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The Discovery of Genesis: How the Truths of Genesis Were Found Hidden in the Chinese Language
In this linguistic analysis, the two distinguished authors dissect Chinese characters to reveal that, according to their research, the ancient Chinese were aware of the God of Abraham and the Chinese were, possibly, a remnant of the Tower of Babel dispersion. The authors break down Chinese characters to provide a visual for learning how the story of the world's creation by the One True God is evident in the Chinese language.
157 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
June 14, 2020
There are several credible lines that connect with what’s revealed in the early chapters in Genesis. History, archeology, geography etc. This book offers another credible line of evidence within the language of the ancient Chinese. Several words, combined ideographs, no doubt seem to show meanings that have a connection with what’s revealed to us in Genesis. Almost as if the ancient Chinese knew that part of their history is rooted far away in the East. A creation by a most high God, a fall, a flood, tower and dispersion. While nothing is full proof, it’s certainly very interesting speculation and adds just another line of evidence to consider.
October 21, 2019
Incredible study on the origins of the traditional Chinese written language. I’ve studied some of these words in Chinese school but at surface level only - only memorizing the characters strokes but never trying to understand the often senseless combining of various roots to make a word.
This book seeks to provide readers a different worldview and lens, a different cultural river, that the first Chinese scribes may have had. Chinese characters were likely completely rational and logical to them - and if we look deeply enough it does seem that the common thread of rationality in many characters is a common understanding 4000-6000 years ago in ancient China of a Genesis-based worldview - of creation, of a garden, of original sin, of floods, of Babel, and of one supreme good God. The same God they then worshipped for the first 2,000 or so years of China’s kingdoms (Shang Ti, yes what Chinese Christians still use now to refer to the Christian God).
I’m not sure if 100% of the claims in this book are true (don’t even think the authors mean for them to be more than theories and conjectures) but when reading the whole it seems hard to debate.
Highly recommend this book.
This book seeks to provide readers a different worldview and lens, a different cultural river, that the first Chinese scribes may have had. Chinese characters were likely completely rational and logical to them - and if we look deeply enough it does seem that the common thread of rationality in many characters is a common understanding 4000-6000 years ago in ancient China of a Genesis-based worldview - of creation, of a garden, of original sin, of floods, of Babel, and of one supreme good God. The same God they then worshipped for the first 2,000 or so years of China’s kingdoms (Shang Ti, yes what Chinese Christians still use now to refer to the Christian God).
I’m not sure if 100% of the claims in this book are true (don’t even think the authors mean for them to be more than theories and conjectures) but when reading the whole it seems hard to debate.
Highly recommend this book.
March 3, 2014
This provided a fascinating insight into the possibility that the Chinese, isolated for thousands of years from the outside world, may have had the Genesis story during the early dynastic eras, when they were still a monotheistic society.
The book analyzes Chinese pictograms and ideograms, and in the process discovers that their component parts, called "radicals", bear a striking similarity, in how they are organized to form words and ideas, to the story of Adam and Eve, Satan, the Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, and the flood.
While there is certainly a level of interpretation here in drawing these conclusions, one can hardly dismiss the uncanny parallels between the language's ideographic construction and the tales of the creation of the world as told by the Christian bible.
A fascinating read.
The book analyzes Chinese pictograms and ideograms, and in the process discovers that their component parts, called "radicals", bear a striking similarity, in how they are organized to form words and ideas, to the story of Adam and Eve, Satan, the Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, and the flood.
While there is certainly a level of interpretation here in drawing these conclusions, one can hardly dismiss the uncanny parallels between the language's ideographic construction and the tales of the creation of the world as told by the Christian bible.
A fascinating read.
