At least 40 million copies of the Bible have been distributed
across China since 1980, a leading religious official told
China Daily.
Cao Shengjie, president of the China Christian Council, said
that the past two decades have witnessed a surge in demand for the
Bible and related books about Christianity.
Around 2.5 million copies of the Bible have been published in
China annually over the past decade, said Cao, a key organizer of
the Bible Ministry Exhibition of the Church in China, which was
held in Hong Kong in 2004 and in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York
this year.
The exhibition examines the introduction and spread of the Bible
in China and Bible ministries for churches attended by members of
ethnic minorities.
"Any reader who is interested in religious culture or wants
material for academic studies, can find books about religious
culture, including Christian culture, in most Chinese bookstores,"
said Chen Chao, an official from the Information Office of the
State Administration of Religious Affairs.
According to Sun Pengfei, a Beijing-based filmmaker and a
believer in Protestantism, it is possible to find books about
Christianity in bookstores in all major Chinese cities.
Sun said he has found around a dozen bookstores, mainly in
Beijing's Haidian District, that sell books about the Bible.
Li Jingjing, a Christian and MBA student at Beijing's University
of International Business and Economics, said that at least five
editions of the Bible are available in churches, priced between 8
and 25 yuan (US$1-US$3.2)
The Bible first arrived in China as early as 1,500 years ago,
while the first Chinese-language edition appeared in the early 19th
century.
This was translated by Robert Morrison (1782-1834), widely
believed to be the first Protestant missionary in China.
Morrison also compiled "A Dictionary of the Chinese Language,"
the first Chinese-English dictionary, which was first published in
Macao in 1815.
The publication of the Bible continued after the founding of the
People's Republic of China in 1949.
The Chinese Government re-introduced the policy of religious
freedom after the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), and has attached
great importance to allowing the nation's Christians access to the
Bible and other religious materials.
(China Daily December 23, 2006)
