Psalm 3 as classical Chinese poetry

John Wu Ching-hsiung (1899-1986) was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a renowned jurist who studied in Europe and the United States, and served as a professor of law at Soochow University, as a judge and the Acting President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, and as the Vice President of the Commission for the Drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of China, before becoming the Minister of the Republic of China to the Holy See. Wu has written extensively, not only on law but also on Chinese philosophy, and has also written his autobiography, Beyond East and West, in English. Wu was a devout Catholic and had a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). Wu began translating the the Psalms in 1938, and was encouraged by Chiang to translate the entire New Testament, which he corrected in his own handwriting. (…) John Wu Ching-hsiung’s translation of the Psalms (first draft in 1946, revised in 1975) was translated into Literary Chinese in the form of poetic rhyme, with attention paid to the style of writing. According to the content and mood of the different chapters of the original psalm, Wu chose Chinese poetic forms such as tetrameter, pentameter, heptameter [4, 5 or 7 syllables/Chinese characters per stanza], and the [less formal] Sao style, and sometimes more than two poetic forms were used in a single poem. (Source: Simon Wong)

John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)

“Nothing could have been farther from my mind than to translate the Bible or any parts of it with a view to publishing it as an authorized version. I had rendered some of the Psalms into Chinese verse, but that was done as a part of my private devotion and as a literary hobby. When I was in Hongkong in 1938, I had come to know Madame H. H. Kung [Soong Ai-ling], and as she was deeply interested in the Bible, I gave her about a dozen pieces of my amateurish work just for her own enjoyment. What was my surprise when, the next time I saw her, she told me, “My sister [Soong Mei-ling] has written to say that the Generalissimo [Chiang Kai-shek] likes your translation of the Psalms very much, especially the first, the fifteenth, and the twenty-third, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd!”

“In the Autumn of 1940, when I was in Chungking, the Generalissimo invited me several times to lunch with him and expressed his appreciation of the few pieces that he had read. So I sent him some more. A few days later I received a letter from Madame Chiang [Soong Mei-ling], dated September 21, 1940, in which she said that they both liked my translation of the few Psalms I had sent them. ‘For many years,’ she wrote, ‘the Generalissimo has been wanting to have a really adequate and readable Wen-li (literary) translation of the Bible. He has never been able to find anyone who could undertake the matter.’ The letter ends up by saying that I should take up the job and that ‘the Generalissimo would gladly finance the undertaking of this work.’

“After some preliminary study of the commentaries, I started my work with the Psalms on January 6, 1943, the Feast of the Epiphany.

“I had three thousand years of Chinese literature to draw upon. The Chinese vocabulary for describing the beauties of nature is so rich that I seldom failed to find a word, a phrase, and sometimes even a whole line to fit the scene. But what makes such Psalms so unique is that they bring an intimate knowledge of the Creator to bear upon a loving observation of things of nature. I think one of the reasons why my translation is so well received by the Chinese scholars is that I have made the Psalms read like native poems written by a Chinese, who happens to be a Christian. Thus to my countrymen they are at once familiar and new — not so familiar as to be jejune, and not so new as to be bizarre. I did not publish it as a literal translation, but only as a paraphrase.

“To my greatest surprise, [my translation of the Psalms] sold like hot dogs. The popularity of that work was beyond my fondest dreams. Numberless papers and periodicals, irrespective of religion, published reviews too good to be true. I was very much tickled when I saw the opening verse of the first Psalm used as a headline on the front page of one of the non-religious dailies.”


A contemporary researcher (Lindblom 2021) mentions this about Wu’s translation: “Wu created a unique and personal work of sacred art that bears the imprint of his own admitted love and devotion, a landmark achievement comparable to Antoni Gaudi’s Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. Although its use is still somewhat limited today, it continues to attract readers for the aforementioned qualities, and continues to be used in prayers and music by those who desire beauty and an authentic Chinese-sounding text that draws from China’s ancient traditions.”

The translation of Psalm 3 from the 1946 edition is in tetrameter and pentameter (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):

恃主無恐

主乎主乎。吾敵何多。耀武揚威。向我操戈。 曰彼無神助。其如予何。
主作我盾。護我周圍。主為我光。令我揚眉。 竭聲籲主。聲達靈帷。
寤寐思服。主恩罔極。 雖在重圍。何所用懾。
主乎救我。俯聽悲嗟。既批敵頰。又折其牙。 鮮民何恃。主德無涯。

Transcription into Roman alphabet:

shì zhǔ wú kǒng

zhǔ hū zhǔ hū 。 wú dí hé duō 。 yào wǔ yáng wēi 。 xiàng wǒ cāo gē 。 yuē bǐ wú shén zhù 。 qí rú yú hé 。
zhǔ zuò wǒ dùn 。 hù wǒ zhōu wéi 。 zhǔ wéi wǒ guāng 。 líng wǒ yáng méi 。 jié shēng xū zhǔ 。 shēng dá líng wéi 。
wù mèi sī fú 。 zhǔ ēn wǎng jí 。 suī zài zhòng wéi 。 hé suǒ yòng shè 。
zhǔ hū jiù wǒ 。 fǔ tīng bēi jiē 。 jì pī dí jiá 。 yòu zhē qí yá 。 xiān mín hé shì 。 zhǔ dé wú yá 。

With thanks to Simon Wong.

Psalm 4 as classical Chinese poetry

John Wu Ching-hsiung (1899-1986) was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a renowned jurist who studied in Europe and the United States, and served as a professor of law at Soochow University, as a judge and the Acting President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, and as the Vice President of the Commission for the Drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of China, before becoming the Minister of the Republic of China to the Holy See. Wu has written extensively, not only on law but also on Chinese philosophy, and has also written his autobiography, Beyond East and West, in English. Wu was a devout Catholic and had a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). Wu began translating the the Psalms in 1938, and was encouraged by Chiang to translate the entire New Testament, which he corrected in his own handwriting. (…) John Wu Ching-hsiung’s translation of the Psalms (first draft in 1946, revised in 1975) was translated into Literary Chinese in the form of poetic rhyme, with attention paid to the style of writing. According to the content and mood of the different chapters of the original psalm, Wu chose Chinese poetic forms such as tetrameter, pentameter, heptameter [4, 5 or 7 syllables/Chinese characters per stanza], and the [less formal] Sao style, and sometimes more than two poetic forms were used in a single poem. (Source: Simon Wong)

John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)

“Nothing could have been farther from my mind than to translate the Bible or any parts of it with a view to publishing it as an authorized version. I had rendered some of the Psalms into Chinese verse, but that was done as a part of my private devotion and as a literary hobby. When I was in Hongkong in 1938, I had come to know Madame H. H. Kung [Soong Ai-ling], and as she was deeply interested in the Bible, I gave her about a dozen pieces of my amateurish work just for her own enjoyment. What was my surprise when, the next time I saw her, she told me, “My sister [Soong Mei-ling] has written to say that the Generalissimo [Chiang Kai-shek] likes your translation of the Psalms very much, especially the first, the fifteenth, and the twenty-third, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd!”

