| BACK |
CHAPTER I The T'ang Dynasty (AD 618-877) was a golden age of Chinese culture. No wonder that the Chinese people call themselves T'ang people and the overseas Chinese settlements in New York and San Francisco are known as T'ang quarters. T'ang China was known to all her neighbours as the Up-per Kingdom. In Ch'ien Chi's famous poem, Farewell to a Japanese Monk Bound Hom,eward, we read; "In the Upper Kingdom you were Chang-an, the upper capital, was the centre of imperial splendour. Caravans brought with them traders and jugglers, monks and pilgrims from Persia, Armenia and even from Antioch and Byzantium. Their strange appearances and outlandish clothes never failed to amuse the Chinese onlookers. Meanwhile Chinese had also been d~ported to Central Asia or sent there as soldier-peasants to garrison the fortifications across the steppes . Several Chinese leaders during the T'ang Dynasty were of ' foreign origin. The poet Li Po's ancestral family had been exiled to the Western region in the 7th century. Li Po himself was born in AD 701, either on the way from Suyab to China or in Suyab , the modern Tokmak, in what is now the Soviet Republic of Turkestan. T'ang China had great confidence in her own cultural heritage. It was a period when China was most receptive to foreign influence and was ready to borrow from outside art forms and motifs and even to assimilate the faiths of her subject nations and friendly neighbors. Against such a setting, Nestorian Christianity first came to China. Alopen, the Persian Bishop, began the Nestorian mission in Chang-an in AD 635, the same year when St. Aidan came to preach the Gospel in Northumbria But why 635? In the beginning of the T'ang Dynasty, the overland route
between Persia and China had been barred by the people of Turkestan. The
Eastern Turks challenged the authority of the T'ang Emperor while the
Western Turks held sway over the valley of the River Chu with Tokmak as
their centre. However, in 630 the Eastern Turks were overwhe,Imed by T'ang
forces and the Western Turks without a fight surre.ndered to T'ang power
and influence. The route to Persia was therefore reopened. As we learn
from the T'ang Shu, "When the embassy from Bukhara came to the capital
to offer tribute, T'ai Tsung greeted the ambassador The semi-barbarian tribes in Central Asia agreed to honour the T'ang
Emperor by the title of "Tien-ko-han" (King of the Khans) recognizing
him as the leader of the International Peace League. Prof. Shen Shih-min,
author of a history of the Sui and T'ang Dynasties, has reminded us that
in the original Turkish tongue the term Tien-ko-han probably Thus, Alopen was able to make his historic journey to China. However, before 635 many merchants of Persi~n origin must have lived in Changan, and undoubtedly there were some Nestorians among them. Also, there must have been in the T'ang Capital a number of Nestorians of Central Asian origin from Sogdiana or from Bukhara. The very fact that the Emperor sent the minister of state Fang Hsuan-ling, to take an escort to the western outposts to meet Alopen suggests that elaborate preparations had been made for his conring. Again, as we learn from the Nestorian Monument, the Emperor granted Alopen permission to translate the Nestorian sutras in the Imperial Library. This was in line with the T'ang Dynasty's broad policy of toleration and interest in fostering foreign religions. In 638 Alopen with the help of Chinese associates completed the first Christian book in Chinese The Sutra of Jesus the Messiah. It was not a translation but rather a free adaptation to meet the needs of the mission in Chang-an. Japanese scholars indicate that the original was likely to be in the Persian or Sogdian language rather than Syriac. The term, "Uo-li-si-liam," for instance, seems to be a transliteration of Jerusalem in the Persian tongue. In this first Christian book in Chinese, Alopen took pains to show that
