversial doctrine, however, is their acceptance of Ellen G. White’s writings as inspired.

The writings of Ellen Gould White

Ellen White was an American author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, along with her husband James White and Joseph Bates. She was born in 1827 and died in 1915. She claimed to have received over 2,000 visions and dreams from God, which she wrote down and published for the benefit of the church. She also wrote extensively on topics such as health, education, prophecy, and Christian living.

Belief 18 in the SDA 28 Fundamental Beliefs states that:

BELIEF 18: THE GIFT OF PROPHECY

The Scriptures testify that one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and we believe it was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. Her writings speak with prophetic authority and provide comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction to the church. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested.
(Num. 12:6; 2 Chron. 20:20; Amos 3:7; Joel 2:28, 29; Acts 2:14-21; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 12:17; 19:10; 22:8, 9.)

No, the Adventists did not claim Ellen White’s writings are equal to the Bible. They state that the Bible is the only rule of faith and practice for Christians and the ultimate authority for doctrine and prophecy. They regard Ellen White’s writings only as a lesser light that leads to the greater light of the Bible and as a source of guidance, instruction, and correction for the church. They also believe that her writings are inspired by the Holy Spirit and reveal God’s will and purpose for His people in these last days.

The Great Controversy / 善惡之爭

However, in practice, I have seen them quote Ellen White’s writings in the same way as they quote the Bible. This can be seen on their church websites, in their publications, and even in many of Ellen White’s later writings. In her later writings, Ellen simply quoted her own works in the same way as she quoted Bible verses.

Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White / 懷愛倫的信仰旅程: 基督徒經驗談

So, regardless of what the official statement says, the SDA Church simply uses Ellen White’s writings in an equal way as it uses the Bible. I do not want to judge whether Ellen’s works are really inspired or whether it is proper to quote her works alongside the Bible, even if they are inspired. I just want to see, since Ellen White’s writings have received such a prominent status in the SDA Church, whether her writings are available in Chinese for the use of the local Adventists.

Ministry to the Cities / 論城市佈道

The answer is not a simple yes or no. I would say it is almost yes. First, Ellen White’s writings form a huge collection. She published a total of 37 titles during her lifetime, some of which consist of several volumes. These alone count up to around 20,000 pages of texts. After her death, the Ellen G. White Estate has published or authorized the publication of more than 155 books, about 5,000 periodical articles, and 200 pamphlets.

Homeward Bound / 前進天家

Second, Ellen’s bibliography keeps growing. Ellen wrote a huge amount of works and only some of them were published during her lifetime. Many titles have been published after her death. In recent years, even the manuscripts of her unpublished works have been collected, edited, and published. Some of the recent titles are compilations of her writings on various topics or selections for use as daily devotionals, retitled volumes, or those that abbreviate or modernize her original publications. Even until 2020, we still saw new Ellen White’s titles coming out.

Life of Jesus / 好牧人: 耶穌的一生

The official website of the Ellen G. White Estate lists a total of 120 titles under the category of Books, 22 under the category of Devotionals, 27 under the category of Manuscript Releases, 13 under the category of Misc. Collections, 28 under the category of Letters & Manuscripts, 9 under the category of Biography, and 10 new titles under the category of Modern English. These amount to more than 220 different titles and 78,000 pages of works in total. I have not counted the articles from Pamphlets and Periodicals. However, only 48 titles under the category of Books and 16 titles under the category of Devotionals have been translated into Chinese. All the titles and translations are available for reading on the official website of the Ellen G. White Estate or through their mobile apps EGW Writings 2 (iOS / Android).

My Life Today / 豐盛人生: 366篇喜樂與能力的信息

Fortunately, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in mainland China has individually translated most of Ellen White’s writings. I crosschecked their list of translated works with the official list provided by the Ellen G. White Estate website. I found that the Chinese church has translated all the titles under the categories of Biography, Devotionals, Manuscript Releases, and Misc. Collections. In addition, 105 out of 120 titles under the category of Books and more than 90% of the titles under the category of Letters & Manuscripts were translated. Only the newer editions under the category of Modern English were missing. All these translations are available on their website. The translations are available in both Simplified and Traditional Chinese.

