From the Incarnate Lord to the Descending Sovereign: Hong Xiuquan’s Re-translation of the Bible in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

Abstract

<p>This paper examines a controversial Chinese Bible printed and disseminated during the heyday of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851-1864). Soon after the translation of Karl Gützlaff (1803-1851) was adopted and reprinted by the Taipings in 1853, Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King of the new regime in South China, engaged in a purposeful revision of Gützlaff’s work. In the imperially authorized second edition of the Taiping Bible (1861), Hong freely borrowed from a repertoire of names, ideas, and expressions—<em>xiafan</em> 下凡 (descending to the mortal world), <em>Yanluo</em> 閻羅 (Yama), and <em>sanshisan tian</em> 三十三天 (thirty-three heavens), etc.—from Chinese folk religions to replace or alter those in Gützlaff’s earlier translation. He further made use of certain paratexts, such as personal commentaries and special formats, to ensure the same level of sacredness between the “scriptural” texts and his new interpretations in line with the theocratic state-building and religious practices of the Taiping. Aside from the available research on its political and ideological implications, the Taiping Bible also allows us to have a glimpse into the Christian encounter and negotiation with Chinese folk beliefs through a dynamic process of re-translations and re-interpretations. </p>