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The Old Testament Also Needs Annotations: The National Bible Society of Scotland's Annotated Edition of the Book of Proverbs in the Mandarin Union Version

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2020

GEORGE KAM WAH MAK
GEORGE KAM WAH MAK*
Affiliation:
Hong Kong Baptist [email protected]
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Abstract

This article explores the path of the National Bible Society of Scotland (NBSS) to publishing its annotated edition of Proverbs in the Mandarin Union Version in China during the Republican era. After providing an overview of how the NBSS became the first Bible society to publish annotated Chinese Gospels and Acts in the 1890s, this article examines why it took more than three decades thereafter for the NBSS to publish an annotated edition of another biblical book. It argues that one of the main reasons was that the NBSS had difficulty securing reputable scholarly Protestant missionaries’ services to prepare the necessary annotations. Moreover, this article suggests that the familiarity of the Chinese people with short and pithy sayings was a condition favourable for the reception of Proverbs in China. This, together with the status of the Mandarin Union Version as the standard biblical text for Chinese Protestants, helps explain why the NBSS eventually published an annotated edition of Proverbs in the Mandarin Union Version. Annotations in that edition of Proverbs are analysed to understand how they could help bridge the gaps between Proverbs and its Chinese readers, so as to shed light on why such an edition of Proverbs was well-received as an evangelistic tool.

Keywords

Mandarin Union VersionChinese BibleBook of ProverbsBiblical annotationsLate Qing and Republican ChinaNational Bible Society of ScotlandCharles W. AllanProtestant missionaries
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , January 2020 , pp. 73 - 91
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 2020

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Footnotes

1

This article is based on the author's work presented at the 2018 Meeting of the Yale-Edinburgh Group on the History of the Missionary Movement and World Christianity, which was held from 28th to 30th June 2018 at New College, University of Edinburgh. All English translations in this article are made by the author, unless indicated otherwise. The author would like to thank the Scottish Bible Society, the United Bible Societies (UBS) China Partnership and John Binnington (former Senior Information Co-ordinator, Scottish Bible Society) for their invaluable assistance in locating relevant archival materials. The author is also grateful to Hong Kong Bible Society for its permission to consult its copy of the NBSS annotated Proverbs in the Mandarin Union Version published in 1933. Last but not least, the author acknowledges financial support from Hong Kong Baptist University through its Faculty Research Grant (Project no. FRG2/16–17/060) and the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China through its General Research Fund (Project no. HKBU 12405414).

References

Bibliography

A. Archival Materials

I. The Archives of the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS Archives), Cambridge University Library, Cambridge

  1. 1.

    1. Minutes of Editorial Sub-Committee, 5th February 1908, BSA/C17/1/34.

  2. 2.

    2. G. W. Sheppard. “Memorandum on Reorganization of Bible Society Work in China”, BSA/D8/4/5/4.

1. Minutes of Editorial Sub-Committee, 5th February 1908, BSA/C17/1/34.

2. G. W. Sheppard. “Memorandum on Reorganization of Bible Society Work in China”, BSA/D8/4/5/4.

II. American Bible Society Archives (ABS Archives), Philadelphia

  1. 1.

    1. Margaret T. Hills. “ABS Historical Essay #16, IV-G-3. Text and Translation. Languages of China 1861–1900”, 1965.

  2. 2.

    2. Minutes of Committee on Versions, 27th April 1878.

  3. 3.

    3. One Hundred and Fourth Annual Report of the American Bible Society, 1920.

  4. 4.

