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黑苗圣经新约，第一版， 2009 年In the spring of 1997, Hans Grass of RFLR Germany began working on a translation of the New Testament with Hmu speaker Lǐ Shìpíng 李世平 and his sister Lǐ Huáfēn 李华芬, who originate from Táijiāng 台江 county. Lǐ Huáfēn was an elementary school teacher and well-versed in the romanised Hmu script. Before Hans Grass’s first furlough in 1998, they completed a trial version of the gospels and of the epistles of Paul, Peter and John. The venture was interrupted in the following year when both Hans Grass and Lǐ Shìpíng relocated to new places. After five years, the translation project recommenced with two professors of the Central University of Nationalities in Beijing: Zhāng Zhōng 张忠 (Kǎitáng 凯棠 of Kǎilǐ City) and Lǐ Fù 李富(Wānshuǐ 湾水 of Kǎilǐ City). The New Testament was completely redrafted at the end of 2005 and revised in three major rounds during 2006, 2007 and 2008. In the final round of 2008, the team decided on keywords that were borrowed from concepts in the traditional Hmu religion and deemed to be potentially problematic for Hmu Christians (e.g. ‘pray’ or ‘sacrifice’). The New Testament was edited as a Hmu / Chinese diglot edition using the romanised Hmu script sponsored by the government and the text of the Chinese Union Version (Hèhébĕn Version). The Verlag für Theologie und Religionswissenschaft in Nürnberg, Germany, published the New Testament in 2009 and had 7,000 copies printed in Hong Kong.

黑苗圣经新约，第二版， 2018 年 After the publication of the first print edition, Hmu Christians in different locations made suggestions for revisions. In 2011, Hans Grass of RFLR formed a group for the revision of the New Testament including Xǔ Hàn 许汉 (Sānkēshù 三棵树 of Kǎilǐ City), Liú Hóngzhì 刘宏志(Kǎitáng 凯棠 of Kǎilǐ City) and other native Hmu speakers. The team adopted a range of new key terms and revised the manuscript over a period of three years. Each book of the New Testament was revised by members of the team and later discussed, checked and back-translated in group meetings. After the revision was completed in 2015, Hans Grass coordinated audio recordings with the Far East Broadcasting Company. By 2017, thee Hmu speakers had recorded the entire New Testament in a sound studio in Guǎngzhōu and an auxiliary studio in Běijīng. Upon completion of the recordings, Hans Grass remixed and dramatised the audio files, which took 12 months. In 2018, the Verlag für Theologie und Religionswissenschaft in Nürnberg published the revised New Testament and had 3,000 copies printed in Hong Kong.

 

Android Smartphones

During 2016–2018, Hans Grass, in cooperation with the programmer Moses Chen and the designer Jens Weigel, developed a mobile application for Android smartphones.

Website

Hans Grass, Moses Chen and Jens Weigel, also developed a web application. Personal and place names are marked in colour in both the mobile and web applications. Both programs allow synchronous playback of the audio files and movement of the verse focus. Both applications integrate a list of 4,000 key terms which can be searched in the New Testament.

Interactive Israel MapFurthermore, Hans Grass and Michael Siegel of Rutgers Cartography (New Jersey) developed interactive maps of Israel and the Mediterranean Sea which allow users to track ancient places by the Bible verses that mention these places and to play the corresponding verses.