Delegates' Version
| Delegates Version | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Delegates Version |
| Abbreviation | DV |
| Language | Chinese |
| OT published | 1853 |
| NT published | 1850 |
| Complete Bible published | 1853 |
| Authorship | Walter Henry Medhurst, Elijah Coleman Bridgman, et al. |
| Derived from | English Revised Version |
| Copyright | Public domain (copyright expired) |
| Religious affiliation | Protestant |
The Delegates Version was a significant translation of the Bible into Chinese produced by a committee of Protestant missionaries. The New Testament was published in 1850, which was followed by the Old Testament in 1853.
History
In August 1843, a meeting of missionaries was held in Hong Kong to discuss the question of whether another revision of the Bible should be produced. A plan was adopted by which the services of every missionary capable of rendering aid were enlisted, and at five stations local committees were formed, to each of which a share of the work of revision was given. From these local committees, delegates were appointed to form a general committee of revision, by which the translations of the local committees were to be compared, and the version finally determined by the votes of the delegates.[1]
The first meeting of the delegates was held in June 1847. The committee consisted of:
- Bishop William Jones Boone (American Episcopal Mission), based in Shanghai
- Walter Henry Medhurst (London Missionary Society), based in Shanghai
- Walter M. Lowrie (American Presbyterian Mission), based in Ningbo
- John Stronach (London Missionary Society), based in Amoy
- Elijah Coleman Bridgman (American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions), based in Guangzhou
Lowrie drowned shortly after the work was begun and William Charles Milne was elected to fill his place. Bishop Boone never attended a meeting of the delegates after the first chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel was finished. However, when the version was finished, Boone repudiated all responsibility for it, so that the translation was understood to be virtually the work of the English missionaries Medhurst, Stronach, and Milne.[1]
The committee, aided by several Chinese scholars (such as Wang Tao), continued their work daily from 10:00am to 2:00pm, almost without intermission. The translation of the New Testament was finished in July 1850 and was published with the approval of the delegates, and became known as Delegates Version. [2]
Soon after the publication of the New Testament, a translation of the Old Testament was commenced. But owing to a division among the members, the committee separated, resulting in two versions. One was completed in 1853 by the English missionaries Medhurst, Stronach, and Milne, and has been called the Delegates Version. The American missionaries Bridgman and Michael Simpson Culbertson withdrew from the committee of delegates and prepared a separate final version.[1]
Two members of the Delegates Version translation committee, Medhurst and Stronach, decided to introduce a new translation in Anqing Mandarin. Medhurst translated the Old Testament and Stronach carried out the translation of the New Testament. The entire Bible was published in 1856 at the cost of the British and Foreign Bible Society and became the first translation that was not based on a classical, literary style.
References
- ^ a b c Wylie, Alexander (1889). "The Bible in China: A Record of Various Translations of the Holy Scriptures". In Foster, Arnold (ed.). Christian Progress in China: Gleanings from the Writings and Speeches of Many Workers. London: Religious Tract Society. pp. 29–46.
- ^ Hanan, Patrick (2003-01-01). "The Bible as Chinese Literature: Medhurst, Wang Tao, and the Delegates' Version". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. 63 (1): 197–239. doi:10.2307/25066695. JSTOR 25066695.