    4. Erroll Rhodes. “ABS Historical Essay #16, Part VI-G. Text and Translation: Asian Languages 1931–66”, 1970.

1. Margaret T. Hills. “ABS Historical Essay #16, IV-G-3. Text and Translation. Languages of China 1861–1900”, 1965.

2. Minutes of Committee on Versions, 27th April 1878.

3. One Hundred and Fourth Annual Report of the American Bible Society, 1920.

4. Erroll Rhodes. “ABS Historical Essay #16, Part VI-G. Text and Translation: Asian Languages 1931–66”, 1970.

III. The Archives of the National Bible Society of Scotland (NBSS Archives), Scottish Bible Society, Edinburgh

a. Minutes

1. Minutes of the General Board of the National Bible Society of Scotland, 21st November 1892.

2. Minutes of General Board of Directors, 14th July 1919.

3. Minutes of General Board of Directors, 10th November 1919.

4. Minutes of General Board of Directors, 12th January 1920.

5. Minutes of General Board of Directors, 3rd March 1920.

6. Minutes of General Board of Directors, 12th July 1920.

7. Minutes of General Board of Directors, 8th November 1920.

8. Minutes of General Board of Directors, 14th March 1921.

9. Minutes of General Board of Directors, 12th March 1923.

10. Minutes of General Board of Directors, 8th July 1929.

11. Minutes of General Board of Directors, 11th November 1929.

12. Minutes of General Board of Directors, 11th May 1931.

13. Minutes of General Board of Directors, 14th September 1931.

14. Minutes of General Board of Directors, 14th March 1932.

15. Minutes of General Board of Directors, 12th November 1934.

16. Minutes of General Committee, 6th April 1914.

17. Minutes of Western Committee, 7th March 1864.

18. Minutes of Western Committee, 7th June 1864.

19. Minutes of Western Committee, 5th September 1864.

20. Minutes of Western Committee, 4th January 1869.

21. Minutes of Western Committee, 27th April 1869.

22. Minutes of Western Committee, 3rd May 1869.

23. Minutes of Western Committee, 7th June 1869.

24. Minutes of Western Committee, 1st March 1886.

25. Minutes of Western Committee, 5th April 1886.

26. Minutes of Western Committee, 2nd February 1891.

27. Minutes of Western Committee, 7th November 1892.

28. Minutes of Western Committee, 10th April 1893.

29. Minutes of Western Committee, 9th September 1895.

b. Correspondence

i. G. A. Frank Knight

  1. 1.

    1. Letter to Walter Milward, 17th September 1931.

  2. 2.

    2. Letter to Walter Milward, 14th November 1931.

  3. 3.

    3. Letter to Walter Milward, 12th March 1932.

1. Letter to Walter Milward, 17th September 1931.

2. Letter to Walter Milward, 14th November 1931.

3. Letter to Walter Milward, 12th March 1932.

ii. David McGavin

  1. 1.

    1. Letter to G. A. Frank Knight, 22nd December 1927.

  2. 2.

    2. Letter to G. A. Frank Knight, 6th June 1928.

  3. 3.

    3. Letter to G. A. Frank Knight, 29th August 1928.

  4. 4.

    4. Letter to G. A. Frank Knight, 15th February 1929.

  5. 5.

    5. Letter to G. A. Frank Knight, 25th July 1930.

  6. 6.

    6. Letter to G. A. Frank Knight, 27th February 1933.

  7. 7.

    7. Letter to G. A. Frank Knight, 5th May 1933.

1. Letter to G. A. Frank Knight, 22nd December 1927.

2. Letter to G. A. Frank Knight, 6th June 1928.

3. Letter to G. A. Frank Knight, 29th August 1928.

4. Letter to G. A. Frank Knight, 15th February 1929.

5. Letter to G. A. Frank Knight, 25th July 1930.

6. Letter to G. A. Frank Knight, 27th February 1933.

7. Letter to G. A. Frank Knight, 5th May 1933.

c. Others

1. Kathleen Cann. “Bible Work in China: Inception to 1959”, 1991.

2. Conquering the Darkness, Being the Annual Report for 1932 of the National Bible Society of Scotland.

3. “The Great Company”, Being the Annual Report for 1935 of the National Bible Society of Scotland.

4. David McGavin. “Central China Annual Report, for Year ended 30th Sept., 1925”.

5. Quarterly Record of the National Bible Society of Scotland (also cited as NBSS Quarterly Record), January 1896, April 1900, October 1902, January 1904, July 1933.