“In the Autumn of 1940, when I was in Chungking, the Generalissimo invited me several times to lunch with him and expressed his appreciation of the few pieces that he had read. So I sent him some more. A few days later I received a letter from Madame Chiang [Soong Mei-ling], dated September 21, 1940, in which she said that they both liked my translation of the few Psalms I had sent them. ‘For many years,’ she wrote, ‘the Generalissimo has been wanting to have a really adequate and readable Wen-li (literary) translation of the Bible. He has never been able to find anyone who could undertake the matter.’ The letter ends up by saying that I should take up the job and that ‘the Generalissimo would gladly finance the undertaking of this work.’

“After some preliminary study of the commentaries, I started my work with the Psalms on January 6, 1943, the Feast of the Epiphany.

“I had three thousand years of Chinese literature to draw upon. The Chinese vocabulary for describing the beauties of nature is so rich that I seldom failed to find a word, a phrase, and sometimes even a whole line to fit the scene. But what makes such Psalms so unique is that they bring an intimate knowledge of the Creator to bear upon a loving observation of things of nature. I think one of the reasons why my translation is so well received by the Chinese scholars is that I have made the Psalms read like native poems written by a Chinese, who happens to be a Christian. Thus to my countrymen they are at once familiar and new — not so familiar as to be jejune, and not so new as to be bizarre. I did not publish it as a literal translation, but only as a paraphrase.

“To my greatest surprise, [my translation of the Psalms] sold like hot dogs. The popularity of that work was beyond my fondest dreams. Numberless papers and periodicals, irrespective of religion, published reviews too good to be true. I was very much tickled when I saw the opening verse of the first Psalm used as a headline on the front page of one of the non-religious dailies.”


A contemporary researcher (Lindblom 2021) mentions this about Wu’s translation: “Wu created a unique and personal work of sacred art that bears the imprint of his own admitted love and devotion, a landmark achievement comparable to Antoni Gaudi’s Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. Although its use is still somewhat limited today, it continues to attract readers for the aforementioned qualities, and continues to be used in prayers and music by those who desire beauty and an authentic Chinese-sounding text that draws from China’s ancient traditions.”

The translation of Psalm 4 from the 1946 edition is in pentameter (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):

恃主常樂

呼籲公明主。為我伸冤屈。昔曾出我厄。令我得安逸。今者復求主。垂憐申舊德。 嗚呼濁世子。何時知曲直。狂妄安能逞。豈無黑與白。 須知主公明。忠良是所秩。我求主必應。何苦自作孽。 清夜當捫心。一省順與逆。 應獻忠誠祭。順命斯無失。
眾庶喁喁望。何日見時康。吾心惟仰主。願見主容光。 主已將天樂。貯我腔子裏。人情樂豐年。有酒多且旨。豐年誠足樂。美酒豈無味。未若我心中。一團歡愉意。 心曠神亦怡。登榻即成寐。問君何能爾。恃主而已矣。

Transcription into Roman alphabet:

shì zhǔ cháng lè

hū xū gōng míng zhǔ 。 wéi wǒ shēn yuān qū 。 xī zēng chū wǒ è 。 líng wǒ dé ān yì 。 jīn zhě fù qiú zhǔ 。 chuí lián shēn jiù dé 。 wū hū zhuó shì zǐ 。 hé shí zhī qū zhí 。 kuáng wàng ān néng chěng 。 qǐ wú hēi yǔ bái 。 xū zhī zhǔ gōng míng 。 zhōng liáng shì suǒ zhì 。 wǒ qiú zhǔ bì yīng 。 hé kǔ zì zuò niè 。 qīng yè dāng mén xīn 。 yī shěng shùn yǔ nì 。 yīng xiàn zhōng chéng jì 。 shùn mìng sī wú shī 。
zhòng shù yóng yóng wàng 。 hé rì jiàn shí kāng 。 wú xīn wéi yǎng zhǔ 。 yuàn jiàn zhǔ róng guāng 。 zhǔ yǐ jiāng tiān lè 。 zhù wǒ qiāng zǐ lǐ 。 rén qíng lè fēng nián 。 yǒu jiǔ duō qiě zhǐ 。 fēng nián chéng zú lè 。 měi jiǔ qǐ wú wèi 。 wèi ruò wǒ xīn zhōng 。 yī tuán huān yú yì 。 xīn kuàng shén yì yí 。 dēng tà jí chéng mèi 。 wèn jūn hé néng ěr 。 shì zhǔ ér yǐ yǐ 。

With thanks to Simon Wong.

Psalm 5 as classical Chinese poetry

John Wu Ching-hsiung (1899-1986) was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a renowned jurist who studied in Europe and the United States, and served as a professor of law at Soochow University, as a judge and the Acting President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, and as the Vice President of the Commission for the Drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of China, before becoming the Minister of the Republic of China to the Holy See. Wu has written extensively, not only on law but also on Chinese philosophy, and has also written his autobiography, Beyond East and West, in English. Wu was a devout Catholic and had a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). Wu began translating the the Psalms in 1938, and was encouraged by Chiang to translate the entire New Testament, which he corrected in his own handwriting. (…) John Wu Ching-hsiung’s translation of the Psalms (first draft in 1946, revised in 1975) was translated into Literary Chinese in the form of poetic rhyme, with attention paid to the style of writing. According to the content and mood of the different chapters of the original psalm, Wu chose Chinese poetic forms such as tetrameter, pentameter, heptameter [4, 5 or 7 syllables/Chinese characters per stanza], and the [less formal] Sao style, and sometimes more than two poetic forms were used in a single poem. (Source: Simon Wong)

John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)

“Nothing could have been farther from my mind than to translate the Bible or any parts of it with a view to publishing it as an authorized version. I had rendered some of the Psalms into Chinese verse, but that was done as a part of my private devotion and as a literary hobby. When I was in Hongkong in 1938, I had come to know Madame H. H. Kung [Soong Ai-ling], and as she was deeply interested in the Bible, I gave her about a dozen pieces of my amateurish work just for her own enjoyment. What was my surprise when, the next time I saw her, she told me, “My sister [Soong Mei-ling] has written to say that the Generalissimo [Chiang Kai-shek] likes your translation of the Psalms very much, especially the first, the fifteenth, and the twenty-third, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd!”

“In the Autumn of 1940, when I was in Chungking, the Generalissimo invited me several times to lunch with him and expressed his appreciation of the few pieces that he had read. So I sent him some more. A few days later I received a letter from Madame Chiang [Soong Mei-ling], dated September 21, 1940, in which she said that they both liked my translation of the few Psalms I had sent them. ‘For many years,’ she wrote, ‘the Generalissimo has been wanting to have a really adequate and readable Wen-li (literary) translation of the Bible. He has never been able to find anyone who could undertake the matter.’ The letter ends up by saying that I should take up the job and that ‘the Generalissimo would gladly finance the undertaking of this work.’

“After some preliminary study of the commentaries, I started my work with the Psalms on January 6, 1943, the Feast of the Epiphany.

“I had three thousand years of Chinese literature to draw upon. The Chinese vocabulary for describing the beauties of nature is so rich that I seldom failed to find a word, a phrase, and sometimes even a whole line to fit the scene. But what makes such Psalms so unique is that they bring an intimate knowledge of the Creator to bear upon a loving observation of things of nature. I think one of the reasons why my translation is so well received by the Chinese scholars is that I have made the Psalms read like native poems written by a Chinese, who happens to be a Christian. Thus to my countrymen they are at once familiar and new — not so familiar as to be jejune, and not so new as to be bizarre. I did not publish it as a literal translation, but only as a paraphrase.