The Chinese Seventh-day Adventist Church uses the Chinese Union Version with New Punctuation (CUNP) translation of the Bible in church services, along with Ellen White’s writings. Most of her writings have already been translated into Chinese. In conclusion, Chinese Adventists have enough local resources to practice their religion.

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07-011 Chinese Orthodox Bible

07-011
Chinese Orthodox Bible

Chinese translation of the Orthodox Bible is a complicated matter.

First, there is no official or universal declaration of the canon of the Old Testament by any ecumenical council of the Orthodox Church. The canon was formed gradually by the consensus of the local churches and the tradition of the fathers. Different regions and traditions may have developed different preferences and practices regarding the use and acceptance of certain books. Therefore, there is no single Orthodox canon of the Old Testament, but rather a range of canons that reflect the diversity and unity of the Orthodox Church.

Chinese Martyrs icon in Beijing

Second, the Orthodox has never completed their Chinese Bible translation. Only a few books of the Bible were translated into Chinese over the centuries and just 6 of them have survived until today, available for reading. 3 of those translations are in classical Chinese and the other three are in vernacular Chinese. These translations are all outdated and hard to read.

Below is a list of all available Chinese translations of the Orthodox Bible:

1864 -- New Testament Holy Bible Engraving of Chinese translation diligently compared with the original (新遺詔聖經謹遵原文譯漢敬鐫板)

New Testament Holy Bible Engraving of Chinese translation
diligently compared with the original

This New Testament was translated from the Slavonic and published in the summer of 1864 by Archimandrite Guri (Karpov), the head of the 14^th Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Beijing. This translation is published in 2 volumes, Gospel and Apostles.

It is not the first but the oldest Chinese translation of the Orthodox Bible that can be found. Translation is in Classical Chinese.

Scan copy can be read from the official website of The Orthodox Fellowship of All Saints of China (OFASC). Digitized copy can be read from website “Jesus Taiwan”. Guri has added a number of newly created Chinese characters into his translation, such as 鿡,鿠,鿙, trying to imitate the corresponding Russian pronunciation of the original texts. These characters are not used nowadays and can only be displayed correctly on some browsers.

1879 -- Psalter in Classical Chinese (聖詠經)

Psalter in Classical Chinese

Published in 1879 by Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Beijing when Archim. Flavian was appointed head of the Mission. This Psalter is a translation of Russian text of Book of Psalms, which appeared in Russian Synodal Bible (1876).

Translation is in Classical Chinese. It is the only Orthodox translation that contains Psalm 151. Scan copy can be read from the official website of the OFASC. Digitized copy can be read from website “Jesus Taiwan”.

1910 -- New Testament from the original Greek (希臘原文新約聖經)
1910 -- Psalter in Mandarin Chinese (官話聖詠經)

New Testament from the original Greek

Psalter in Mandarin Chinese

Another Russian Orthodox Chinese Bible appeared in the early 20th century, which was completed under the leadership of the head of the 18th missionary group, Archimandrite Archpriest Innokenty (1863-1931; in office 1896-1931), a.k.a Figurovsky. Innokenty was consecrated as the bishop of Beijing in 1902, and then as the metropolitan. His retranslation work was based on Gury’s translation, and the writing still retained the characteristics of classical Chinese, but it was closer to Mandarin.

The New Testament from the original Greek and Psalter in Mandarin Chinese were completed in 1910. The New Testament books in this translation are arranged according to the Slavonic order and does not include the Revelation of St. John the Divine, since the Orthodox lectionary does not appoint it to be read liturgically. Psalter in Mandarin Chinese does not include Psalm 151.

Scan copies of both works can be read from the official website of the OFASC. Digitized copy can be read from Bible app YouVersion.