August 23, 2023
An exceptional book that looks at the Chinese language and how the pictograms and ideograms used as characters in the language to express concepts and ideas was influenced by the worship of the One True God, which they called Shen, or ShangTi or ShangDi, starting around 4,500 years ago. It is remarkable the way in which the Chinese characters incorporate elements of the story of humankind that is contained in the Genesis account, in particular, that of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Furthermore elements of the consequences of the Fall after they sinned against God's command to not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil which led to their banishment and losing access to the Tree of Life are captured in these Chinese characters and have been preserved throughout the ages. So, it is hypothesized that the Chinese people had an understanding of worshipping the One True God, El Shaddai, and took that knowledge and instituted the animal sacrifices after being scattered from the land of Shinar where the people that migrated from the east chose to build a city and a tower with its top in the heavens (Genesis 11:2-4). The claim is made that the Chinese had continued animal sacrifices until the early 20th century (when China ceased to have an emperor) but lost the understanding of why they had done what God commanded His people to do through the ancient Hebrews.
Truly a fascinating book worth reading!
Truly a fascinating book worth reading!
October 12, 2014
Easily the best book i will read this year. CH Kang and Ethel R Nelson attempt to find similarities in Chinese characters (Chinese writing) and the Biblical book of Genesis concluding that the ancient Chinese were monotheists who worshiped the one true God of the Bible, were scattered, perhaps voluntarily, around the time of the Tower of Babel and migrated to China where they have had an unbroken culture for over 4,500 years.
The evidence they put forth is that since the culture has remained intact-obviously changing, but never obliterated or conquered-many aspects of the original culture remain the same; the most obvious of these is the written characters used to represent speech.
The authors walk the reader through a basic understanding of how chinese writing works. it's similar to english except it uses pictographs instead of letters. Pictographs can be more abstract and difficult to understand. However, the words used are explained well.
In Chinese it seems that an entire word is composed of several unrelated words which actually tells a story in itself. Examples, used to support their theory and explain to the reader how the writing works is below.
1st + man + enclosure(garden) = west meaning the chinese came from the west where the tower of babel was.
cover + 2 trees (under the cover symbol) + devil = tempter meaning the devil tempted underneath the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil
heaven + covers + water + rains + 3 persons + working magic = spirit meaning-this one is totally abstract and makes no sense unless you are familiar with Genesis. working magic is the miracle work God/Holy Spirit does. 3 persons are the trinity (Father/Son/Holy Spirit) working together. During creation the heavens covered the water of the earth, but there was water in the air too, the firmament above. The Spirit hovered above the waters
dust + breath of mouth + alive = to talk
to talk + walking = to create meaning nothing if you aren't familiar with Genesis. But the authors propose that the first Chinese in fact were familiar. So, this character told the story of God creating Adam. From the dust of the Earth, God breathed into him and Adam became alive and was able to talk and walk. Thus, God finished creating.
There are many many more examples given. One relates to the word for woman-it has a an incision in adam's side. The word for fire is two people burning which indicates adam and eve's reflecting God's glory prior to the fall. There is so much more. This book is absolutely amazing.
The authors recall the history of monotheism in China, when Buddhism, Taoism and other religions arrived. They use ancient and calligraphic forms of Chinese writing which further supports their claims.
The evidence they put forth is that since the culture has remained intact-obviously changing, but never obliterated or conquered-many aspects of the original culture remain the same; the most obvious of these is the written characters used to represent speech.
The authors walk the reader through a basic understanding of how chinese writing works. it's similar to english except it uses pictographs instead of letters. Pictographs can be more abstract and difficult to understand. However, the words used are explained well.
In Chinese it seems that an entire word is composed of several unrelated words which actually tells a story in itself. Examples, used to support their theory and explain to the reader how the writing works is below.
1st + man + enclosure(garden) = west meaning the chinese came from the west where the tower of babel was.
cover + 2 trees (under the cover symbol) + devil = tempter meaning the devil tempted underneath the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil
heaven + covers + water + rains + 3 persons + working magic = spirit meaning-this one is totally abstract and makes no sense unless you are familiar with Genesis. working magic is the miracle work God/Holy Spirit does. 3 persons are the trinity (Father/Son/Holy Spirit) working together. During creation the heavens covered the water of the earth, but there was water in the air too, the firmament above. The Spirit hovered above the waters
dust + breath of mouth + alive = to talk
to talk + walking = to create meaning nothing if you aren't familiar with Genesis. But the authors propose that the first Chinese in fact were familiar. So, this character told the story of God creating Adam. From the dust of the Earth, God breathed into him and Adam became alive and was able to talk and walk. Thus, God finished creating.
