Chinese Union Version (CMNUNVS)

Overview

The Chinese Union Version (CUV) was commissioned at the 1890 Shanghai Missionary Conference, where a pan-Protestant committee planned three parallel versions — two in classical Chinese (high and easy Wenli) and one in vernacular Mandarin. It was translated by a panel with members from many different Protestant denominations, using the English Revised Version as a basis and the original manuscripts for crosschecking. The Mandarin panel was chaired by Calvin W. Mateer, joined by Chauncey Goodrich, Frederick W. Baller, Spencer Lewis, and George Sydney Owen, each working with Chinese assistants. Work on the CUV began in 1890; the New Testament appeared in 1906 and the complete Bible in 1919. Two versions were created: an amalgamated classical Chinese translation and one vernacular Mandarin translation. The CUV is the second translated work to be published in vernacular Mandarin Chinese, after the first vernacular Chinese Bible, the Peking Committee Bible. The vernacular Mandarin edition became the standard text of Chinese Protestantism and remains in print through the Hong Kong Bible Society, the Bible Society in Taiwan, and Amity Printing Co. in Nanjing.

Language and People

Mandarin Chinese (ISO 639-3: cmn) is spoken by approximately 918,000,000 people in China. [Glottolog: mand1415]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Bible Society of Hong Kong.