1911 -- Gospel according to St Matthew (註解《瑪特斐乙聖福音經》)

Gospel according to St Matthew

After completion of the translation of Psalms into vernacular Chinese in 1910, Bishop Innokenty continued his work to translate the Gospel of Matthew into vernacular Chinese.  His work was published in 1911.

In the preface, Innokenty introduced two specially made Chinese characters 鿗鿖 to represent the abbreviation of the Slavonic transliteration of the name Jesus Christ.

Scan and digitized copies of his translation can be read from the official website of the OFASC.

1911 -- Genesis the First Book (註解《創世紀第一書》)

Genesis the First Book

Bishop Innokenty also translated the Book of Genesis into vernacular Chinese. The translation was published in 1911.

Scan and digitized copies of his translation can be read from the official website of the OFASC.

Innokenty may have translated more books of the Bible. But there were many political unrests during the publication year. Only these 2 translations can be found nowadays.

The formation of the modern day Orthodox Bible

After understanding the status of Chinese translation of the Orthodox Bible, let us move on to see how well the modern day Chinese translations cover the Orthodox canon.

In general, the Orthodox churches accept most of the books that were included in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible that was widely used by the early Christians. Septuagint includes additional books that are not found in the Hebrew texts. Those additional books are pretty much the same as the apocryphal books found in the Latin Vulgate. Here are a few exceptions: 2 Esdras is not found in the Septuagint but in the Latin Vulgate. And Psalm 151, Psalms of Solomon, 3 Maccabees & 4 Maccabees are only in the Septuagint.

Over the development of the biblical canon, Orthodox churches accepted some books unique to Septuagint and Latin Vulgate and rejecting some. They picked Psalm 151, 3 Maccabees & 4 Maccabees from the Septuagint but reject Psalms of Solomon. Some churches accepted 2 Esdras as their canon which can only be found in Latin Vulgate. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church even has a few other books in its canon. Wikipedia gives a general idea of which books were accepted by the Orthodox churches. You can check the list for more details.

As different Orthodox churches may have small differences in the lists of books that they accept, I use the list shared by the OFASC in this discussion. According to the OFASC, the Orthodox Bible has 77 books. But getting this number is not a simple mathematics.

First, it accepts all 66 canonical books used by both Protestants and Catholics. It also accepts the 12 deuterocanonical books used by the Catholics. But in the Catholic Bible, 5 of the deuterocanonical books, Rest of Esther, Song of the Three Children, Story of Susanna, The Idol Bel and the Dragon & The Epistle of Jeremy are combined into other books. However, in the Orthodox Bible, The Epistle of Jeremy is a separate book. This adds up the number of books found in the Orthodox Bible to 74.

In addition, the OFASC accepts 1 Esdras & Prayer of Manasseh as canon. The Catholic considers these books as apocrypha. 1 Esdras is a separate book in the Orthodox Bible and Prayer of Manasseh is listed after Psalm.

Furthermore, the OFASC also accepts the Septuagint books Psalm 151, 3 Maccabees & 4 Maccabees. 3 Maccabees & 4 Maccabees are separate books and Psalm 151 is listed after Psalm 150.

Therefore, 74 + 1 Esdras + 3 Maccabees + 4 Maccabees = 77 books.

The Orthodox workaround

A translation of the Bible into local language is essential for a church to evangelize the community. As there is no official Chinese translation of the Orthodox Bible, the Chinese Orthodox churches need to find a workaround. And the workaround is, to use the Chinese Bibles translated by other denominations.

Maybe due to historical reason, the Chinese Orthodox churches prefer the Protestant translations Chinese Union Version CUV or Revised Chinese Union Version RCUV to the Catholic translation Studium Biblicum Version, even though the Protestant translation has fewer books.