There are many many more examples given. One relates to the word for woman-it has a an incision in adam's side. The word for fire is two people burning which indicates adam and eve's reflecting God's glory prior to the fall. There is so much more. This book is absolutely amazing.
The authors recall the history of monotheism in China, when Buddhism, Taoism and other religions arrived. They use ancient and calligraphic forms of Chinese writing which further supports their claims.
July 16, 2019
Kang makes a compelling case: there are seeds of the gospel embedded in the Chinese language.
Incredible insights presented in a fairly disjointed way.
If you are Christian who is interested in China and the Chines language, Kang's insights are fascinating. But it's not exactly a page turner.
Since I don't speak the language it's hard to verify Kang's claims but they are amazing if true:
- China's language is rooted in the Biblical stories found in Genesis.
Incredible insights presented in a fairly disjointed way.
If you are Christian who is interested in China and the Chines language, Kang's insights are fascinating. But it's not exactly a page turner.
Since I don't speak the language it's hard to verify Kang's claims but they are amazing if true:
- China's language is rooted in the Biblical stories found in Genesis.
May 1, 2013
The basis of this book is an earlier work by Pastor C. H. Kang which has been embellished by Dr. Ethel R. Nelson, who served as a medical pathologist in Thailand. The basic premise of the book is simply that Chinese characters, in particular ancient Chinese characters that pre-date Christian missionary work in China, betray knowledge of the first eleven chapters of Genesis.
The book itself is very interesting, and even if one doesn't agree with every argument, there is, I think, sufficient credible evidence in the Chinese ideographs to make the case that whoever developed these Chinese characters did so with an eye on the Genesis accounts.
The author believes the creators of the Chinese characters were part of the migration that happened after the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). The book uses traditional dating of the early Genesis chapters to establish the date of this migration, which they believe coincides with the earliest evidence we have of Chinese characters. I wouldn't place as much confidence in these traditional dates for Genesis 1-11. The point of the Genesis account is not to establish a timeline, so there may be omissions and additional data necessary to give dates to specific events. In any case, I think the author's claim is still worthy of consideration even aside from dating issues. The fact that a number of Chinese ideographs seem to describe events in Genesis (e.g., the verb "to create" includes the characters for dust, mouth, life, and able to walk), and these characters could not have been influenced by later Christian missionaries, demonstrates that these people knew about the biblical stories somehow--perhaps by transmission of oral traditions. If these characters are older than the Old Testament, this means the accounts we read in Genesis predate Moses' documentation of the stories. Most Christians have no problem with this, but skeptics of the biblical accounts, who commonly believe the Genesis stories were written later based on Mesopotamian myths, ought to take note.
The book itself is worth four stars for presenting a fascinating case in layman's terms. You don't have to be a linguist, or even conversant with Chinese, to appreciate what the author says. There is an excessive use of the passive voice, and I would take issue with some of the theology in the book (e.g., the suggestion that the devil came up with the idea that the soul never dies, which is actually orthodox Christian teaching: one's soul will ultimately end up in heaven or hell, where it will remain for eternity), and some of the arguments are a bit of a stretch. However, on the whole, I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in language, Chinese in particular, and reaching Chinese people with the gospel.
The book itself is very interesting, and even if one doesn't agree with every argument, there is, I think, sufficient credible evidence in the Chinese ideographs to make the case that whoever developed these Chinese characters did so with an eye on the Genesis accounts.
The author believes the creators of the Chinese characters were part of the migration that happened after the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). The book uses traditional dating of the early Genesis chapters to establish the date of this migration, which they believe coincides with the earliest evidence we have of Chinese characters. I wouldn't place as much confidence in these traditional dates for Genesis 1-11. The point of the Genesis account is not to establish a timeline, so there may be omissions and additional data necessary to give dates to specific events. In any case, I think the author's claim is still worthy of consideration even aside from dating issues. The fact that a number of Chinese ideographs seem to describe events in Genesis (e.g., the verb "to create" includes the characters for dust, mouth, life, and able to walk), and these characters could not have been influenced by later Christian missionaries, demonstrates that these people knew about the biblical stories somehow--perhaps by transmission of oral traditions. If these characters are older than the Old Testament, this means the accounts we read in Genesis predate Moses' documentation of the stories. Most Christians have no problem with this, but skeptics of the biblical accounts, who commonly believe the Genesis stories were written later based on Mesopotamian myths, ought to take note.