“To my greatest surprise, [my translation of the Psalms] sold like hot dogs. The popularity of that work was beyond my fondest dreams. Numberless papers and periodicals, irrespective of religion, published reviews too good to be true. I was very much tickled when I saw the opening verse of the first Psalm used as a headline on the front page of one of the non-religious dailies.”


A contemporary researcher (Lindblom 2021) mentions this about Wu’s translation: “Wu created a unique and personal work of sacred art that bears the imprint of his own admitted love and devotion, a landmark achievement comparable to Antoni Gaudi’s Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. Although its use is still somewhat limited today, it continues to attract readers for the aforementioned qualities, and continues to be used in prayers and music by those who desire beauty and an authentic Chinese-sounding text that draws from China’s ancient traditions.”

The translation of Psalm 5 from the 1946 edition is in pentameter with rhyme schemes based on -ao and -e (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):

疾惡如讎

呼籲公明主。為我伸冤屈。昔曾出我厄。令我得安逸。今者復求主。垂憐申舊德。 嗚呼濁世子。何時知曲直。狂妄安能逞。豈無黑與白。 須知主公明。忠良是所秩。我求主必應。何苦自作孽。 清夜當捫心。一省順與逆。 應獻忠誠祭。順命斯無失。
眾庶喁喁望。何日見時康。吾心惟仰主。願見主容光。 主已將天樂。貯我腔子裏。人情樂豐年。有酒多且旨。豐年誠足樂。美酒豈無味。未若我心中。一團歡愉意。 心曠神亦怡。登榻即成寐。問君何能爾。恃主而已矣。

Transcription into Roman alphabet:

jí è rú chóu

yǎ wěi wú zhǔ zǎi 。 qīng ěr tīng wǒ dǎo 。 jiàn wǒ mò mò qíng 。 líng wǒ āi āi hào 。 míng fā jí huái zhǔ 。 chén shěng qǐ bù zǎo 。 wú wàng wéi 眞 zǎi 。 huái rén yǐ wéi bǎo 。 zhèng xié bù tóng jū 。 shàn è bù tóng dào 。 wéi shàn gù jí è 。 tòng jué zhū xiōng bào 。 qún xiǎo zài zhǔ qián 。 yān néng cháng zì bǎo 。
wǒ yù rù zhǔ shì 。 chàng zhān zhǔ gāo zé 。 yuán jù jìng wèi xīn 。 zhāo bài ěr shèng zhái 。 qiú zhǔ bǎo wǒ shēn 。 mò wéi dí suǒ dé 。 píng yì ěr dào lù 。 fú wǒ shù wú jué 。 dí rén hé jiǎo huá 。 chū yán wú chéng shí 。 xié è sāi fèi fǔ 。 xīn dú kǒu zé mì 。 yān hóu rú huāng fén 。 xià mái xiǔ fǔ gǔ 。 wàng zhǔ cì chěng fá 。 biǎn zhé zhū pàn nì 。 yù shǐ zhòng chǒu lèi 。 zì zhuì xiàn rén kū 。 shù jī lài zhǔ zhě 。 wàng fēng xián xiāng yuè 。 yáng méi ér tǔ qì 。 huān shēng sòng dì lì 。 ài dài shèng míng zhě 。 tuō bì xiǎng ān yì 。 yuàn zhǔ nà shàn rén 。 yōng róng shì ěr cè 。

With thanks to Simon Wong.

Psalm 7 as classical Chinese poetry

John Wu Ching-hsiung (1899-1986) was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a renowned jurist who studied in Europe and the United States, and served as a professor of law at Soochow University, as a judge and the Acting President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, and as the Vice President of the Commission for the Drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of China, before becoming the Minister of the Republic of China to the Holy See. Wu has written extensively, not only on law but also on Chinese philosophy, and has also written his autobiography, Beyond East and West, in English. Wu was a devout Catholic and had a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). Wu began translating the the Psalms in 1938, and was encouraged by Chiang to translate the entire New Testament, which he corrected in his own handwriting. (…) John Wu Ching-hsiung’s translation of the Psalms (first draft in 1946, revised in 1975) was translated into Literary Chinese in the form of poetic rhyme, with attention paid to the style of writing. According to the content and mood of the different chapters of the original psalm, Wu chose Chinese poetic forms such as tetrameter, pentameter, heptameter [4, 5 or 7 syllables/Chinese characters per stanza], and the [less formal] Sao style, and sometimes more than two poetic forms were used in a single poem. (Source: Simon Wong)

John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)

“Nothing could have been farther from my mind than to translate the Bible or any parts of it with a view to publishing it as an authorized version. I had rendered some of the Psalms into Chinese verse, but that was done as a part of my private devotion and as a literary hobby. When I was in Hongkong in 1938, I had come to know Madame H. H. Kung [Soong Ai-ling], and as she was deeply interested in the Bible, I gave her about a dozen pieces of my amateurish work just for her own enjoyment. What was my surprise when, the next time I saw her, she told me, “My sister [Soong Mei-ling] has written to say that the Generalissimo [Chiang Kai-shek] likes your translation of the Psalms very much, especially the first, the fifteenth, and the twenty-third, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd!”

“In the Autumn of 1940, when I was in Chungking, the Generalissimo invited me several times to lunch with him and expressed his appreciation of the few pieces that he had read. So I sent him some more. A few days later I received a letter from Madame Chiang [Soong Mei-ling], dated September 21, 1940, in which she said that they both liked my translation of the few Psalms I had sent them. ‘For many years,’ she wrote, ‘the Generalissimo has been wanting to have a really adequate and readable Wen-li (literary) translation of the Bible. He has never been able to find anyone who could undertake the matter.’ The letter ends up by saying that I should take up the job and that ‘the Generalissimo would gladly finance the undertaking of this work.’

“After some preliminary study of the commentaries, I started my work with the Psalms on January 6, 1943, the Feast of the Epiphany.

“I had three thousand years of Chinese literature to draw upon. The Chinese vocabulary for describing the beauties of nature is so rich that I seldom failed to find a word, a phrase, and sometimes even a whole line to fit the scene. But what makes such Psalms so unique is that they bring an intimate knowledge of the Creator to bear upon a loving observation of things of nature. I think one of the reasons why my translation is so well received by the Chinese scholars is that I have made the Psalms read like native poems written by a Chinese, who happens to be a Christian. Thus to my countrymen they are at once familiar and new — not so familiar as to be jejune, and not so new as to be bizarre. I did not publish it as a literal translation, but only as a paraphrase.

“To my greatest surprise, [my translation of the Psalms] sold like hot dogs. The popularity of that work was beyond my fondest dreams. Numberless papers and periodicals, irrespective of religion, published reviews too good to be true. I was very much tickled when I saw the opening verse of the first Psalm used as a headline on the front page of one of the non-religious dailies.”