6. The Three Kingdoms, Annual Report 1929, National Bible Society of Scotland.

7. The Way of Peace, Being the Annual Report for 1933 of the National Bible Society of Scotland.

IV. Hong Kong Bible Society, Hong Kong

1. Jiuyue Zhenyan: Guanhua lüejie 舊約箴言：官話略解. Shanghai: National Bible Society of Scotland, 1933.

V. United Bible Societies (UBS) China Partnership, Singapore

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1.Abounding Opportunities: The 1929–30 Report of the Religious Tract Society for China. Hankow, 1930.Google Scholar
2.Berlin, Adele. “Cosmology and Creation”. In The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion, Second Edition, edited by Berlin, Adele and Grossman, Maxine. (Oxford, 2011).Google Scholar
3.Jintu, Cai 蔡錦圖 (Daniel Kam-to Choi). Shengjing zai Zhongguo: Fu Zhongwen Shengjing lishi mulu 聖經在中國：附中文聖經歷史目錄. (Hong Kong, 2018).Google Scholar
4.Dickson, William K.. “Introduction to Memories of Ayrshire”. Miscellany of the Scottish History Society, 33 (1939).Google Scholar
5.Fox, Michael V.. Proverbs 10-31: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. (New Haven and London, 2009).Google Scholar
6.Guangxuehui wushi zhounian jinian duanxun di wu qi 廣學會五十周年紀念短訊第五期. (Shanghai, 1937).Google Scholar
7.Herron, Andrew. Historical Directory of Glasgow Presbytery: Brief Historical Notes Regarding Congregations and Their Buildings within the Presbytery of Glasgow, revised and updated by Andrew Wale. 2007.Google Scholar
8.Knapp, Ronald G.. China's Old Dwellings. (Honolulu, 2000).Google Scholar
9.van Leeuwen, Raymond C.. “Cosmos, Temple, House: Building and Wisdom in Mesopotamia and Israel”. In Wisdom Literature in Mesopotamia and Israel, edited by Clifford, Richard J.. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007.Google Scholar
10.Lude, Li 李路德. “Lüe shu Shengjing Zhonghua yiben de laili bing Huaren zi yi ying ruhe zhunbei 略述聖經中華譯本的來歷並華人自譯應如何準備”. Wenshe yuekan 文社月刊, I, 3 (December 1925).Google Scholar
11.Lucas, Ernest C.. Proverbs. (Grand Rapids and Cambridge, 2015).Google Scholar
12.MacGillivray, D. (ed.). A Century of Protestant Missions in China (1807–1907) Being the Centenary Conference Historical Volume. (Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1907).Google Scholar
13.Wah Mak, George Kam. “The Belated Formation of the China Bible House (1937): Nationalism and the Indigenization of Protestantism in Republican China”. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 78, 3 (2015).Google Scholar
14.Wah Mak, George Kam. “Laissez-faire or Active Intervention? The Nature of the British and Foreign Bible Society's Patronage of the Translation of the Chinese Union Versions”. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, series 3, 20, 2 (2010).Google Scholar
15.Wah Mak, George Kam. Protestant Bible Translation and Mandarin as the National Language of China. (Leiden, 2017).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Wah Mak, George Kam. “To Add or not to Add? The British and Foreign Bible Society's Defence of the ‘Without Note or Comment’ Principle in Late Qing China”. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, series 3, 25, 2 (2015).Google Scholar
17.Malan, Solomon Caesar. Original Notes on the Book of Proverbs. Mostly from the Eastern Writings. Vol. II, Ch. XI-XX. (Edinburgh, Williams and Norgate, 1892).Google Scholar
18.McKane, William. Proverbs: A New Approach. (London, 1980).Google Scholar
19.“Meeting of the Board of Revisers”. Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal, XXIII (1892).Google Scholar
20.Murphy, Roland E. and Huwiler, Elizabeth. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. Peabody; (Carlisle, 1999).Google Scholar
21.“New Departure”. North China Daily News, 27th February 1893.Google Scholar
22.Records. China Centenary Missionary Conference Held at Shanghai, April 25 to May 8, 1907. Shanghai: Centenary Conference Committee, 1907.Google Scholar
23.Records of the General Conference of the Protestant Missionaries of China, Held at Shanghai, May 10–24, 1877. (Shanghai, Presbyterian Mission Press, 1878).Google Scholar
24.Scott, Gregory Adam. “Navigating the Sea of Scriptures: The Buddhist Studies Collectanea, 1918–1923”. In Religious Publishing and Print Culture in Modern China, 1800–2012, edited by Clart, Philip and Scott, Gregory Adam, (Boston, Berlin, 2015).Google Scholar
25.Secularism and Evangelism: The 1928–9 Report of the Religious Tract Society for China. (Hankow, 1929).Google Scholar
26.Sowing and Reaping: The Forty-Third Annual Report of the Christian Literature Society for China. (Shanghai, 1930).Google Scholar
27.Spillett, Hubert W.. A Catalogue of Scriptures in the Languages of China and the Republic of China. London: British and Foreign Bible Society, 1975.Google Scholar
28.Toy, Crawford H.. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The Book of Proverbs. (Edinburgh, T & T Clark, 1899).Google Scholar
29.Waltke, Bruce K.. The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15. (Grand Rapids and Cambridge, 2004).Google Scholar
30.Zetzsche, Jost Oliver. The Bible in China: The History of the Union Version or The Culmination of Protestant Missionary Bible Translation in China. (Sankt Augustin, 1999).Google Scholar
31.“Zhu Hua san da Shengjinghui yi jiu san er nian baogaoshu 駐華三大聖經會一九三二年報告書”. Shengjing Gonghui bao 聖經公會報, II (April 1933).Google Scholar