The book itself is worth four stars for presenting a fascinating case in layman's terms. You don't have to be a linguist, or even conversant with Chinese, to appreciate what the author says. There is an excessive use of the passive voice, and I would take issue with some of the theology in the book (e.g., the suggestion that the devil came up with the idea that the soul never dies, which is actually orthodox Christian teaching: one's soul will ultimately end up in heaven or hell, where it will remain for eternity), and some of the arguments are a bit of a stretch. However, on the whole, I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in language, Chinese in particular, and reaching Chinese people with the gospel.
December 1, 2010
Reading this, I felt like I was watching a "doctor" named Bubba offering to start an epidural with his chainsaw. There was absolutely fascinating material that was good enough to make the rest of the book worth it, but then there was other material. The author--and this was simply tragic--offered opinions that were his very own. I honestly don't know if he could have destroyed his ethos more if he claimed to be the reincarnation of Jerry Garcia. Adam and Eve apparently were covered in an imitation of God's Glory Cloud, complete with glowing flames, and this disappeared when, as a terrible surprise to God, Eve disobeyed. Adam nobly followed along out of his undying love for his bride not because he was too lazy to do anything while he was there with her (a fact that went right over our illustrious author's head), nor because Eve was the world's first guinea pig--no, it was a noble action. To make matters even worse, he helpfully fills out Scripture wherever he feels that God forgot to make a necessary entry.
However, the sheer quality of the material did almost make up for that. I got to the point where I skimmed the prose to minimize rage (if someone's going to say something really stupid in a book, they ought to have the decency to make the book large enough to be worth beating your head against) until I hit parts that involved Chinese characters.
The thesis of this book is that whoever compiled the pictographic language of (primarily Mandarin) Chinese had knowledge of the Genesis account, and embedded it into the language. The evidence for this is primarily found in which radicals, which are the building blocks of the Mandarin language that have a distinct meaning of their own, in which radicals are combined to make another word. For example: the word "covet" is comprised of the radical that signifies a woman combined with two of the radicals that mean tree. So, when someone writes covet in Mandarin, they put a woman and two trees together. And there are many, many astonishing examples of this, though not nearly so many as our author thinks there are. He's got a hammer, and everything begins to bear an uncanny resemblance to the head of a nail.
However, the sheer quality of the material did almost make up for that. I got to the point where I skimmed the prose to minimize rage (if someone's going to say something really stupid in a book, they ought to have the decency to make the book large enough to be worth beating your head against) until I hit parts that involved Chinese characters.
The thesis of this book is that whoever compiled the pictographic language of (primarily Mandarin) Chinese had knowledge of the Genesis account, and embedded it into the language. The evidence for this is primarily found in which radicals, which are the building blocks of the Mandarin language that have a distinct meaning of their own, in which radicals are combined to make another word. For example: the word "covet" is comprised of the radical that signifies a woman combined with two of the radicals that mean tree. So, when someone writes covet in Mandarin, they put a woman and two trees together. And there are many, many astonishing examples of this, though not nearly so many as our author thinks there are. He's got a hammer, and everything begins to bear an uncanny resemblance to the head of a nail.
July 19, 2012
This has to be one of the most unique books I have read. It takes some Chinese characters and explains how many of the words when broken down show some interesting comparisons to the Book of Genesis in the Bible.
For example, the Chinese word for garden appears to be made up of the Chinese words for dust + breath + two persons + enclosure. (p. 54) This would relate to the Genesis description of mankind being created by dust, being given the breath of life, Adam and Eve, living in a garden.
Very interesting read.