Christianity contained But this early Chinese Christian classic was not only an apology. It was an introduction to the Christian faith. The life of our Lord from the Nativity to the Passion was presented for the first time to Chinese readers. The Emperor was pleased with Alopen 's achievement. An imperial decree proclaimed the virtue of the Nestorian religion and ordered a Nestorian monastery to be built in the I-ning quarter by local officials . Now the I-ning quarter was in the extreme west of the city where the Persian and Central-Asian traders were concentrated. The site of the monastery was clearly indicated in the Chang-an Chi (AD 1076). "North of the east of the street is the foreign monastery of Persia. In the 12th Ching-Kuan year (AD 639), T'ai Tsung built it for Alopen, a foreign monk of Ta Ch'in." The monastery, therefore, seems to have been located in the north-east angle of the cross formed by the two main streets in the I-ning quarter. The monastery began with 21 monks. During the reign of Kao Tsung (649-693), Nestorian Christianity was further
favoured by the Nestorian Christianity witnessed a serious setback in the reign of the
usurping Empress Wu, a woman of great energy and ability. In 690 she proclaimed
herself the founder of a new dynasty -Chou - and wished to be remembered
by posterity as an outstanding Empress. Accordingly her half brother,
Wu San-Ssu, proposed to erect a gigantic column in her honor, to be located
outside the Tuan gate of the Imperial city. A famous Indian sculptor and
craftsman was commissioned to execute the intricate design. It was to
be an octagonal column with a height of 105 feet built in a base with
carved unicorns. On the pinnacle of the column was to be a dragon embracing
a large orb representing the rising sun. The enormous task of financing Only two years previously, the Buddhists of Loyang had opened an attack upon the Nestorians. Now Abraham's act of homage must have assured the Empress of the loyalty of the Nestorian congregation and thus averted the Buddhist attempt to uproot the young church from Chinese soil. For knowledge of this little known episode we owe much to the research of Prof. Lo Hsiang-lin, Professor of Chinese in Hong Kong University. Abraham came from a noble Persian family. Emperor Kao Tsung, noting his remarkable achievement and great fame, summoned him to his court and sent him on a mission to the countries east of Persia. The inscription on his tombstone stated that he brought the holy religion to the barbarian tribes who had since lived in peace and concord. Not least was the virtue of his leadership in summoning the kings of various countries to erect the heavenly column in the reign of Empress Wu. He died on the first day of the fourth month in the first year of Chun Yun (710) at his private residence in Loyang, aged 95. If Abraham, the nobleman, helped the Nestorians to stand firm and weather the storm of Buddhist antagonism in Loyang. Abraham, the abbot, with Bishop Gabriel, succeeded in "supporting together the mystic cord and tying the broken knot" after the mocking and slandering of the Nestorians by the Taoists in Chang-an (712-713). In 713 the Emperor Hsuan Tsung (712-757) ordered the Prince of Ning Kuo and four other princes to go to the Nestorian monastery to build and set up the altars again. In 744 he decreed that Abbot Abraham , together with Bishop George (Chi-ho), the monk Pu-lun and five other monks , should go to celebrate Holy Eucharist in the Hsing-chihg Palace, the residence of the Emperor 's elder brother and four other brothers . Of Bishop Gabriel (Chih-lieh) we obtain con-siderable information from
Chinese sources. It is Bishop Gabriel arrived in. Canton in 713 or earlier. He worked among Persian merchants and craftsmen and acquired a knowledge of Chinese. The Nestorian Church. in Canton was, no doubt, blessed by the presence and guidance of the Bishop . Furthermore, while in Canton. Gabriel made the acquaintance of the Inspector of merchant shipping, Chou Ching-li. With the encouragement and help of Chou, he began to "carve quaint things and make wonderful objects." Like Ricci after him, Gabriel cherished the hope that through the gifts of valuable curios, the Emperor might be induced to look more kindly upon the Nestorian mission. It aroused, however, the opposition of Liu Tse, the censor of the Province. He submitted a memorial to the Emperor. "Ching-Ii is seeking to beguile your sage understanding, to shake and subvert your lofty mind. Will your Majesty trust and allow it? This would be to spread decadence in the whole Empire!" Officially, the Emperor gave Liu Tse his approval. The Nestorian Monument, however sug-gests that Gabriel had won the favour of the Emperor. The truth is that, even though Hsuan Tsung may not have been greatly impressed by the wonderful objects, the ministry of Bishop Gabriel and of Abbot Abraham seemed to have created a new atmosphere in Chang-an. According to the Tse Fu Yuan Kuei, the second mission of Bishop Gabriel
