Mr Jiang [WR410/27 PRC06DJ-1607]

‘There are such good things in God’s Word – why did you not tell us before?’

The challenges of Bible translation in Yunnan Province

When the wife of a rural Miao pastor received a draft translation of Genesis and Proverbs from the Miao Old Testament translation project, she was very excited. It was the first time that she had the opportunity to read the Bible in her own language. But when she had finished reading the two books, she felt frustrated and elated at the same time.

“There are such good things in God’s Word,” she told her husband. “Why did you not tell us before?” She is one of the many thousands of Miao Christians who have been eagerly awaiting the translation of the Old Testament into their language for more than 16 years. The translation project began in 1990 but a lack of funds halted the work in 1994. Four years later the work was resumed and a draft of the Old Testament is now complete. A revision of the Miao New Testament was published in 1917 but it is almost impossible for Miao speakers today to understand. Most Miao and other minority language churches currently use Chinese Bibles.

Challenges

The six translators have faced many challenges in their work. As well as being slowed down by a lack of funds, they have also struggled to convey some of the unfamiliar things expressed in the Bible, according to Mr Jiang, Vice-Chairman of the Yunnan CCC/TSPM, who is responsible for overseeing Bible translation in the province. “There are many differences between life in the Bible and life in the mountain villages where many of the minority groups live. How do you translate the word, ‘camel’, for instance, when you have never seen one? The Miao translators have expressed it as ‘a horse with a long neck’,” he says. “And there are many other examples where the translators have struggled with biblical terminology.”

A Miao church congregation reading the Bible [WR410/27 PRC06DJ-1607]

Support

But, despite the challenges, the Miao translators have been greatly encouraged by the unwavering support of the Miao Christian community, who, eager to speed their work along, have been sending them gifts of rice, meat and vegetables. The translators are based in the Wuding Bible Translation and Training Centre – one of 20 such centres run by the Yunnan Theological Seminary in Kunming. The centre offers a variety of courses and is attended by students from six different minority groups. The East Lisu Bible translation team is also based at the centre. They have been working on the New Testament since 1992 and recently produced a draft for which they are awaiting feedback. They will then make the final changes to the manuscript. Like the Miao Old Testament project, the East Lisu Bible project has a chequered history. The first East Lisu New Testament, known as the Metcalf translation, was completed as early as 1951 and printed in Hong Kong. In 1952, however, all foreign missionaries were expelled from China and the manuscript was lost, and none of the Scriptures ever reached the East Lisu people. For many years, it was believed that the translation was lost forever but a copy was found in Hong Kong in 1999, during preparations for a Chinese Bible exhibition. It was returned to the East Lisu people, who were delighted to have it. Although the language it uses is out of date, it has been a useful reference for the translation team, who also refer to the Chinese Union Version and Today’s Chinese Version.

Farming in the Miao area of Yunnan Province [WR410/27 PRC06DJ-1805]

The translation team working on the Miao Bible translation project [WR410/27 PRC06DJ-757]

(WR410/27-04.07) [15 photos]