For example, the Chinese word for garden appears to be made up of the Chinese words for dust + breath + two persons + enclosure. (p. 54) This would relate to the Genesis description of mankind being created by dust, being given the breath of life, Adam and Eve, living in a garden.
Very interesting read.
May 6, 2025
The authors of this book think the Chinese language is a clear pointer to the story of genesis. I cannot share their enthusiasm. Many signs can be explained otherwise. Also, they go beyond what is written in the bible and give their own story of how it could have been. Other signs are just normal, for example changing residence is two fire and a roof, which for me just sounds like going from one fire to another, because living somewhere in the past meant to have a fire there, but the authors says it has something to do with Adam and Eve.
There were only very few signs which were very interesting. The one for boat which includes the number 8 and the one for lamb, but see for yourself.
There were only very few signs which were very interesting. The one for boat which includes the number 8 and the one for lamb, but see for yourself.
August 22, 2021
The author (Ethel R. Nelson coming from a Seventh Day Adventist background) contends that Chinese characters are evidence for creationism. While she makes some convincing points connecting the Chinese characters and accounts of Genesis, there is insufficient evidence for each claim she makes while going off on a tangent from her main idea. There are minor claims spread throughout the book with flimsy support and coherency. Overall, interesting topic and arguments that bring forth speculation, but I ended up stopping at page 35 largely due to my distate of the authors' style of write-up.
December 29, 2025
I am amending my review of this, as I've done some more research and I was mistaken with the video link at the end, the person who gave the talk was some pastor using the book as part of his message, rather than the author himself. The thoughts on the book itself are unchanged though
*****Original Review Below*******
Honestly one of the most fascinating things I've ever read. Finding the biblical creation account literally written into the language of the ancient Chinese is an unbelievably significant revelation that lends an absurd amount of credence to the reality of the account. It would be impossible to believe if not for the fact that all the ideograms cited are still in use today and publicly available for independent investigation. Some of the interpretations used are a bit of a stretch, but others are impossible to ignore. [Link Removed]
*****Original Review Below*******
Honestly one of the most fascinating things I've ever read. Finding the biblical creation account literally written into the language of the ancient Chinese is an unbelievably significant revelation that lends an absurd amount of credence to the reality of the account. It would be impossible to believe if not for the fact that all the ideograms cited are still in use today and publicly available for independent investigation. Some of the interpretations used are a bit of a stretch, but others are impossible to ignore. [Link Removed]
January 29, 2022
Interesting premise and analysese, but to base what is stated as fact on solely the author’s independent research with no other proofs than the Bible and some few, cited traditions as justification, along with the assistance of a single person in China who in fact speaks the language, I have huge doubts.
And this is coming from someone who believes that the Bible is inerrrantly, completely, all true. And who also speaks Chinese.
And this is coming from someone who believes that the Bible is inerrrantly, completely, all true. And who also speaks Chinese.
February 23, 2025
Fascinating read. The ancient Chinese most probably knew something about the stories in Genesis and began as a monotheistic people like the ancient Hebrews. The author makes it easy to understand whether or not the reader knows Chinese already. I’ve known for quite a while some of the Christian symbolisms in a number of Chinese characters but the author helped me discover many more. I will never look at those words the same way again!
December 25, 2025
Chinese characters tell the Biblical story
The pictures inherent in the language are related to the Biblical story. The earth before the flood is compared to the current world. The general picture is loose enough to encompass most of the speculation about the total history of the earth, how it came about, what it is, and what shall come. It is not exciting to read but provides a lot of background.
The pictures inherent in the language are related to the Biblical story. The earth before the flood is compared to the current world. The general picture is loose enough to encompass most of the speculation about the total history of the earth, how it came about, what it is, and what shall come. It is not exciting to read but provides a lot of background.
July 31, 2021
As I read this book I found myself a bit skeptical, though intrigued. Toward the end the author points out that any one point could be questionable, but to step back and view it as a whole.. could it really just be coincidence? Really good read as a whole!
June 14, 2025
A great read if you want some interesting Christian history of the Chinese language! My only critique is that some of the connections between the Genesis stories and Chinese characters might be a bit of a stretch. Overall, a very interesting read.
