Going ambiguous for reader empowerment An exploration of the literal translation by Lu Zhen Zhong of First John of the New Testament

Abstract. Chinese biblical translation has been practiced along a rugged path for 200 years. At first, the whole enterprise was dominated by non-Chinese missionaries, who learnt Chinese only after they came to China. Chinese translators, who were mostly ignorant about Biblical Greek and Hebrew, were just “helpers ” in polishing the translation done by the missionaries. The prestigious Chinese Union Version Translation was produced in this way. Not until half a century ago did Lu Zhen Zhong learn Biblical Greek and Hebrew. He managed to translate the whole Bible by himself (the New Testament first published in 1946; the complete translation released in 1970). This is the first translation that a native Chinese speaker rendered directly from Greek and Hebrew into a “literal Chinese version”, as Lu himself described it. The Greek language of the Johannine books is renowned for its simplicity and clarity in expressing profound theological ideas. Our paper compares Lu Zhen Zhong’s trans-lation of First John with the Greek text and the Union Version, which has been acclaimed as the Chinese equivalent of English King James Version. Looking at Lu’s literal translation, it can be deduced that he has intro-duced more ambiguity into the translation, which opens up exegetical possibilities to Chinese readers and empowers them for more interpreta-tive possibilities