A rare Chinese Bible recently sold at auction for more than 56,000 pounds, according to BBC.
This rare text, believed to be the first Bible written in Chinese and dating back to around 1815, was discovered among donations from volunteers at an Oxfam charity bookstore in Chelmsford, Essex, England.
From March 10 to 20, the Bible was on auction with a final bid of 56,280 pounds along with 23 other texts at Bonhams, including a first edition of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and a first edition of Manifesto of the Communist by Karl Marx.
The Chinese Bible was found two years ago when volunteers knew "it was something special." It was not displayed for sale.
Originally estimated to be sold for 800 pounds, the bookstore staff were shocked when it sold for more than 56,000 pounds, said the manager, Nick Reeves.
According to Bonhams, the Bible was translated by John Lassar and Joshua Marshman as "the first complete Bible in Chinese, which was published serially in Serampore, starting with the Pentateuch in 1817, for a total of five parts." There's another copy collected at John Rylands Research and Institute Library where the version was "originally issued in paper wrappers with title labels pasted on the upper cover."
The provenance of this Chinese Bible traces back to Thomas Dickson, bearing the inscription: "Tho. Dickson from his affectionate mother, 28th March 1836, Abbot's Reading." However, it's unknown how this book arrived in the U.K. and was later donated to the Oxfam bookstore.
The money will used for eliminating poverty and injustice across the globe.