January 13, 2026
This book points out how the ancient Chinese characters point to the bible. Some of them are easy to brush away as coincidence, some feel like a definite pattern and a couple are hard to explain away.
I'm interested in ancient history and it's another clue to what was happening then.
I'm interested in ancient history and it's another clue to what was happening then.
October 16, 2017
Fascinating look at the ancient Chinese language.
January 9, 2019
Very informative and enjoyable read.
September 4, 2019
Really intriguing. I'd be interested in the thoughts of those more familiar with this written language about the significance of these patterns
December 28, 2022
Compelling arguments that connect ancient Chinese pictographs to the Genesis account.
January 17, 2026
"Fact or astonishing coincidence?"
Moderate coincidence, even more conjecture, and a heaping dose of begging the question.
Still an effective study tool for learning Chinese.
Moderate coincidence, even more conjecture, and a heaping dose of begging the question.
Still an effective study tool for learning Chinese.
December 22, 2011
I came to this this book a tad bit skeptical. The idea that ancient Chinese characters could be pictographs of the Genesis account was a new concept that probably only Christians could see, I imagined. But Kang and Nelson’s discoveries – as a whole – changed my mind. Individually, some characters could be debated, but with so many individual characters conspiring with allusion to the Genesis story, the conclusion cannot be ignored.
The writing is easy to follow, easy enough for someone ignorant of the language, like me, to understand and discover the conclusions. I give it four stars for the occasionally loose argument and short length of context in explanation. (But then again, I love books to tell everything...)
Samples of the wonders revealed through Kang and Nelson’s work include their discovery of the Chinese “border” sacrifice, which looked amazingly similar to the Hebrew’s version. Also, the calculation that the Chinese language was formulated at just about the same time Bible scholars estimate the Tower of Babel’s dispersion. And how the ancient (pre-Taoist, -Confucian, and -Buddhist) monotheistic deity Shang-Ti is described as a benevolent, all-powerful Father is certainly eye-opening. Surely if the Bible is true history, one can find its ideas reaching far back in all cultures. No wonder there is a flood story in almost every ancient civilization. There is always a truth, even just a grain, in multiple attestations.
In terms of characters, the wonders are collectively amazing. Some are argued a bit loosely, but some are quite convincing:
boat = vessel + eight + people
to covet = trees (2) + woman
to create = dust + life + able to walk + mouth (a grown man, able to walk, is revived by the breath of life from God’s mouth)
The symbol for “water” is oddly vertical, indicating some sort of fountain as man’s first encounter with the liquid – either in the Garden, as the mist God gave as irrigation (Genesis 2:6), or in the Flood, from the rain that suddenly debuted upon the world (Genesis 7:11).
And the fact that so many seemingly random characters feature the symbol for “garden” is significant. The four-sided cross-section could easily picture an irrigated plot of land etymologically, but when seen in such pictographs for “devil,” “fruit,” “naked,” “happiness,” and “tempter” – collectively, one has to be convinced.
The Chinese characters are also strikingly revelatory in the realm of Christian doctrine, as the ancient Asian perspective revealed some things the Bible chose to leave out, such as the the Chinese form for “fire” picturing a “man” clothed with “flames.” Moses’ face shone with the glory of the Father when he came in contact with God. Why couldn’t Adam and Eve been clothed with that same sinless glory? No wonder they suddenly realized they were naked when they sinned. And the idea that God is the energy that formed matter (E=mc2) was alluded to in this book, an idea I had been considering for a while now.
In conclusion, I am delighted to have read this book. It is such a new perspective, yet the idea that ancient cultures must have known about the world’s most significant events (namely, Creation, the Fall, the Flood, Babel’s dispersion) makes logical sense. Another book, Eternity in Their Hearts: Startling Evidence of Belief in the One True God in Hundreds of Cultures Throughout the World by Don Richardson, illustrates the significance of this book’s theme: When a Christian missionary to China showed how some characters revealed the Genesis story, the Chinese man suddenly realized that Christianity is not a foreign religion. Instead, it is simple historical fact and reality – a history indeed embedded in his very own culture, his very own language.
