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26/07/2024
Prayer Updates
Who was the first Christian martyr in China?
The first Christian martyrs in China appear to have been the missionaries of Ili Bâliq in Central Asia, Khan-Bâlig (Peking), and Zaitun (Fu-kien), in the middle of the fourteenth century. Islam had been introduced into Central Asia, and in China, the native dynasty of Ming, replacing the Mongol dynasty of Yuan, had not followed the policy of toleration of their predecessors; the Hungarian, Matthew Escandel, being possibly the first martyr. Their story is well worth a read.
https://www.asiaharvest.org/china-resources/xinjiang/1342-the-ili-massacre
Who was the first person to translate the Bible into Chinese?
Chinese people have had a long wait for the gospel written in their language. The earliest record of the Chinese Bible translation was the Nestorian Monument in China, founded in Xi'an in 1625. There were apparently a few Bible translations in Chinese in late Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty, but no complete Bible translation was released.
The first completed New Testament was produced by Robert Morrison who arrived in China in 1807. He published his NT at Canton in 1813, followed by a second edition in smaller format in 1815. Robert Morrison's complete Bible was printed in 1823. However, a Chinese Bible had been completed outside China, a year prior by Lassar and Marshman, and was published serially in Serampore, starting with the Pentateuch in 1817, the whole Bible being completed in 1822 with the publication in that year of the New Testament and the Old Testament books Joshua-Esther.
What was the first name for the Chinese Bible?
In the early days of Chinese Bible translations, missionaries found that it was a tradition for the Chinese people to call important classics as "jing". As a result, they used the term to name significant Christian classics. During the 17th century, Jesuit missionaries who preached in China added the word "sheng" before "jing". Eventually, the Bible was called "Sheng Jing" that suggested that the Christian classic was a "divine revelation".
The term "Sheng Jing" first appeared in the True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven written by Matteo Ricci, but it exclusively referred to the Bible. Among the names of Chinese translated Bibles, the word was first officially presented in the unpublished Poirot's Chinese Bible. Since then, "Sheng Jing" is often used to refer to the Bible.
When was the first Chinese Christian radio broadcast?
Christian radio was first broadcast in 1924. But it seems that it was not till the 1930's that the first protestant Christian radio station was established in China by the Shanghai-based Christian Literature Society (CLS). [See 'From God to Climate Change,' by Tony Garnier ISBN 978-1-78222-969-8.] In 1933-34 the Society's new 7-story building became the site of a studio and a radio-mast. The original 150kW station was replaced with a new 1,000kW transmitter in 1936 - at the time it was the largest transmitting power among China's domestic private radio stations.
Prayer points
Praise God for people like Robert Morrison who took on the massive task of translating the Bible into Chinese.
Pray that the Bible, undiluted and unrevised, will again be freely available in China.
Pray that Christian radio will continue to have impact inside China. Pray for ministries like FEBC who continue to bring hope to hungry hearts.