A Translation or A Revision? The Mandarin Union Version and its use of the Chinese base texts

Abstract When the plan to translate the Union Version in Guanhua (Mandarin) was announced at the 1890 Conference in Shanghai, it was decided that all three existing Mandarin versions—the 1856 Nanking Version, the 1872 Peking Version, and Griffith John's translation of 1889 - were to be equally used as the Chinese base texts of the new version. The decision was part of an overarching effort of appeasement and compromises, in order to secure the general agreement of the Protestant communities deeply divided over the issues of bible translations since the early days of Morrison and Marshman. In reality the Nanking Version and Griffith John were scarcely consulted, and the Peking Version would be the primary Chinese base text used by the committee. What is not always apparent to scholars and readers of the Mandarin Union Version is the extent it has been modeled after the Peking Version, not only because of the high regard the committee members had for this early Bible translation in Mandarin Chinese, but also as a direct result of the manner by which the Mandarin Union Version was completed in a committee setting. By examining the historical context surrounding the translation of the Mandarin Union Version , and the textual features of it in comparison to the Peking Version, this article calls for a stronger emphasis on the role and influence of the Chinese base text on this widely-used Chinese Bible translation, as its popularity and scholarly interests persist, 100 years after its completion.