Revised Chinese Bible's launch marks end of three-decade quest

The revised Chinese Bible was launched yesterday after 27 years of strenuous work by an international team of scholars and experts.

This brings the 90-year-old version up to date.

The Chinese Union Version (CUV) Bible has been hailed as the most-read Chinese Bible since its publication in 1919. At present, 90 per cent of about 70 million Chinese Christians around the world are believed to use it.

'The CUV appeared in 1919 and has been read for over 90 years, becoming the preferred Bible for many Chinese Christians,' Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said. 'Revising the CUV has been a huge task, taking almost 30 years to complete. I believe the revised CUV will enable us to have a better understanding of God's word.'

Tsang, along with major participants in the revision project around the world, officiated at the volume's launch at St John's Cathedral yesterday. Nora Lucero, global board chairwoman of the United Bible Societies, said: 'I must stress that the [revised] CUV is not a new translation.'

She said the original CUV had an 'elegant and dignified literary style that people love', and the revision was 'carried out with utmost caution and aims to produce a text acceptable to Chinese readers from mainland China'.

Speaking at the launch, Ma Yuhong, from the State Administration for Religious Affairs, said the administration hoped the revision would gain broad support.