Chinese Orthodoxy
On the Web
Before
you go any further, there are a few points that need to be understood
about Chinese Orthodox texts. 100 years
ago, essentially every liturgical text had been translated into what was at the
time standard literary Chinese (now known as Classical Chinese). Many of these texts (if not most) still
exists, but unfortunately a few things have happened to the Chinese language
since that time. First of all, in the
wake of the Nationalist Chinese revolution, Classical Chinese began to give way
to modern Chinese. When the Communists
took over mainland China, they further revised the writing of Chinese
characters into what is known as Simplified Characters.
So there
are three kinds of Chinese texts that must not be confused:
·
Classical Chinese texts written in Traditional
Characters (and now on one web site, also Simplified characters)
·
Modern (or relatively modern) Chinese texts in
Traditional Characters
·
Modern Chinese texts written in Simplified Chinese
Characters
There are many Chinese texts in Classical
Chinese, but unless one is a Chinese scholar, most Chinese will find these
of very limited use. Their primary use
at this point is for those few individuals in the world today who have both the
ability and the willingness to revise these texts into more usable
Chinese. To be clear on this point: the
difference here is not like that between King James English and contemporary
English. Classical Chinese can be read
with understanding by only the most educated Chinese, and when it is read
aloud, it is even more incomprehensible – which means these texts cannot
possibly be used for liturgical purposes.
This is the kind of Chinese found in the little Chinese prayer book
reprinted by Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York.
From beginning of the 20th
century up until the time of the Cultural Revolution, there were a number of
Chinese texts published that use what is more or less Modern Chinese. There was a Catechism published in the early
20th century. A prayer book
published in the 30’s. And many other
books, including the Horologion and the Octoechos which were printed after the
Communist Revolution, but prior to the Cultural Revolution. None of these texts are currently in print,
but are being used to produce revised texts.
Some of these texts are available in provisional forms – please e-mail me for more information.
These texts are all in Traditional Characters, and so would be of more
use to older Mainland Chinese, or those from Taiwan or Hong Kong than it would
for younger people from the PRC.
However, even younger Mainland Chinese can usually work their way
through Traditional Characters – it is just a lot harder, and so the utility of
such texts would depend a lot on the level of determination of the user.
At present there is an effort to
produce revised Chinese texts, and many of these texts are being made available
in Simplified Characters. This
is the best format for those from the PRC.
Chinese from Taiwan, Hong Kong or those in the Chinese Diaspora have
about the same difficulty with Simplified texts as those from the PRC have with
Traditional Characters.
In short, if you are looking for
Chinese Orthodox material for some one you know, you need to take into account
where they are from, and you need to ensure that you are getting texts that
they will have a chance at understanding.
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Orthodox Material in Chinese
· Chinese Orthodox Prayer Book, in Modern Chinese, Traditional Characters
· Chinese Orthodox Prayer Book, in Modern Chinese, Simplified Characters
· Orthodoxy in China: Classical Chinese Texts, but in Simplified Characters
These texts are hosted by the Moscow Patriarchate, but as noted above, are of unfortunately limited use for most Chinese.
· Morning Prayers in Chinese and English
· An Orthodox Catechism in Chinese
· Classical Chinese Prayer book and Catechism – this is the text that was republished by Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY. On the second half of this page there are also Various prayers, and Services in Classical and Modern Chinese
· Portions of the Paschal Service
· A Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain, by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos (Chinese translation)
· About Life and Death, by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos (Chinese translation)
· The Power of the Name, by Bishop Kallistos (Ware)
· A homily on Nativity in Chinese and English
· Fasting in the Orthodox Church
· The Bible in Chinese: Modern Chinese, Traditional Characters
A Roman Catholic translation, which includes the Deutero-canonical Books.
· Other Chinese Bibles online in Traditional Characters
· Chinese Bibles online in Simplified Characters
Chinese Orthodoxy
· The Christian names of the Chinese Martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion
· Another articles on the Chinese Martyrs with two icons of the Chinese Martyrs
· Albazinskaya Icon of the Mother of God (a Wonderworking Icon of the Chinese Orthodox)
· Orthodoxy in China (Sponsored by the Moscow Patriarchate)
· The Metropolitanate of Hong Kong (Ecumenical Patriarchate) This site has the more common icon of the Chinese Martyrs.
· Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, in Tapei, Taiwan
· Chinese Orthodox Christian Mission Fellowship
· Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, in Singapore
The
Hieromartyr Mitrophan
Miscellaneous Chinese Links
· How to Configure your browser to display Chinese characters
Chinese News
· South China Morning News (Hong Kong’s oldest English Language Newspaper)
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