By Richard Zhu, chief translator, United Kingdom
Editor’s Note: The mission of Urantia Foundation is to seed The Urantia Book and its teachings globally. Providing high-quality translations is a top priority. The endeavor to provide this text to Chinese-speaking people around the world began in 2001. We are pleased to finally be able to make this translation available to readers of Simplified Chinese, who number over a billion globally.
This translation would not have been possible without the ongoing efforts of Richard Zhu, who began his work in March of 2012. Twelve years later, the trustees applaud and celebrate the fruits of Richard's stellar efforts.
The Chinese translation in traditional characters is in progress, and papers will be published as they become available.
I am very pleased to announce that after 12 years of continuous effort on the Chinese translation of The Urantia Book, the simplified Chinese translation has been approved by Urantia Foundation and has been published on its website at urantia.org/zh-hans [2]. We are all thrilled that the Chinese-speaking people of the world will finally be able to read the fifth epochal revelation in simplified Chinese characters. The translation with traditional Chinese characters is in progress, and the finished papers will be made available online in the coming months.
I am very grateful to the trustees of Urantia Foundation and to all the warmhearted international readers who have supported the Chinese translation work for many years for all your contributions to this challenging project. The high standards for the publication of the Chinese-language translations established by the Foundation will benefit all readers of this book in the long term.
I also wish to pay tribute to all the people who have contributed their efforts and wisdom to the Chinese translation work. These include Chinese scholars, truth seekers, and spiritual teachers and students. Special appreciation is due to my main translation collaborator Vicki Yang, a spiritual leader who has spent more than eight years of her retirement time helping me with the traditional Chinese translation work and recruiting many of her students for our translation team.
Now that the first phase of Chinese translation work has come to a conclusion, the next step is to receive feedback and comments from Chinese readers. Once that is complete, further revision will be undertaken. Meanwhile, I will continue my own journey with The Urantia Book, focusing on the teaching and revision work coming up in the near future.
All Chinese truth seekers are welcome to join me on this adventure. I look forward to sharing my understanding of The Urantia Book—which some call the Truth Book or the fifth epochal revelation—with all of you!