took place in October Gabriel's success must have encouraged the Nestorians in Persia to send more missions. In 744 Bishop George (Chi-ho) took the journey to the Far East. That he was permitted to celebrate the Eucharist in the Palace of the Emperor's elder brother was a strong indication of the steady progress of the Nestorian Church in China. In addition, the Emperor 's brothers had already had their encounter with the Nestorian Church in 713 and this might prove to be fruitful in due course. In October 745 an Imperial decree stated that since the cradle of Nestorianism was in Ta Ch'in, the Persian monasteries in the two capitals and in departments and districts of the Empire should be changed to Ta Ch'in monasteries. The rebellion of An Lu-shan in 755 was the turning point in T'ang Dynasty history. It was a traditional policy of the T'ang Emperors to employ foreign legions in the defence of the frontiers. An Lu-shan, born of an lranian-Turkic family, had won high favour from the Imperial Court and had a large army under his command. In the Autumn of 755 he led the rebellion against Hsuan Tsung. Early in 756 he captured Loyang and soon his forces entered Chang-an. Shortly before the fall of the capital, Hsuan Tsung fled south to Chengtu and on the way he abdicated in favour of his third son who had his headquarters in Ling-wu. Su Tsung (756-763) as Tien-ko-han summoned soldiers from the garrisons
of various countries, Turkestan, Kashgar, Kucha and Khotan, to put down
the revolt. Some of those foreign soldiers were Nestorians, others were
Manichaeans. The military genius General Kuo Tzu-i, with the help of these
legions, succeeded in crushing the rebels. The General's influence in
the Court may well be the reason why the Nestorians enjoyed a measure
of favour under Su Tsung and his successors. Due to the civil war, undoubtedly
some Nestorian monasteries were damaged while others were left ruined
and unoccupied. Su Tsung ordered the restoration One of the most outstanding commanders in the campaign was Issu (Yazdbazed),
who came to China from Balkh, where his father Milis had been a priest,
He was second-in-command to Ge.neral Kuo and was richly rewarded after
the rebe,llion had definitely been put down . - With his ascendency, the
Nestorians experienced a marked revival. Every year Issu assembled the
monks of four monasteries for divine service and meditation. The conference
lasted the whole of 50 days. Moreover, the Nestorian Monument recorded
that he had a de.ep concern for the welfare of the people. Early Nestorian missionaries were well known for their medical knowledge and surgical skill We can thus appreciate the devotion and social concern of Issu. Su Tsung's successors continued to shower Imperial favours upon the Nestorians. Tai Tsung (763-780), for example, repaid merits with gifts of incense and gave a royal feast to honour the Nestorian congregations . In the reign of Te Tsung the Monument (781), to which we owe so much for our knowledge of Nestorianism in the T ' ang Dynasty, was erected in Issu's honour. In general, the T'ang Dynasty was an age of religious toleration and
intellectual curiosity. However, when Wu Tsung ascended the throne, the
Taoists came to control the Court. They were in-tensely jealous of the
rapid growth of Buddhist , monasteries. In the reign of Hsuan Tsung there
were already 5,358 monasteries. In 749 it was estimated that there were
120,000 men and women who had taken the vow. The number continued to grow
after the rebellion. But economic and political matters also contributed
to Wu Tsung's policy of persecution in 845. Monastic establishments withdrew
men in great numbers from military and civil services and cut down the
receipts of the imperial treasury through their immunity from taxation.
