晚清新教来华传教士与晚清语文之间的关系，一方面体现在《圣经》中译上，另一方面则集中体现在"西学东渐"上。随着"西学东渐"的深入和普及，包括中国北方内陆的对外开放，传教士们的中文观及翻译实践，不仅出现了深刻持续的内部分化，而且在"文言——文言文"与"白话——白话文"这两个体系之间，形成了两个不同的阵营。两者之间的分歧与博弈，以1919年"和合本"官话《圣经》的完成出版而宣告后者实际上的胜利。传教士内部的这一本土语文之争，某种意义上也反映出来华传教士团体内部在古典语文及古典文化与现代语文及现代文化之间的困扰与纠缠。

The relationship between the Protestant missionaries in China and Chinese language in the late Qing Dynasty is reflected both in the translation of the Bible and the "Eastward Spread of Western Culture". With the deepening and popularization of "Eastward Spread of Western Culture" and the opening up of the interior northern China, the missionaries' views on Chinese language and their translation practices experienced a profound and continuous internal differentiation, forming two opposite groups in terms of "classical Chinese vs. vernacular Chinese". The disagreement and the controversy between them ended up with the victory of the latter when the "union version" Bible in Mandarin was issued in 1919. To a certain extent, this controversy about local language also reflects the perplexity about the relationship between classical Chinese language/culture and modern Chinese/culture in missionaries.