The next instance of Bible translations into Chinese languages subsists in unpublished manuscripts by individual Roman Catholic priests in the sixteenth century and individual Protestant missionaries in the early nineteenth century. The first complete translation to be published was that of Joshua Marshman in 1813, followed by that of Robert Morrison in 1823. A group of Protestant missionaries in Hong Kong in 1843 started a collaborative translation. The New Testament of their so-called "Delegates Version" was published in 1850 and the Old Testament in 1853. A translation of the Old Testament by Karl Gutzlaff, first published in 1840, was widely distributed and was used by the leaders of the Taiping Rebellion as the basis of their theological study.
The second half of the century saw the publication of Chinese Bibles in regional languages using romanization rather than Chinese characters, the first works printed in the regional languages. The Classical Chinese of the Delegates Version could not be understood when read aloud, and towards the end of the century the national missionary body started a revision which used vernacular Chinese. The resulting Union Version, published in 1919, became the standard translation for Protestants and was adapted and published in different forms, including Braille. A Chinese New Version was published in 1992 and a Revised Chinese Union Version in the early twenty-first century.
New Testament (parts), 1877 by the English Bible Society.
Gospel of John, 1879 by the Anglican Missionary G. E. Moule
Gospel of Matthew, 1880 by the English Bible Society.
Jinhua dialectedit
Romanized vernacular versions
Gospel of John, 1866
Wenzhou dialectedit
Matthew-Acts, 1890
The Four Gospels and Acts, in Wenchow was published in 1894 under the title Chaò-chî Yi-sû Chī-tuh Sang Iah Sing Shī: Sz̀ fuh-iang tà sź-du ae-djüe fa üe-tsiu t'û, literally 救主 耶稣 基督 新 约 圣 书: 四 福音 及 使徒行传 翻 温州语, with the entire book in the Wenzhou dialect.[2]
Taizhou dialectedit
Romanized vernacular versions
New Testament, Ngô-he kyiu-cü yia-su kyi-toh-keh sing-iah shü. Te-tsiu tu-wa; di-nyi-tʻao ing. Taizhou, 1897[3]
Kiù-tsú Iâ-sou Ki-tok kâi Sin-ieh Tshuân-tsṳ Chiēⁿ-Kńg Má-thài kàu Sài-thû. Su-kat-lân: Tãi Eng-kok lãi gūa Siàⁿ-tsṳ-hũe Ìn. 1892. (Printed for the British and Foreign Bible Society by Blackie & Son, Limited, Glasgow)[7]
Teochew dialectedit
Romanized vernacular versions
Kū-ieh sàn-bú-zṳ́ ẽ-kńg tshûan-tsṳ e̍k-tsò tiê-chiu pe̍h-ūe. Sùaⁿ-thâu, Loí-pài-tn̂g, Hon̂g-soh-hṳn Ìn. 1898. (Printed for the British and Foreign Bible Society at the English Presbyterian Mission Press, Swatow)
New Testament, 1915 by English Presbyterian Missionary societies.
^"Chinese Contemporary Bible". Biblica. Archived from the original on 2011-01-22. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
^"Chinese Standard Bible (CSB): A New Chinese Bible Translation from Asia Bible Society". Chinese Standard Bible. 2012-08-31. Archived from the original on 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
^The New Testament in English and Mandarin. Tokyo: Fukuin. 1904.
^American Bible Society (1885). The New Testament in English and Mandarin. Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press.
Referencesedit
Hykes, John R. (1915). List of Translations of the Scriptures into the Chinese Language. Yokohama, Japan: Fukuin Printing.
Chen, Yiyi (2005). A Brief Survey of the History of Chinese Translations of the Hebrew Bible(PDF).