In 845 Wu Tsung suppressed 4,600 monasteries and more than 40,000 private
monastic establishments. Only historic Buddhist monasteries of great beauty
in the large cities were to be preserved. He also ordered some 260,000
monks and nuns to return to secular lives. Monasteries of Central and
Western Asian origins were also involved. A petition to the Court stated,
, "As for the Ta Ch'in (Nestorian) and Muhu (Zoroastrian) temples,
these heretical religions must not alone be left when the Buddhists have
been suppressed; they must all be compelled to re.turn to lay life and
resume their original callings and pay taxes, or if they are foreign they
shall be sent back to their native Places." From this petition it
is clear that there 1'vere Chinese Nestorian members as well as those
of Persian or Central Asian origin. It followed that an Imperial decree
"compelled the Ta Ch'in (Nestorianism) and Muhu, Meanwhile many Nestorians must have journeyed to Canton and made ready
for their long voyage home. In Canton they would learn that the Imperial
decree had been revoked by Wu Tsung's successor and it was likely that
some of them would remain in the southern city. The ninth century Arabic
writer, Abu Zaid, edited a collection of travellers' journals. Patriarch Theodosius (AD 852-868) in a list of Metropolitans of the Nestorian
Church failed to With the fall of the T'ang Dynasty, there was a rapid decline of Nestorianism in China. In 986 a monk from Najran who had been sent by the Nestorian Patriarch to China in 982 was reported to have said, "Christianity is extinct in China; the native Christians have perished in one way or an-other ; the church which they had has been destroyed and there is only one Christian left in the land." No one would take this seriously as an accurate report for the whole Chinese Nestorian church. But we may feel sure that the fall of the T'ang Dynasty also meant the eclipse of the Nestorian mission in China proper. CHAPTER
II Worship eastward seems to be the first rule in Nestorian teaching. 'The
Monument relates The veneration of the cross, as the instrument of redemption, became a Nestorian devotion. According to the Monument, "He set out the cross to define the four quarters," North, South, East and West. William of Rubruck told us that women of the Imperial Mongol household adored the cross with great devotion as they were instructed in that respect by the Nestorian priests. The cross indeed occupied so prominent a place in Nestorian faith and life that in the Mongol period the Nestorian monasteries were known as the monasteries of the cross. However, the Nestorians venerated the cross but not the crucifix as William of Rubruck reminded the readers of his Journal. In the Nestorian monasteries, seven hours of ritual praise were kept and prayers were offered for the living and the dead. Sunday worship was especially stressed as "washing the heart and restoring purity." The sacrament of baptism occupied a most important place in the Nestorian church. As the Monument stated, "The water and the Spirit of baptism wash away vain glory and cleanse one fine and white." This was equally true in the Mongol period. As we learn from William of Rubruck, "On Easter Eve the Nestorians baptized in the most correct manner more than 60 people and there was great common joy among all Christians." (Chap. xxx). This was a fine tribute from a Franciscan witness . Of the Eucharist, we learn little from early Chinese Nestorian writing. But William of Rubruck 's Journal did throw some light on Nestorian liturgy. He wrote that in the church near Karakorum, the Nestorians celebrated Eucharist with a large silver chalice and paten. Again he recorded, "I said Mass on Maundy Thursday with their silver chalice and paten, which vessels were very large." According to The Book of the Honoured Ones, the Trinitarian formula was
stressed in divine We also hav6 a Nestorian order of service dated 720, apparently for a special holy day. After the singing of a hymn, in this case the Hymn of Eternal Salvation, the congregation venerated St. John (probably reciting the collect of St. John's Day). This was followed by the recitation of the Book of Heavenly Treasure Store (The Breviary), the Psalms and the Gospels. The Nestorian monks kept the beard and shaved the crown. The clergy were