A contemporary researcher (Lindblom 2021) mentions this about Wu’s translation: “Wu created a unique and personal work of sacred art that bears the imprint of his own admitted love and devotion, a landmark achievement comparable to Antoni Gaudi’s Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. Although its use is still somewhat limited today, it continues to attract readers for the aforementioned qualities, and continues to be used in prayers and music by those who desire beauty and an authentic Chinese-sounding text that draws from China’s ancient traditions.”

The translation of Psalm 7 from the 1946 edition is in pentameter and heptameter with rhyme schemes based on -an and -ai (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):

被誣

雅瑋吾天主。賴爾得平安。仇人肆誣衊。無風起波瀾。求主速營救。莫使我被害。 彼人兇如獅。吞我心方快。除主復何恃。不救吾其殆。 倘吾曾為此。有罪在雙腕。 苟以怨報德。未以德報怨。 任憑彼凌虐。雖死亦無憾。身敗不足論。名裂固所願。 我實未為此。請主奮身起。為我抗眾敵。莫容橫逆熾。 願主作裁判。高坐爾王位。眾民亦會集。環立爾周圍。 但願睿哲主。鑒察我忠義。按照爾公平。報答我純粹。 欲使惡人懼。不敢行無禮。欲使義人喜。沛然自奮勵。我主固全知。洞悉人腑肺。
主是護身盾。永保正直人。 天威何顯赫。裁判公且明。 磨刀霍霍箭在弦。人不回頭將受刑。 兵戈火箭莫不備。誰能不畏主之嗔。 惡人如妊婦。臨蓐時在即。所懷惟禍胎。所產乃妖孽。 心勞信日拙。自墜陷人窟。悖出亦悖入。自中毒人螫。 出爾竟反爾。自傷投人石。報應何昭著。絲毫無爽忒。 欲頌公平主。欲揚至尊德。

Transcription into Roman alphabet with rhymes highlighted:

bèi wū

yǎ wěi wú tiān zhǔ 。 lài ěr dé píng ān 。 chóu rén sì wū miè 。 wú fēng qǐ bō lán 。 qiú zhǔ sù yíng jiù 。 mò shǐ wǒ bèi hài 。 bǐ rén xiōng rú shī 。 tūn wǒ xīn fāng kuài 。 chú zhǔ fù hé shì 。 bù jiù wú qí dài 。 tǎng wú zēng wéi cǐ 。 yǒu zuì zài shuāng wàn 。 gǒu yǐ yuàn bào dé 。 wèi yǐ dé bào yuàn 。 rèn píng bǐ língnnüè 。 suī sǐ yì wú hàn 。 shēn bài bù zú lùn 。 míng liè gù suǒ yuàn 。 wǒ shí wèi wéi cǐ 。 qǐng zhǔ fèn shēn qǐ 。 wéi wǒ kàng zhòng dí 。 mò róng héng nì chì 。 yuàn zhǔ zuò cái pàn 。 gāo zuò ěr wáng wèi 。 zhòng mín yì huì jí 。 huán lì ěr zhōu wéi 。 dàn yuàn ruì zhé zhǔ 。 jiàn chá wǒ zhōng yì 。 àn zhào ěr gōng píng 。 bào dá wǒ chún cuì 。 yù shǐ è rén jù 。 bù gǎn xíng wú lǐ 。 yù shǐ yì rén xǐ 。 pèi rán zì fèn lì 。 wǒ zhǔ gù quán zhī 。 dòng xī rén fǔ fèi 。
zhǔ shì hù shēn dùn 。 yǒng bǎo zhèng zhí rén 。 tiān wēi hé xiǎn hè 。 cái pàn gōng qiě míng 。 mó dāo huò huò jiàn zài xián 。 rén bù huí tóu jiāng shòu xíng 。 bīng gē huǒ jiàn mò bù bèi 。 shuí néng bù wèi zhǔ zhī chēn 。 è rén rú rèn fù 。 lín rù shí zài jí 。 suǒ huái wéi huò tāi 。 suǒ chǎn nǎi yāo niè 。 xīn láo xìn rì zhuō 。 zì zhuì xiàn rén kū 。 bèi chū yì bèi rù 。 zì zhōng dú rén shì 。 chū ěr jìng fǎn ěr 。 zì shāng tóu rén shí 。 bào yīng hé zhāo zhù 。 sī háo wú shuǎng tè 。 yù sòng gōng píng zhǔ 。 yù yáng zhì zūn dé 。

With thanks to Simon Wong.

Psalm 12 as classical Chinese poetry

John Wu Ching-hsiung (1899-1986) was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a renowned jurist who studied in Europe and the United States, and served as a professor of law at Soochow University, as a judge and the Acting President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, and as the Vice President of the Commission for the Drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of China, before becoming the Minister of the Republic of China to the Holy See. Wu has written extensively, not only on law but also on Chinese philosophy, and has also written his autobiography, Beyond East and West, in English. Wu was a devout Catholic and had a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). Wu began translating the the Psalms in 1938, and was encouraged by Chiang to translate the entire New Testament, which he corrected in his own handwriting. (…) John Wu Ching-hsiung’s translation of the Psalms (first draft in 1946, revised in 1975) was translated into Literary Chinese in the form of poetic rhyme, with attention paid to the style of writing. According to the content and mood of the different chapters of the original psalm, Wu chose Chinese poetic forms such as tetrameter, pentameter, heptameter [4, 5 or 7 syllables/Chinese characters per stanza], and the [less formal] Sao style, and sometimes more than two poetic forms were used in a single poem. (Source: Simon Wong)

John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)

“Nothing could have been farther from my mind than to translate the Bible or any parts of it with a view to publishing it as an authorized version. I had rendered some of the Psalms into Chinese verse, but that was done as a part of my private devotion and as a literary hobby. When I was in Hongkong in 1938, I had come to know Madame H. H. Kung [Soong Ai-ling], and as she was deeply interested in the Bible, I gave her about a dozen pieces of my amateurish work just for her own enjoyment. What was my surprise when, the next time I saw her, she told me, “My sister [Soong Mei-ling] has written to say that the Generalissimo [Chiang Kai-shek] likes your translation of the Psalms very much, especially the first, the fifteenth, and the twenty-third, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd!”

“In the Autumn of 1940, when I was in Chungking, the Generalissimo invited me several times to lunch with him and expressed his appreciation of the few pieces that he had read. So I sent him some more. A few days later I received a letter from Madame Chiang [Soong Mei-ling], dated September 21, 1940, in which she said that they both liked my translation of the few Psalms I had sent them. ‘For many years,’ she wrote, ‘the Generalissimo has been wanting to have a really adequate and readable Wen-li (literary) translation of the Bible. He has never been able to find anyone who could undertake the matter.’ The letter ends up by saying that I should take up the job and that ‘the Generalissimo would gladly finance the undertaking of this work.’

“After some preliminary study of the commentaries, I started my work with the Psalms on January 6, 1943, the Feast of the Epiphany.

“I had three thousand years of Chinese literature to draw upon. The Chinese vocabulary for describing the beauties of nature is so rich that I seldom failed to find a word, a phrase, and sometimes even a whole line to fit the scene. But what makes such Psalms so unique is that they bring an intimate knowledge of the Creator to bear upon a loving observation of things of nature. I think one of the reasons why my translation is so well received by the Chinese scholars is that I have made the Psalms read like native poems written by a Chinese, who happens to be a Christian. Thus to my countrymen they are at once familiar and new — not so familiar as to be jejune, and not so new as to be bizarre. I did not publish it as a literal translation, but only as a paraphrase.