2013 - Mandarin Chinese Union Version according to the Byzantine Majority Text (國語聖經和合本根據拜占庭多數文本更新)

In addition, they also revised the text of the CUV to conform to the Byzantine Majority text. Revision of the New Testament was completed in 2013 and shared on the official website of the OFASC.

How well does the workaround work out?

As the Chinese Orthodox church has adopted the Protestant translation of biblical names and places, Chinese Orthodox church uses the 1919 Protestant Bible Chinese Union Version CUV in their services and church literatures. The 1933 Anglican translation of the apocrypha covers all the 12 deuterocanonical books, as well as 1 Esdras and Prayer of Manasseh.

For Psalm 151, the church have their own translation back in 1879, although it is in classical Chinese.

Psalm 151

For 3 Maccabees & 4 Maccabees, luckily we have a professional translation by Mr. Eric C.K. Wong. His work Christian Extra-Canonical Document / 基督教典外文獻 covers all apocrypha and many pseudepigrapha. Chinese translation of 3 Maccabees & 4 Maccabees can be found in Christian Extra-Canonical Document - Old Testament VI.

Christian Extra-Canonical Document - Old Testament VI

To conclude today’s article, I need to emphasis that there is no standardized version of the Orthodox Bible. The above analysis only refers to the list of books given out by OFASC. Other churches may put additional books into their canon. But thanks to Mr. Eric Wong, most of those additional books are also translated.

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07-010 Biblical Apocrypha, and the Chinese translation

07-010
Biblical Apocrypha, and the Chinese translation

Before moving on to discuss various Chinese translations of the Orthodox Bible, I would like to take a little detour to discuss biblical apocrypha first. 

What is Biblical Apocrypha?

Apocrypha is a Greek work ἀπόκρυφος, which means “hidden”. Biblical apocrypha is a collection of books written some time between 200 BC and AD 400. Literally, the term means “books to be read privately rather than in the public context of church services”.

The term "Apocrypha" first appeared in the Latin Vulgate Bible in AD 405. In AD 382, Pope Damasus commissioned St. Jerome to revise the Gospels of Vetus Latina into Latin. St. Jerome later extended his work and translated the whole Bible.

Vetus Latina is the first Latin translation of the Bible. But it is not in a format of a single book. Instead, Vetus Latina is a collection of manuscripts. Translation of the Old Testament was based on the Greek Septuagint, which included the apocrypha. However, when St. Jerome undertook the revision of Latin translations of Old Testament texts, he discovered that some books were found only in the Septuagint, but not in any of the Hebrew texts.

Instead of removing the apocrypha from his translation, St. Jerome put comments in the prologues, clearly identifying certain books of the Vetus Latina as apocryphal.

A total of 15 books were defined as apocryphal. They are as follow:

1.  1 Esdras (or 3 Esdras in Vulgate)
2. 2 Esdras (or 4 Esdras in Vulgate)
3. Tobit
4.  Judith
5. Rest of Esther
6. Wisdom
7. Sirach
8. Baruch
9. The Epistle of Jeremy
10. Song of the Three Children
11. Story of Susanna
12. The Idol Bel and the Dragon
13. Prayer of Manasseh
14. 1 Maccabees
15. 2 Maccabees

The Council of Trent

Eventually, the Vulgate became the standard Latin Bible used by the Catholic Church and revised several times throughout the history. The Catholic Church affirmed the Vulgate as its official Latin Bible at the Council of Trent (1545–1563). In addition, 12 of the 15 apocrypha were “upgraded” on a par with the other books of the canon at the Council of Trent. Those books were named as “deuterocanonical”, or second canon, by the Catholic church.

In 1592, Pope Clement VIII published his revised edition of the Vulgate, referred to as the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate. He moved the three books that were not found in the canon of the Council of Trent from the Old Testament into an appendix "lest they utterly perish".

Martin Luther

Martin Luther translated the Bible into German during the early part of the 16th century, first releasing a complete Bible in 1534. In his Bible, he moved all the apocryphal books to a separate section, placed between the Old and the New Testament. The books 1 and 2 Esdras were omitted entirely.

