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 35 from the 1946 edition is in pentameter and the rarely used rhyme scheme is -i (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):

恩將仇報

欵欵求恩主。奮起抗吾敵。吾敵恣侵略。求主施還擊。 執爾干與盾。操爾戈與戟。護我以恩佑。阻彼以神力。 明告我心魂。我為爾安宅。 挫折諸險狠。擊潰眾凶賊。 天兵加追逐。如風飄穅屑。 使其所由徑。黯澹多躓石。 若輩何險毒。無故加橫逆。設穽且張網。欲圖我隕越。 願其遭報應。身受所作孽。自陷羅網中。葬身所掘窟。 令我藉主恩。中心自怡悅。 主恩實無邊。銘心且鏤骨。誰似主雅瑋。抑強而扶弱。窮苦無告者。恃主得蘇息。
群小紛紛起。誣白以為黑。 無風興波瀾。以怨報我德。被誣將誰訴。中心痛欲絕。 曩者彼有患。吾心為惻惻。衣麻且齋戒。求主脫其厄。所求出至誠。對主披心腹。 待之如良友。愛之如骨肉。直如居母喪。心魂慘不樂。 一朝我罹難。欣然相慶祝。落井更投石。心中懷叵測。 相逼日以甚。欲將我撕裂。切齒為何因。醉酒且飽德。 此情主應見。寧能長默默。祈速保吾命。莫為群獅食。 會當在眾前。宣揚主恩澤。 莫令昧良者。欣然看我蹶。 無故樂我禍。眉目傳悅懌。所議非和平。所懷惟詭譎。域中善良人。不得享安逸。 見我遭顛沛。群逆笑嚇嚇。 吾目亦何幸。得覩此一日。 姦情實昭著。吾主寧不察。祈主毋遐棄。一伸吾之直。 發揚爾正義。無令終受屈。莫使彼群小。洋洋喜氣溢。 彈冠共相慶。竟將彼吞滅。 務使幸災者。弄巧反成拙。 但願正直人。歡呼開胸臆。大公惟雅瑋。忠良必蒙秩。 盛德何日忘。頌聲上脣舌。

Transcription into Roman alphabet with the rhyme scheme highlighted:

ēn jiāng chóu bào

kuǎn kuǎn qiú ēn zhǔ 。 fèn qǐ kàng wú dí 。 wú dí zī qīn lüè 。 qiú zhǔ shī huán jī 。 zhí ěr gān yǔ dùn 。 cāo ěr gē yǔ jǐ 。 hù wǒ yǐ ēn yòu 。 zǔ bǐ yǐ shén lì 。 míng gào wǒ xīn hún 。 wǒ wéi ěr ān zhái 。 cuò zhē zhū xiǎn hěn 。 jī kuì zhòng xiōng zéi 。 tiān bīng jiā zhuī zhú 。 rú fēng piāo kāng xiè 。 shǐ qí suǒ yóu jìng 。 àn dàn duō zhì shí 。 ruò bèi hé xiǎn dú 。 wú gù jiā héng nì 。 shè jǐng qiě zhāng wǎng 。 yù tú wǒ yǔn yuè 。 yuàn qí zāo bào yīng 。 shēn shòu suǒ zuò niè 。 zì xiàn luó wǎng zhōng 。 zàng shēn suǒ jué kū 。 líng wǒ jiè zhǔ ēn 。 zhōng xīn zì yí yuè 。 zhǔ ēn shí wú biān 。 míng xīn qiě lòu gǔ 。 shuí sì zhǔ yǎ wěi 。 yì qiáng ér fú ruò 。 qióng kǔ wú gào zhě 。 shì zhǔ dé sū xī 。
qún xiǎo fēn fēn qǐ 。 wū bái yǐ wéi hēi 。 wú fēng xīng bō lán 。 yǐ yuàn bào wǒ dé 。 bèi wū jiāng shuí sù 。 zhōng xīn tòng yù jué 。 nǎng zhě bǐ yǒu huàn 。 wú xīn wéi cè cè 。 yī má qiě zhāi jiè 。 qiú zhǔ tuō qí è 。 suǒ qiú chū zhì chéng 。 duì zhǔ pī xīn fù 。 dài zhī rú liáng yǒu 。 ài zhī rú gǔ ròu 。 zhí rú jū mǔ sāng 。 xīn hún cǎn bù lè 。 yī zhāo wǒ lí nán 。 xīn rán xiāng qìng zhù 。 luò jǐng gēng tóu shí 。 xīn zhōng huái pǒ cè 。 xiāng bī rì yǐ shèn 。 yù jiāng wǒ sī liè 。 qiē chǐ wéi hé yīn 。 zuì jiǔ qiě bǎo dé 。 cǐ qíng zhǔ yīng jiàn 。 níng néng cháng mò mò 。 qí sù bǎo wú mìng 。 mò wéi qún shī shí 。 huì dāng zài zhòng qián 。 xuān yáng zhǔ ēn zé 。 mò líng mèi liáng zhě 。 xīn rán kàn wǒ jué 。 wú gù lè wǒ huò 。 méi mù chuán yuè yì 。 suǒ yì fēi hé píng 。 suǒ huái wéi guǐ jué 。 yù zhōng shàn liáng rén 。 bù dé xiǎng ān yì 。 jiàn wǒ zāo diān pèi 。 qún nì xiào xià xià 。 wú mù yì hé xìng 。 dé yì cǐ yī rì 。 jiān qíng shí zhāo zhù 。 wú zhǔ níng bù chá 。 qí zhǔ wú xiá qì 。 yī shēn wú zhī zhí 。 fā yáng ěr zhèng yì 。 wú líng zhōng shòu qū 。 mò shǐ bǐ qún xiǎo 。 yáng yáng xǐ qì yì 。 dàn guān gòng xiāng qìng 。 jìng jiāng bǐ tūn miè 。 wù shǐ xìng zāi zhě 。 nòng qiǎo fǎn chéng zhuō 。 dàn yuàn zhèng zhí rén 。 huān hū kāi xiōng yì 。 dà gōng wéi yǎ wěi 。 zhōng liáng bì mēng zhì 。 shèng dé hé rì wàng 。 sòng shēng shàng chún shé 。

With thanks to Simon Wong.