“To my greatest surprise, [my translation of the Psalms] sold like hot dogs. The popularity of that work was beyond my fondest dreams. Numberless papers and periodicals, irrespective of religion, published reviews too good to be true. I was very much tickled when I saw the opening verse of the first Psalm used as a headline on the front page of one of the non-religious dailies.”

A contemporary researcher (Lindblom 2021) mentions this about Wu’s translation: “Wu created a unique and personal work of sacred art that bears the imprint of his own admitted love and devotion, a landmark achievement comparable to Antoni Gaudi’s Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. Although its use is still somewhat limited today, it continues to attract readers for the aforementioned qualities, and continues to be used in prayers and music by those who desire beauty and an authentic Chinese-sounding text that draws from China’s ancient traditions.”

The translation of Psalm 12 from the 1946 edition is in pentameter (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):

世風歎

仁義成絕響。忠信已泯沒。 交友無誠意。口蜜心詭譎。 求主矯浮薄。復使反樸拙。懲罰巧言者。剪截誇誕舌。 此輩炫利口。自謂世無敵。脣舌我自主。誰得相干涉。
雅瑋聞此語。焉能長默默。已見弱者苦。已聞貧人泣。我今將興起。一慰長太息。務使貧與弱。各得其所適。 至誠惟天主。聖道何純質。白銀經七煉。未能方其潔。 主必濟窮民。莫隨斯世溺。 惡逆如橫行。賢良無寧日。

Transcription into Roman alphabet:

shì fēng tàn

rén yì chéng jué xiǎng 。 zhōng xìn yǐ mǐn méi 。 jiāo yǒu wú chéng yì 。 kǒu mì xīn guǐ jué 。 qiú zhǔ jiǎo fú báo 。 fù shǐ fǎn pǔ zhuō 。 chěng fá qiǎo yán zhě 。 jiǎn jié kuā dàn shé 。 cǐ bèi xuàn lì kǒu 。 zì wèi shì wú dí 。 chún shé wǒ zì zhǔ 。 shuí dé xiāng gān shè 。
yǎ wěi wén cǐ yǔ 。 yān néng cháng mò mò 。 yǐ jiàn ruò zhě kǔ 。 yǐ wén pín rén qì 。 wǒ jīn jiāng xīng qǐ 。 yī wèi cháng tài xī 。 wù shǐ pín yǔ ruò 。 gè dé qí suǒ shì 。 zhì chéng wéi tiān zhǔ 。 shèng dào hé chún zhì 。 bái yín jīng qī liàn 。 wèi néng fāng qí jié 。 zhǔ bì jì qióng mín 。 mò suí sī shì nì 。 è nì rú héng xíng 。 xián liáng wú níng rì 。

With thanks to Simon Wong.

Psalm 10 as classical Chinese poetry

John Wu Ching-hsiung (1899-1986) was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a renowned jurist who studied in Europe and the United States, and served as a professor of law at Soochow University, as a judge and the Acting President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, and as the Vice President of the Commission for the Drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of China, before becoming the Minister of the Republic of China to the Holy See. Wu has written extensively, not only on law but also on Chinese philosophy, and has also written his autobiography, Beyond East and West, in English. Wu was a devout Catholic and had a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). Wu began translating the the Psalms in 1938, and was encouraged by Chiang to translate the entire New Testament, which he corrected in his own handwriting. (…) John Wu Ching-hsiung’s translation of the Psalms (first draft in 1946, revised in 1975) was translated into Literary Chinese in the form of poetic rhyme, with attention paid to the style of writing. According to the content and mood of the different chapters of the original psalm, Wu chose Chinese poetic forms such as tetrameter, pentameter, heptameter [4, 5 or 7 syllables/Chinese characters per stanza], and the [less formal] Sao style, and sometimes more than two poetic forms were used in a single poem. (Source: Simon Wong)

John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)

“Nothing could have been farther from my mind than to translate the Bible or any parts of it with a view to publishing it as an authorized version. I had rendered some of the Psalms into Chinese verse, but that was done as a part of my private devotion and as a literary hobby. When I was in Hongkong in 1938, I had come to know Madame H. H. Kung [Soong Ai-ling], and as she was deeply interested in the Bible, I gave her about a dozen pieces of my amateurish work just for her own enjoyment. What was my surprise when, the next time I saw her, she told me, “My sister [Soong Mei-ling] has written to say that the Generalissimo [Chiang Kai-shek] likes your translation of the Psalms very much, especially the first, the fifteenth, and the twenty-third, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd!”

“In the Autumn of 1940, when I was in Chungking, the Generalissimo invited me several times to lunch with him and expressed his appreciation of the few pieces that he had read. So I sent him some more. A few days later I received a letter from Madame Chiang [Soong Mei-ling], dated September 21, 1940, in which she said that they both liked my translation of the few Psalms I had sent them. ‘For many years,’ she wrote, ‘the Generalissimo has been wanting to have a really adequate and readable Wen-li (literary) translation of the Bible. He has never been able to find anyone who could undertake the matter.’ The letter ends up by saying that I should take up the job and that ‘the Generalissimo would gladly finance the undertaking of this work.’

“After some preliminary study of the commentaries, I started my work with the Psalms on January 6, 1943, the Feast of the Epiphany.

“I had three thousand years of Chinese literature to draw upon. The Chinese vocabulary for describing the beauties of nature is so rich that I seldom failed to find a word, a phrase, and sometimes even a whole line to fit the scene. But what makes such Psalms so unique is that they bring an intimate knowledge of the Creator to bear upon a loving observation of things of nature. I think one of the reasons why my translation is so well received by the Chinese scholars is that I have made the Psalms read like native poems written by a Chinese, who happens to be a Christian. Thus to my countrymen they are at once familiar and new — not so familiar as to be jejune, and not so new as to be bizarre. I did not publish it as a literal translation, but only as a paraphrase.

“To my greatest surprise, [my translation of the Psalms] sold like hot dogs. The popularity of that work was beyond my fondest dreams. Numberless papers and periodicals, irrespective of religion, published reviews too good to be true. I was very much tickled when I saw the opening verse of the first Psalm used as a headline on the front page of one of the non-religious dailies.”

A contemporary researcher (Lindblom 2021) mentions this about Wu’s translation: “Wu created a unique and personal work of sacred art that bears the imprint of his own admitted love and devotion, a landmark achievement comparable to Antoni Gaudi’s Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. Although its use is still somewhat limited today, it continues to attract readers for the aforementioned qualities, and continues to be used in prayers and music by those who desire beauty and an authentic Chinese-sounding text that draws from China’s ancient traditions.”

