The first complete Chinese Bible, translated by the Protestant missionary Robert Morrison and published in 1823, was given a thorough revision soon after his death in 1834. The group translation was led by W. H. Medhurst, a missionary of the London Missionary Society. The objective was to replace Morrison’s version, which was thought to be a literal translation lacking readability, with an intelligible new version acceptable to Chinese people. However, the new revision caused a controversy over the principles of translation between Medhurst and his brothers in the London Missionary Society who were not involved in the revision project. Because of this controversy, the British and Foreign Bible Society refused to acknowledge and give patronage to the project, because the revised version was criticized as paraphrasing rather than translating-a presumptuous and irreverent act.