divided into The Nestorian clergy were well-known for their social concern. There was no slavery in the Nestorian household. Moreover, the Nestorian missionaries were known among non-Christians for their medical knowledge and skill. This was one of the reasons for their success during the greater part of the T'ang Dynasty. The eighth century also saw the beginning of Chinese hymnology. One of the oldest Chinese hymns - The Hymn to the Holy Trinity -was written at Chang-an around the year 800. It was probably the East Syriac form of the Gloria in Excelsis. Scholars are impressed with its rich imagery and its free adaptation of Buddhist terms. But it is not syncretism. As Prof. J. Foster of the University of Glasgow has reminded us, "Rather it is a borrowing of terminology, and a relation of doctrine to a familiar background of thought, as the only way of expressing Christian truth in its Far-eastern environment. " "If the highest-heavens with deep This hymn has been incorporated into the modern Chinese Hymnal, Hymns of' Universal Praise. "Of scriptures there were left 27 books," the Monument stated. We do not know whether the whole New Testament had been translated into Chinese, but as early as 720 the Gospels were read in church. As early as 638 we have an excellent narrative of the Nativity, the Ministry and the Passion in The Sutra of Jesus the Messiah. The first half of this book is a manual on Christian living. Alopen tried to reconcile Christianity with Chinese ethics. The sutra stresses a three-fold loyalty: serving God, serving the Emperor, and serving one's parents. In the exposition of the Ten Commandments, it again stresses the importance of filial piety. It urges people to serve parents with deep respect so that they shall have no wants. In return, the filial children will inherit mansions in the Heavenly City. "All living, beings," the sutra reminded its readers, "owe their existence to their parents." The commandment for-bidding murder is changed into one forbidding the taking of life or exhorting others to take life. Here Alopen's Chinese Buddhist assistant used his own interpretation and imagination to render Alopen's ideas into his own mould of thought. The Buddhist influence was very apparent "The life of all living beings," the sutra added, "is the same as the life of man." It is, however, the second half of the book which especially holds our
attention. For the first In this document we read that at the Baptism "A voice was heard in space saying, 'Messiah is my son, all people who are in the world must obey his commandments.' " Yet according to St. Mark's Gospel , a similar saying is placed in the context of the Transfiguration. Does this mean that Alopen had made a mistake or that he had used an ancient Syriac text which had transplanted the voice of Heaven from the context of the Transfiguration to that of the Baptism? The narrative of the Passion, in spite of its archaic language, is vivid and graphic. It was no mean achievement for the translator and his assistant who were searching for words and expressions. ~It followed St. Matthew's Gospel very closely, " The Prince said, 'I cannot kill this man.' The evil-doers said, 'If the man ought not to die, what will happen to our sons and daughters? ' The Prince Pilate asked for water and washed his hands in front of the evil-doers saying, 'I truly cannot kill the man.' " The document ended abruptly in the middle of a sentence describing the
aftermath of the Crucifixion. It appears that the original manuscript
contained some more columns which have been lost to posterity. In addition to Christian books, some Manichaean and astrological books like The Book of Three Moments and The Book of Four Gates were also included. In putting down the An Lu-shan rebellion, Nestorian tribesmen were fighting side by side with Manichaean Uighurs. In the process, the Nestorians apparently were influenced by the latter's beliefs. In the beginning and in the middle period of the T'ang Dynasty, the Nestorians had freely borrowed Buddhist and Taoist terms and imagery to express Christian doctrine, as we have seen in The Sutra of Jesus the Messiah and in The Hymn to the Holy Trinity. Moreover, free adaptation of Taoist terms in the Nestorian Monument is well known. Some of the sentences echoed closely the thoughts of the Tao Te Ching. For example, compare the phrases of the Monument, " The true and eternal way is wonderful and hard to name; its merits and use are manifest and splendid, forcing us to call it the brilliant teaching;" with those of the 7'ao Te Ching, "We do not know its real name (to classify it); that we may have it in writing we say, 'Tao', ' The Way. ' " Now it is evident that the Nestorian Christians