The translation of Psalm 10 from the 1946 edition is in the so-called Sao style and the rhyme schemes are -u and -ang (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):

問主

我問主兮何故。邈然逝兮不我顧。時艱難兮困苦。主自隱兮何處。 惡人橫行兮無度。窮人被逼兮無路。設詭計兮逞狂圖。欺孤寡兮陷無辜。 驕矜自慢兮。目無主宰。刼奪人財兮。逍遙法外。 飛揚跋扈兮心誇大。謂天主兮安足怕。中心兮自忖。天主兮何存。 基業兮穩固。千秋兮不淪。坐井而觀天兮。夫焉知吾主之經綸。 恃勢凌人兮。自謂安如磐石永享康寧。 彼之口中兮。惟有欺詐與呪詛。彼之舌底兮。滿貯螫毒與邪汚。 埋伏窮鄉。殺人僻巷。 耽耽虎視。窮民遭殃。 驅無辜兮入網。 謂天主兮健忘。既揜顏兮不見。我隱惡兮奚彰。 我向主兮發哀歎。舉爾手兮濟眾難。 莫容惡人兮誣神明。謂天主兮其不靈。 詎知吾主兮早見。報應兮如電。窮苦兮無告。惟主兮是靠。孤兒兮無父。惟主兮是怙。 求主痛擊群姦兮。折其臂膀。 窮究妖孽兮。降以淪喪。惟我天主兮。永古為王。與主為敵兮。靡有不亡。 主已垂聽兮。謙者之音。必賜慰藉兮。堅固其心。 伸彼冤屈兮。保彼焭獨。莫令凡人兮。擅作威福。

Transcription into Roman alphabet with the rhyme scheme and the particle xī, that is characteristic for the Sao style, highlighted:

wèn zhǔ

wǒ wèn zhǔ xī hé gù 。 miǎo rán shì xī bù wǒ gù 。 shí jiān nán xī kùn kǔ 。 zhǔ zì yǐn xī hé chǔ 。 è rén héng xíng xī wú dù 。 qióng rén bèi bī xī wú lù 。 shè guǐ jì xī chěng kuáng tú 。 qī gū guǎ xī xiàn wú gū 。 jiāo jīn zì màn xī 。 mù wú zhǔ zǎi 。 刼 duó rén cái xī 。 xiāo yáo fǎ wài 。 fēi yáng bá hù xī xīn kuā dà 。 wèi tiān zhǔ xī ān zú pà 。 zhōng xīn xī zì cǔn 。 tiān zhǔ xī hé cún 。 jī yè xī wěn gù 。 qiān qiū xī bù lún 。 zuò jǐng ér guān tiān xī 。 fū yān zhī wú zhǔ zhī jīng lún 。 shì shì líng rén xī 。 zì wèi ān rú pán shí yǒng xiǎng kāng níng 。 bǐ zhī kǒu zhōng xī 。 wéi yǒu qī zhà yǔ zhòu zǔ 。 bǐ zhī shé dǐ xī 。 mǎn zhù shì dú yǔ xié wū 。 mái fú qióng xiāng 。 shā rén pì xiàng 。 dān dān hǔ shì 。 qióng mín zāo yāng 。 qū wú gū xī rù wǎng 。 wèi tiān zhǔ xī jiàn wàng 。 jì yǎn yán xī bù jiàn 。 wǒ yǐn è xī xī zhāng 。 wǒ xiàng zhǔ xī fā āi tàn 。 jǔ ěr shǒu xī jì zhòng nán 。 mò róng è rén xī wū shén míng 。 wèi tiān zhǔ xī qí bù líng 。 jù zhī wú zhǔ xī zǎo jiàn 。 bào yīng xī rú diàn 。 qióng kǔ xī wú gào 。 wéi zhǔ xī shì kào 。 gū ér xī wú fù 。 wéi zhǔ xī shì hù 。 qiú zhǔ tòng jī qún jiān xī 。 zhē qí bì bǎng 。 qióng jiū yāo niè xī 。 jiàng yǐ lún sāng 。 wéi wǒ tiān zhǔ xī 。 yǒng gǔ wéi wáng 。 yǔ zhǔ wéi dí xī 。 mí yǒu bù wáng 。 zhǔ yǐ chuí tīng xī 。 qiān zhě zhī yīn 。 bì cì wèi jiè xī 。 jiān gù qí xīn 。 shēn bǐ yuān qū xī 。 bǎo bǐ qióng dú 。 mò líng fán rén xī 。 shàn zuò wēi fú 。

With thanks to Simon Wong.

Psalm 9 as classical Chinese poetry

John Wu Ching-hsiung (1899-1986) was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a renowned jurist who studied in Europe and the United States, and served as a professor of law at Soochow University, as a judge and the Acting President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, and as the Vice President of the Commission for the Drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of China, before becoming the Minister of the Republic of China to the Holy See. Wu has written extensively, not only on law but also on Chinese philosophy, and has also written his autobiography, Beyond East and West, in English. Wu was a devout Catholic and had a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). Wu began translating the the Psalms in 1938, and was encouraged by Chiang to translate the entire New Testament, which he corrected in his own handwriting. (…) John Wu Ching-hsiung’s translation of the Psalms (first draft in 1946, revised in 1975) was translated into Literary Chinese in the form of poetic rhyme, with attention paid to the style of writing. According to the content and mood of the different chapters of the original psalm, Wu chose Chinese poetic forms such as tetrameter, pentameter, heptameter [4, 5 or 7 syllables/Chinese characters per stanza], and the [less formal] Sao style, and sometimes more than two poetic forms were used in a single poem. (Source: Simon Wong)

John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)

“Nothing could have been farther from my mind than to translate the Bible or any parts of it with a view to publishing it as an authorized version. I had rendered some of the Psalms into Chinese verse, but that was done as a part of my private devotion and as a literary hobby. When I was in Hongkong in 1938, I had come to know Madame H. H. Kung [Soong Ai-ling], and as she was deeply interested in the Bible, I gave her about a dozen pieces of my amateurish work just for her own enjoyment. What was my surprise when, the next time I saw her, she told me, “My sister [Soong Mei-ling] has written to say that the Generalissimo [Chiang Kai-shek] likes your translation of the Psalms very much, especially the first, the fifteenth, and the twenty-third, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd!”

“In the Autumn of 1940, when I was in Chungking, the Generalissimo invited me several times to lunch with him and expressed his appreciation of the few pieces that he had read. So I sent him some more. A few days later I received a letter from Madame Chiang [Soong Mei-ling], dated September 21, 1940, in which she said that they both liked my translation of the few Psalms I had sent them. ‘For many years,’ she wrote, ‘the Generalissimo has been wanting to have a really adequate and readable Wen-li (literary) translation of the Bible. He has never been able to find anyone who could undertake the matter.’ The letter ends up by saying that I should take up the job and that ‘the Generalissimo would gladly finance the undertaking of this work.’

“After some preliminary study of the commentaries, I started my work with the Psalms on January 6, 1943, the Feast of the Epiphany.

“I had three thousand years of Chinese literature to draw upon. The Chinese vocabulary for describing the beauties of nature is so rich that I seldom failed to find a word, a phrase, and sometimes even a whole line to fit the scene. But what makes such Psalms so unique is that they bring an intimate knowledge of the Creator to bear upon a loving observation of things of nature. I think one of the reasons why my translation is so well received by the Chinese scholars is that I have made the Psalms read like native poems written by a Chinese, who happens to be a Christian. Thus to my countrymen they are at once familiar and new — not so familiar as to be jejune, and not so new as to be bizarre. I did not publish it as a literal translation, but only as a paraphrase.

