This will prove very useful to an acquaintance who is a missionary in China who is working with me to turn the Graduale Simplex into Chinese.

Thanks, benstox. If you haven't written on the gregorio-users mailing list about this method yet, it would be good to share the info with folks there.

This is fascinating! It makes me wish that I could pronounce Chinese and sing it. Some years ago I read somewhere that early Jesuit missionaries to the Canadian Indians had received approbation for putting Gregorian chant into the Indian languages (and I've seen examples of it). How prescient! But, the authorities couldn't yet countenance the same gift to their own European homeland.

Thanks, Anthony, for reporting this. It seems like Br Samuel had some good ideas for resolving the conflicts.

Some years ago I read somewhere that early Jesuit missionaries to the Canadian Indians had received approbation for putting Gregorian chant into the Indian languages (and I've seen examples of it).

Yes, I remember reading about this not too long ago as well. You can still find some things about it here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20121008092144/http://mysite.verizon.net/driadzbubl/IndianMasses.html
http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2008/04/roman-rite-in-algonquian-and-iroquoian.html

Mandarin Chinese is a language that uses pitch inflection for meaning, so wouldn't it be difficult to translate chant? I ran into that, when trying to set Vietnamese to psalm tones, and it didn't work. Fortunately, the Vietnamese singer corrected it to make sense with the tonal inflections, while staying in the mode, and the result was lovely.

In my experience, with the possible exception of some Chinese folk/classical music (which I can't claim to be especially familiar with), Chinese speakers don't seem to attempt to preserve the tonal nature of their language when they sing. Maybe a native speaker could corroborate? A listener therefore relies somewhat more than normal on context for meaning. This is certainly the case with Gregorian melodies adapted into Chinese that I have heard. That's why your example of the Vietnamese singer sounds very interesting. I wish I could have hear it.

Poor English? Surely you jest. That was very interesting, actually.

Would you mind posting a recording?

Unfortunately I only learned Zhuyin and cannot read the characters yet. South African Chinese - Hakka :)

I was told by an Anglican priest who has spent a lot of time in Hong Kong that, because of this translation/language issue, the Chinese government (and many Chinese people) effectively see Catholicism and Protestantism as completely different religions.

Do you find that to be the case?

The mainland Chinese government officially recognizes five major religions in China, namely: Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Islam. In a sense, Chinese government and Chinese people count Catholicism and Protestantism as different because they have different leaders, or hierarchy, or governance.

But I do think that the Chinese government and many people are aware that Catholicism and Protestantism both believe in the same God, and that one was separated from another some point in history. And many people have at least heard the name Martin Luther.

The difference in translation is a bit of a dividing factor, but then, just about everybody knows that both Catholicism and Protestantism have the same Bible... well, kind of the same, with different translations, etc.

Also, both Catholics and Protestants go to church on Sunday.

Occasionally, some who have been taught misinformation would think they know the difference between the two: "Oh, Catholics worship Mary; they have a Pope ("King of the Religion") and "Christians" don't; "Christians" believe in the Bible alone, divine, free of traditions rooted in human errors, etc.)

However, it also seems that overall Protestants in China aren't as aggressively spreading such misinformation. Some say that because both groups were persecuted under the same Cultural Revolution, Catholics and Protestants in China tend to empathize and respect each other more, and hence less attack against one another.

I would say that the Catholic and Protestant churches do not mingle very often, but there are occasions where there is cooperation, e.g. performing in the same concert, helping the poor and the sick, their leaders making joint statements at government-organized events, etc.

In the case of dismantling crosses from Protestant parish roofs in Zhejiang province (?), the Catholic bishop there did organize at least one protests showing their solidarity with their Protestant brethren.

So, I don't think the populace think of the two as "completely different religions". As a matter of fact, I think many people often confuse the two, especially when the terminologies are ambiguous. You see, "Protestants" in China call themselves "Christians", and their religion is officially called "Christianity" in Chinese. Sometimes with clarification, as in "Christianity (New Religion)". For Catholicism, it is mostly known in Chinese as "Heavenly Lord Religion".

Just my random 2 cents. :-)

Anthony your English is excellent.
Verbose is better for unusual topics.
I am enjoying this very much.

This is a fascinating discussion, and I am glad to learn something new. Thanks.

Well, that isn’t wrong...