freely used Taoist terms and phrases in order to call the attention of the Chinese literati and the Imperial courtiers who favored Taoism to the Syriac religion. Yet after the turn of the ninth century, it ' is obvious that Nestorian writings were increasingly becoming syncretic in nature. The way that Buddhist and Taoist thoughts were freely borrowed had gone much beyond Alopen or Adam, the author of the inscription on the Monument. In the Sutra of Mysterious Peace and Joy, the Christian elements had largely disappeared. As the Messiah was surrounded by His disciples, like the Buddha, He enlightened them with divine mystery and at the con-elusion of the discourse, the disciples were imbued with joy and with due ceremony withdrew. The setting bears little resemblance to that by the Sea of Galilee. But what was taught is even more astounding. It was not an adaptation of the Sermon on the Mount as we have seen in the early sutra of The Messiah's Discourse on Charity. It was rather a discourse on the overcoming of desire and thereby attaining inner peace and joy. It was more akin to Buddhism or Gnosticism than to Christianity. The question is often raised whether the ministry of the Nestorians in China was aimed at the Chinese people. Or was the main work of Alopen and his successors that of caring for the needs of Nestorians in China and across the frontiers who had been gravely neglected by the Mother Church in Persia and left without episcopal or pastoral care? To begin with, the congregations of the Nestorian monastic churches in Chang-an and Loyang must have been largely Persian or Central Asian. But it is likely that missionary work among the Chinese also stood high on the list of Alopen's purposes. The very fact that the liturgy was written in Chinese is sufficient to show that there must have been a number of Chinese in the Nestorian congregations. More-over, in the persecution of foreign religions in 845 we learn that, besides foreign monks of Persian or Central Asian origin, there were a number of Chinese monks serving the Nestorian Church. These too must "be compelled to return to lay life and resume their original callings and pay taxes." Again, the missionary impulse was clearly stated in the Hymn of Eternal Salvation ( 720) , "The Great Holy and Merciful Father will use His wisdom and strength to save the hundreds of millions of people . . . so that they could also return to the great truth. " But when all is said, the fact remains that Nestorianism in China was
largely. a foreign church, without deep roots in Chinese soil. It had
not entered the hearts of the people and really made itself at home. There
was no Hsuan-tsang in the Nestorian Church who could translate Christian
Scripture into elegant and lucid Chinese. Even Adam, who did so much for
Nestorian Christianity in China, was of Central Asian origin. The Nestorians
in China relied on the support of the mother church 'i~n Central Asia
of Persia 'or Baghdad. After the fall of the T'ang Dynasty, it was exceedingly
difficult to have communications with the Patriarch and no new missionaries
could reach China in the time of turmoil. Moreover, the Nestorian Church
Nevertheless. Nestorianism continued to exist in Central Asia and along the Chinese frontiers. As early as the latter half of the eighth century, Nestorianism began to flourish among the Turkic tribes. In 781, the Patriarch Timothy was requested by the King of the Turks to establish a Metropolitan See there. The Patriarch noted, "The King of the Turks and nearly all the inhabitants of the country left their ancient idolatry and became Christians. He has requested us in his letters to create a Metro-politan See for his country and this we have done." It was an age of Nestorian expansion. Central Asia was completely under Nestorian influence. The Patriarch was ruling a large church with 25 Metro-politans from Mesopotamia to the border of China. The Tokmak Cemetery alone contains over 600 gravestones, mostly with Syriac inscriptions dating from the middle of the 9th to the middle of the 14th Century. While in China, in a Nestorian monastery in San-pen Hill six or seven miles north-west of Fang-shan in Hopei Province, we find inscriptions on a tablet dated 960 and on another dated 1 365. These were Syriac inscriptions which included carved crosses. In spite of the eclipse of the mission in Chang-an, Loyang and Canton, the Nestorian Church continued to flourish along the frontiers of China and sometimes even m a corner of China itself. |