“To my greatest surprise, [my translation of the Psalms] sold like hot dogs. The popularity of that work was beyond my fondest dreams. Numberless papers and periodicals, irrespective of religion, published reviews too good to be true. I was very much tickled when I saw the opening verse of the first Psalm used as a headline on the front page of one of the non-religious dailies.”


A contemporary researcher (Lindblom 2021) mentions this about Wu’s translation: “Wu created a unique and personal work of sacred art that bears the imprint of his own admitted love and devotion, a landmark achievement comparable to Antoni Gaudi’s Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. Although its use is still somewhat limited today, it continues to attract readers for the aforementioned qualities, and continues to be used in prayers and music by those who desire beauty and an authentic Chinese-sounding text that draws from China’s ancient traditions.”

The translation of Psalm 9 from the 1946 edition is in heptameter (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either and underlined proper names):

神與人

我欲一心頌雅瑋。縷述眞神一切妙。 歡忭鼓舞主懷中。心歌腹詠至尊號。 吾敵已潰退。紛紛仆主前。 公義已見伸。睿斷洵無愆。 主已懲萬邦。消滅諸悖逆。塗抹不肖名。終古歸沈寂。 敵國城邑已荒蕪。樓臺亭閣悉成墟。繁華事散逐輕塵。欲尋遺跡蕩無存。 恆存惟有天主國。雅瑋皇座永不移。 審判世界與萬民。聰明正直豈有私。 困苦無告蒙哀矜。主是窮民避難城。 又為聖徒之保障。何曾孤負有心人。 西溫居民當絃歌。暢向億兆宣神蹟。 無辜之血主常恤。冤屈之人必得直。
雅瑋憐我苦。拯吾出兇門。 我在西溫門前立。中心感主發頌聲。
敵人掘穽自陷身。敵人布網自絆足。 雅瑋靈隲實昭著。陰謀詭計徒自辱。 世上忘主眾不肖。終須相將沈幽冥。 窮人豈能長被遺。鮮民之望終有成。 寧容人類勝眞宰。願主興起鞫頑民。 務使世間傲慢子。自知僅屬血氣倫。

Transcription into Roman alphabet:

shén yǔ rén

wǒ yù yī xīn sòng yǎ wěi 。 Lǚ shù zhēn shén yī qiē miào 。 huān biàn gǔ wǔ zhǔ huái zhōng 。 xīn gē fù yǒng zhì zūn hào 。 wú dí yǐ kuì tuì 。 fēn fēn pū zhǔ qián 。 gōng yì yǐ jiàn shēn 。 ruì duàn xún wú qiān 。 zhǔ yǐ chěng wàn bāng 。 xiāo miè zhū bèi nì 。 tú mǒ bù xiāo míng 。 zhōng gǔ guī shěn jì 。 dí guó chéng yì yǐ huāng wú 。 lóu tái tíng gé xī chéng xū 。 fán huá shì sàn zhú qīng chén 。 yù xún yí jì dàng wú cún 。 héng cún wéi yǒu tiān zhǔ guó 。 yǎ wěi huáng zuò yǒng bù yí 。 shěn pàn shì jiè yǔ wàn mín 。 cōng míng zhèng zhí qǐ yǒu sī 。 kùn kǔ wú gào mēng āi jīn 。 zhǔ shì qióng mín bì nán chéng 。 yòu wéi shèng tú zhī bǎo zhàng 。 hé zēng gū fù yǒu xīn rén 。 xī wēn jū mín dāng xián gē 。 chàng xiàng yì zhào xuān shén lì 。 wú gū zhī xuè zhǔ cháng xù 。 yuān qū zhī rén bì dé zhí 。
yǎ wěi lián wǒ kǔ 。 zhěng wú chū xiōng mén 。 wǒ zài xī wēn mén qián lì 。 zhōng xīn gǎn zhǔ fā sòng shēng 。
dí rén jué jǐng zì xiàn shēn 。 dí rén bù wǎng zì bàn zú 。 yǎ wěi líng cí shí zhāo zhù 。 yīn móu guǐ jì tú zì rǔ 。 shì shàng wàng zhǔ zhòng bù xiāo 。 zhōng xū xiāng jiāng shěn yōu míng 。 qióng rén qǐ néng cháng bèi yí 。 xiān mín zhī wàng zhōng yǒu chéng 。 níng róng rén lèi shèng zhēn zǎi 。 yuàn zhǔ xīng qǐ jú wán mín 。 wù shǐ shì jiān ào màn zǐ 。 zì zhī jǐn shǔ xuè qì lún 。

With thanks to Simon Wong.

Psalm 8 as classical Chinese poetry

John Wu Ching-hsiung (1899-1986) was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a renowned jurist who studied in Europe and the United States, and served as a professor of law at Soochow University, as a judge and the Acting President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, and as the Vice President of the Commission for the Drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of China, before becoming the Minister of the Republic of China to the Holy See. Wu has written extensively, not only on law but also on Chinese philosophy, and has also written his autobiography, Beyond East and West, in English. Wu was a devout Catholic and had a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). Wu began translating the the Psalms in 1938, and was encouraged by Chiang to translate the entire New Testament, which he corrected in his own handwriting. (…) John Wu Ching-hsiung’s translation of the Psalms (first draft in 1946, revised in 1975) was translated into Literary Chinese in the form of poetic rhyme, with attention paid to the style of writing. According to the content and mood of the different chapters of the original psalm, Wu chose Chinese poetic forms such as tetrameter, pentameter, heptameter [4, 5 or 7 syllables/Chinese characters per stanza], and the [less formal] Sao style, and sometimes more than two poetic forms were used in a single poem. (Source: Simon Wong)

John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)

“Nothing could have been farther from my mind than to translate the Bible or any parts of it with a view to publishing it as an authorized version. I had rendered some of the Psalms into Chinese verse, but that was done as a part of my private devotion and as a literary hobby. When I was in Hongkong in 1938, I had come to know Madame H. H. Kung [Soong Ai-ling], and as she was deeply interested in the Bible, I gave her about a dozen pieces of my amateurish work just for her own enjoyment. What was my surprise when, the next time I saw her, she told me, “My sister [Soong Mei-ling] has written to say that the Generalissimo [Chiang Kai-shek] likes your translation of the Psalms very much, especially the first, the fifteenth, and the twenty-third, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd!”

“In the Autumn of 1940, when I was in Chungking, the Generalissimo invited me several times to lunch with him and expressed his appreciation of the few pieces that he had read. So I sent him some more. A few days later I received a letter from Madame Chiang [Soong Mei-ling], dated September 21, 1940, in which she said that they both liked my translation of the few Psalms I had sent them. ‘For many years,’ she wrote, ‘the Generalissimo has been wanting to have a really adequate and readable Wen-li (literary) translation of the Bible. He has never been able to find anyone who could undertake the matter.’ The letter ends up by saying that I should take up the job and that ‘the Generalissimo would gladly finance the undertaking of this work.’

“After some preliminary study of the commentaries, I started my work with the Psalms on January 6, 1943, the Feast of the Epiphany.