The writing is easy to follow, easy enough for someone ignorant of the language, like me, to understand and discover the conclusions. I give it four stars for the occasionally loose argument and short length of context in explanation. (But then again, I love books to tell everything...)
Samples of the wonders revealed through Kang and Nelson’s work include their discovery of the Chinese “border” sacrifice, which looked amazingly similar to the Hebrew’s version. Also, the calculation that the Chinese language was formulated at just about the same time Bible scholars estimate the Tower of Babel’s dispersion. And how the ancient (pre-Taoist, -Confucian, and -Buddhist) monotheistic deity Shang-Ti is described as a benevolent, all-powerful Father is certainly eye-opening. Surely if the Bible is true history, one can find its ideas reaching far back in all cultures. No wonder there is a flood story in almost every ancient civilization. There is always a truth, even just a grain, in multiple attestations.
In terms of characters, the wonders are collectively amazing. Some are argued a bit loosely, but some are quite convincing:
boat = vessel + eight + people
to covet = trees (2) + woman
to create = dust + life + able to walk + mouth (a grown man, able to walk, is revived by the breath of life from God’s mouth)
The symbol for “water” is oddly vertical, indicating some sort of fountain as man’s first encounter with the liquid – either in the Garden, as the mist God gave as irrigation (Genesis 2:6), or in the Flood, from the rain that suddenly debuted upon the world (Genesis 7:11).
And the fact that so many seemingly random characters feature the symbol for “garden” is significant. The four-sided cross-section could easily picture an irrigated plot of land etymologically, but when seen in such pictographs for “devil,” “fruit,” “naked,” “happiness,” and “tempter” – collectively, one has to be convinced.
The Chinese characters are also strikingly revelatory in the realm of Christian doctrine, as the ancient Asian perspective revealed some things the Bible chose to leave out, such as the the Chinese form for “fire” picturing a “man” clothed with “flames.” Moses’ face shone with the glory of the Father when he came in contact with God. Why couldn’t Adam and Eve been clothed with that same sinless glory? No wonder they suddenly realized they were naked when they sinned. And the idea that God is the energy that formed matter (E=mc2) was alluded to in this book, an idea I had been considering for a while now.
In conclusion, I am delighted to have read this book. It is such a new perspective, yet the idea that ancient cultures must have known about the world’s most significant events (namely, Creation, the Fall, the Flood, Babel’s dispersion) makes logical sense. Another book, Eternity in Their Hearts: Startling Evidence of Belief in the One True God in Hundreds of Cultures Throughout the World by Don Richardson, illustrates the significance of this book’s theme: When a Christian missionary to China showed how some characters revealed the Genesis story, the Chinese man suddenly realized that Christianity is not a foreign religion. Instead, it is simple historical fact and reality – a history indeed embedded in his very own culture, his very own language.
February 24, 2025
"Está escrito:
樣"
樣"
September 6, 2013
A friend loaned me this book, and I am so glad I got to read it. I had heard a few examples of how the Gospel was recorded in this pictographic language, but I had no idea the story of Genesis was so ingeniously preserved in Chinese characters, as well.
The authors spent several years researching and compiling this book. Reverend Kang is a native Chinese, who discovered the truth by accident many years ago. Ethel Nelson is an American missionary who was so intrigued by an earlier publication by C.H. Kang that she urged him to partner with her to go into more detail. With the help of a flexible publisher and a talented calligrapher, they unfold the history of mankind from creation to the Tower of Babel from this written language that predates the Old Testament!
The authors painstakingly show how the elemental parts of several ancient Chinese characters eloquently tell the story of Adam and Eve, the Great Flood, the Tower of Babel and other early Biblical accounts. The foundations of the Gospel were preserved in the Chinese language, long before Christian missionaries ever set foot in the Far East!
If language and the Bible interest you at all, if you or someone else are skeptical about the first 11 chapters of Genesis, or if the prevalence of creation and flood stories in non-Jewish or -Christian cultures intrigues you, then this book would be a fascinating read. Especially get a copy for the Chinese in your circle of acquaintance. Whether they are followers of Christ or not, they will find this history of their language fascinating.