As an authority for this division, Luther cited St. Jerome, stating that books not found in the Hebrew were not received as canonical.

King James Version (KJV)

Index of the KJV, including a section of Apocrypha

Being a prominent translation of the Bible used by The Church of England, early versions of the King James Version followed Luther to put apocryphal books into a separate section. However, all 15 books were included. 

The formation of the modern day Protestant Bible

As Protestant churches do not consider the apocrypha as canon, almost all modern day Protestant Bibles, including Bible reading apps, contain only 66 books with no apocrypha. 

The formation of the modern day Catholic Bible

Nowadays, publishers of the Catholic Bible follow the Council of Trent to include 73 books into the Bible. The 3 books that were left out by The Canon of Trent were generally omitted. But why 73? 66 “canonical” + 12 “deuterocanonical” does not equal to 73.

The reason is because some of the deuterocanonical books were combined with other books. Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1 Maccabees & 2 Maccabees are separate books. Rest of Esther is found within the canonical Esther. Song of the Three Children, Story of Susanna & The Idol Bel and the Dragon are added to the canonical Daniel. The Epistle of Jeremy is added to the end of Baruch as “Baruch Chapter 6”. So, 66+12-5=73. 

Chinese Translations of the apocrypha

The first attempt to translate the apocrypha into vernacular Chinese is by the Jesuit priest Louis Antoine de Poirot. His translation of the Catholic Bible, Guxin shengjing / 古新聖經, already covered the 12 Apocryphal books. However, this translation was not published.

Anglican translation of the apocrypha

In 1933, the Anglican Church translated the apocrypha into vernacular Chinese and published in a separate volume次經全書. The publication follows the KJV to include all 15 apocryphal books. Translations of the names and places follow the terms used in the Chinese Union Version CUV.

This translation was revised several times. The 2014 revision can be read from the Bible app YouVersion. The original 1933 translation can be read from this link. Physical copy can be purchased in major Christian bookstores.

Since the Catholic church only completed their first Chinese Bible translation, the Studium Biblicum Version, in 1968, this Anglican translation remained as the only Chinese translation of the apocrypha for almost half of a century. This translation is also the only “official” translation of the apocrypha among the Protestants.

The two Chinese translations of the Catholic Bible, the 1968 Studium Biblicum Version and the 1999 Pastoral Bible, covers all 12 deuterocanonical books. Both are the official translations accepted by the Catholic churches.

Shengjing Houdian / 聖經後典

Several “private” translations were also found. In 1987, the apocrypha were translated by Zhang Jiuxuan, an official of the Chinese government, and published under the name Shengjing Houdian / 聖經後典.

Sheng Jing Ci Jing / 聖經次經

In 1995, Zhao Peilin, Zhang Jun & Yin Yao again translated the apocrypha and published under the name Sheng Jing Ci Jing / 聖經次經. Both translations follow the names and places used by Protestant churches. Protestants will find these 2 books very easy to read.

Christian Extra-Canonical Document / 基督教典外文獻

Last, but not least, is the professional translation by Mr. Eric C.K. Wong. Mr. Wong translated not only the apocrypha but also the pseudepigrapha. His work, Christian Extra-Canonical Document / 基督教典外文獻, was published in 10 volumes in 2001. I will discuss more about his work in the next post.

Digitized version of Zhang Jiuxuan’s Shengjing Houdian can be read from the official website of "The Orthodox Fellowship of All Saints of China (OFASC)". Scan copies of all three works are available to download from Catholic on line (天主教在線).

Direct link: https://dl.ziliaozhan.win/%E4%B9%A6%E7%B1%8D/pdf/%E5%9C%A3%E7%BB%8F/

You now have a basic idea on biblical apocrypha, which books are included and how did they appear in the Catholic Bible. In the next post, I will move on to discuss Orthodox Bible and its Chinese translation. It is again a complicated topic.

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