“I had three thousand years of Chinese literature to draw upon. The Chinese vocabulary for describing the beauties of nature is so rich that I seldom failed to find a word, a phrase, and sometimes even a whole line to fit the scene. But what makes such Psalms so unique is that they bring an intimate knowledge of the Creator to bear upon a loving observation of things of nature. I think one of the reasons why my translation is so well received by the Chinese scholars is that I have made the Psalms read like native poems written by a Chinese, who happens to be a Christian. Thus to my countrymen they are at once familiar and new — not so familiar as to be jejune, and not so new as to be bizarre. I did not publish it as a literal translation, but only as a paraphrase.

“To my greatest surprise, [my translation of the Psalms] sold like hot dogs. The popularity of that work was beyond my fondest dreams. Numberless papers and periodicals, irrespective of religion, published reviews too good to be true. I was very much tickled when I saw the opening verse of the first Psalm used as a headline on the front page of one of the non-religious dailies.”


A contemporary researcher (Lindblom 2021) mentions this about Wu’s translation: “Wu created a unique and personal work of sacred art that bears the imprint of his own admitted love and devotion, a landmark achievement comparable to Antoni Gaudi’s Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. Although its use is still somewhat limited today, it continues to attract readers for the aforementioned qualities, and continues to be used in prayers and music by those who desire beauty and an authentic Chinese-sounding text that draws from China’s ancient traditions.”

The translation of Psalm 8 from the 1946 edition is in pentameter with rhyme schemes based on -i and -ie (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):

君子與小人

John Wu Ching-hsiung (1899-1986) was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a renowned jurist who studied in Europe and the United States, and served as a professor of law at Soochow University, as a judge and the Acting President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, and as the Vice President of the Commission for the Drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of China, before becoming the Minister of the Republic of China to the Holy See. Wu has written extensively, not only on law but also on Chinese philosophy, and has also written his autobiography, Beyond East and West, in English. Wu was a devout Catholic and had a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). Wu began translating the the Psalms in 1938, and was encouraged by Chiang to translate the entire New Testament, which he corrected in his own handwriting. (…) John Wu Ching-hsiung’s translation of the Psalms (first draft in 1946, revised in 1975) was translated into Literary Chinese in the form of poetic rhyme, with attention paid to the style of writing. According to the content and mood of the different chapters of the original psalm, Wu chose Chinese poetic forms such as tetrameter, pentameter, heptameter [4, 5 or 7 syllables/Chinese characters per stanza], and the [less formal] Sao style, and sometimes more than two poetic forms were used in a single poem. (Source: Simon Wong)

John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)

“Nothing could have been farther from my mind than to translate the Bible or any parts of it with a view to publishing it as an authorized version. I had rendered some of the Psalms into Chinese verse, but that was done as a part of my private devotion and as a literary hobby. When I was in Hongkong in 1938, I had come to know Madame H. H. Kung [Soong Ai-ling], and as she was deeply interested in the Bible, I gave her about a dozen pieces of my amateurish work just for her own enjoyment. What was my surprise when, the next time I saw her, she told me, “My sister [Soong Mei-ling] has written to say that the Generalissimo [Chiang Kai-shek] likes your translation of the Psalms very much, especially the first, the fifteenth, and the twenty-third, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd!”

“In the Autumn of 1940, when I was in Chungking, the Generalissimo invited me several times to lunch with him and expressed his appreciation of the few pieces that he had read. So I sent him some more. A few days later I received a letter from Madame Chiang [Soong Mei-ling], dated September 21, 1940, in which she said that they both liked my translation of the few Psalms I had sent them. ‘For many years,’ she wrote, ‘the Generalissimo has been wanting to have a really adequate and readable Wen-li (literary) translation of the Bible. He has never been able to find anyone who could undertake the matter.’ The letter ends up by saying that I should take up the job and that ‘the Generalissimo would gladly finance the undertaking of this work.’

“After some preliminary study of the commentaries, I started my work with the Psalms on January 6, 1943, the Feast of the Epiphany.

“I had three thousand years of Chinese literature to draw upon. The Chinese vocabulary for describing the beauties of nature is so rich that I seldom failed to find a word, a phrase, and sometimes even a whole line to fit the scene. But what makes such Psalms so unique is that they bring an intimate knowledge of the Creator to bear upon a loving observation of things of nature. I think one of the reasons why my translation is so well received by the Chinese scholars is that I have made the Psalms read like native poems written by a Chinese, who happens to be a Christian. Thus to my countrymen they are at once familiar and new — not so familiar as to be jejune, and not so new as to be bizarre. I did not publish it as a literal translation, but only as a paraphrase.

“To my greatest surprise, [my translation of the Psalms] sold like hot dogs. The popularity of that work was beyond my fondest dreams. Numberless papers and periodicals, irrespective of religion, published reviews too good to be true. I was very much tickled when I saw the opening verse of the first Psalm used as a headline on the front page of one of the non-religious dailies.”


The translation of Psalm 1 from the 1946 edition is in pentameter with a rhyme scheme based on -ang (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):

萬物之靈

我主在天上。聖名天下揚。諸天現光彩。妙手運陰陽。 卻從赤子口。認出救世王。童蒙識玄機。靈證微而臧。直使諸悖逆。不得再鼓簧。
靜觀宇宙內。氣象何輝煌。瑞景燦中天。星月耀靈光。 巨細莫不備。條理益彰彰。人類處其中。碌碌無所長。乃蒙主拔擢。聖眷迥異常。 使為萬物靈。天神相頡頏。皆自土中生。冠冕獨堂堂。 萬物供驅使。取之如探囊。 空中有飛鳥。地上有牛羊。 尚有魚鱗族。優游水中央。悉歸人掌管。樂此無盡藏。 飲水須思源。殊恩豈可忘。但願大地上。聖名萬古芳。

Transcription into Roman alphabet with rhymes highlighted:

wàn wù zhī líng

wǒ zhǔ zài tiān shàng 。 shèng míng tiān xià yáng 。 zhū tiān xiàn guāng cǎi 。 miào shǒu yùn yīn yáng 。 què cóng chì zǐ kǒu 。 rèn chū jiù shì wáng 。 tóng mēng shí xuán jī 。 líng zhèng wēi ér zāng 。 zhí shǐ zhū bèi nì 。 bù dé zài gǔ huáng 。
jìng guān yǔ zhòu nèi 。 qì xiàng hé huī huáng 。 ruì jǐng càn zhōng tiān 。 xīng yuè yào líng guāng 。 jù xì mò bù bèi 。 tiáo lǐ yì zhāng zhāng 。 rén lèi chǔ qí zhōng 。 lù lù wú suǒ cháng 。 nǎi mēng zhǔ bá zhuó 。 shèng juàn jiǒng yì cháng 。 shǐ wéi wàn wù líng 。 tiān shén xiāng jié háng 。 jiē zì tǔ zhōng shēng 。 guān miǎn dú táng táng 。 wàn wù gōng qū shǐ 。 qǔ zhī rú tàn náng 。 kōng zhōng yǒu fēi niǎo 。 dì shàng yǒu niú yáng 。 shàng yǒu yú lín zú 。 yōu yóu shuǐ zhōng yāng 。 xī guī rén zhǎng guǎn 。 lè cǐ wú jìn cáng 。 yǐn shuǐ xū sī yuán 。 shū ēn qǐ kě wàng 。 dàn yuàn dà dì shàng 。 shèng míng wàn gǔ fāng 。

With thanks to Simon Wong