The authors spent several years researching and compiling this book. Reverend Kang is a native Chinese, who discovered the truth by accident many years ago. Ethel Nelson is an American missionary who was so intrigued by an earlier publication by C.H. Kang that she urged him to partner with her to go into more detail. With the help of a flexible publisher and a talented calligrapher, they unfold the history of mankind from creation to the Tower of Babel from this written language that predates the Old Testament!
The authors painstakingly show how the elemental parts of several ancient Chinese characters eloquently tell the story of Adam and Eve, the Great Flood, the Tower of Babel and other early Biblical accounts. The foundations of the Gospel were preserved in the Chinese language, long before Christian missionaries ever set foot in the Far East!
If language and the Bible interest you at all, if you or someone else are skeptical about the first 11 chapters of Genesis, or if the prevalence of creation and flood stories in non-Jewish or -Christian cultures intrigues you, then this book would be a fascinating read. Especially get a copy for the Chinese in your circle of acquaintance. Whether they are followers of Christ or not, they will find this history of their language fascinating.
March 9, 2013
To echo Paul Zimmerman, who wrote the foreword of this book, "...the ancient picture writing of the Chinese language embodies memories of man's earliest days."
Many of these ancient language characters have been preserved in the picture writing of the modern Chinese written language.
In short, this book reveals how the ancient Chinese picture writing (language characters) tell the story of Genesis 1 - Genesis 11. For instance, the ancient Chinese language character for "boat" is essentially a pictogram that contains the following three symbols in it: a vessel, the number 8, and the symbol for mouth/person. Incredibly, contained in this is a reference to Noah's flood. Noah and his family were 8 individuals that survived the flood because of the vessel (the ark) that they were in.
Also embedded in Chinese picture writing are references to Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, the Spirit of God, and much much more.
Well worth the read.
Many of these ancient language characters have been preserved in the picture writing of the modern Chinese written language.
In short, this book reveals how the ancient Chinese picture writing (language characters) tell the story of Genesis 1 - Genesis 11. For instance, the ancient Chinese language character for "boat" is essentially a pictogram that contains the following three symbols in it: a vessel, the number 8, and the symbol for mouth/person. Incredibly, contained in this is a reference to Noah's flood. Noah and his family were 8 individuals that survived the flood because of the vessel (the ark) that they were in.
Also embedded in Chinese picture writing are references to Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, the Spirit of God, and much much more.
Well worth the read.
April 13, 2016
Very interesting in its presentation, but fanciful in its assertion while being strong in its creativity. Personally, methinks that there is more likelihood of similar ideas spreading through civilizations, grasping popular imagination and appearing as co-incidences across cultures than Chinese characters being an encrypted preservative of biblical fantasies. Linguistic interpretation as a source of history is anyway the weakest possible tool in viewing the past. Believing the thesis of this book to be true would be accepting that PIE language holds the divine key of unlocking our distant past. But nonetheless, as a work of fiction, this book was thoroughly enjoyable as the reader is led through viewing interesting patterns, which is a far more realistic achievement of this book than the claimed intent or anything else.
December 23, 2012
This book explores the idea that written Chinese characters have their roots within the story of Genesis. Some of the claims are a stretch, but the overwhelming amount of connections and inferences within this book is sure to outweigh any doubt for those that question its entire premise. However, without any intricate knowledge of the Chinese writing system, I must simply believe what the authors say on faith. The work tends towards the repetitive, and without firsthand knowledge or interest in the subject, it may quickly bore. This book is an encouragement for those questioning their faith or are simply curious about Christianity, but this book is truly meant for someone who knows both English and Chinese.
December 29, 2015
This book is interesting. I am unfamiliar with the history and languages of the Chinese and eastern cultures, this does provide some insight into their beliefs and language. I believe the thoughts are intriguing but sometimes I remained unconvinced, especially at the beginning when I was still skeptical. However, I thought the book ended with a fairly convincing argument, and if nothing else, it should give a person some information to at least think about and examine further. I doubt that this book alone would convince an unbeliever that Genesis 1-11 is true and historical.
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