大秦景教流行中國碑頌

DàQín jǐngjiào liúxíng zhōngguó bēisòng 大秦景教流行中國碑頌

The Inscription on the Stele of the Diffusion of the DàQín Luminous Religion in China (= the Nestorian Stele) composed by 景淨 (述) (= Adam, Syriac Aluoben Adam)

About the work

The Chinese-language inscription text of the most famous Chinese Christian historical document: the DàQín jǐngjiào liúxíng zhōngguó bēi 大秦景教流行中國碑 — the Nestorian Stele (also called the Xī’ān Stele or the Stele of Xī’ānfǔ), erected in Chángān 長安 in Jiànzhōng 建中 2 = 781 CE as the principal monument of the Tang-period Nestorian Christian (景教 Jǐngjiào / 大秦景教 DàQín Jǐngjiào) church. The stele was buried (likely after the Huìchāng 845 persecution) and rediscovered in or near Xī’ān in 1623 or 1625 during early-Qīng excavation work — becoming one of the principal documents of modern Sinology, Christian-mission studies, and the European reception of pre-modern Chinese history.

The Chinese text preserved here at T54 no. 2144 is the inscription text proper; the actual stele also bears extensive Syriac inscriptions (the names and titles of the Tang-period Nestorian clergy) along its sides and base. The work is preserved in canonical form in the Buddhist canon and physically as the Xī’ān Stele itself (now housed in the Bēilín 碑林 / Stele Forest museum in Xī’ān).

Prefaces

The text opens with the byline:

DàQínsì shāmén Jǐngjìng shù 大秦寺僧景淨述 (“Composed by Jǐng-jìng, śramaṇa of Dà-Qín-sì” — Jǐng-jìng = Adam, Syriac Aluoben Adam; Dà-Qín-sì = the Nestorian Christian temple in Cháng-ān, named after the standard Tang-period Chinese designation of Dà-Qín 大秦 = the Roman / Eastern-Mediterranean / Persian-Christian world)

Then the inscription begins with the theological exordium:

Now: of constantly so, the true-still — first-of-the-first, with no origin. Dim and obscure, the spiritual-empty — last-of-the-last, with wonderful being. Encompassing the dark axle to make creation; subtle the multitude of sages, taking as origin and honored: this is only my three-one wonderful body, no-origin true Lord, A-luó-hē 阿羅訶! Dividing the cross to settle the four directions; drumming the primal wind to give birth to the two qì. The dark void changes and Heaven-and-earth open. The sun and moon turn and day-and-night are made. Crafting and completing the ten-thousand things, then setting up the first man.

Distinguishing-and-conferring the [gift of] excellent harmony, ordering him to steward the transformation-sea [= rule over the world]. The original primal nature is empty and not-overflowing. The plain-pure mind originally has no [excessive] desire-and-craving.

Reaching when Sādān 娑殫 [Satan] practiced his falsehoods — adorning [with] inlaid ornaments the pure essence — interpolating evenness with this-is within; making chinks of darkness the same as that-is-not within…

[The inscription continues with elaborate theological exposition followed by the historical narrative of the Tang-Christian mission from A-luó-běn 阿羅本’s arrival in 635 through Tàizōng’s reception, Gāozōng’s patronage, the Wǔ Zétiān persecution, the post-persecution restoration, and the contemporary state of the Tang Nestorian church under the patronage of Yīsī 伊斯 (the Persian-Syriac Christian who served as imperial advisor and was the principal patron of the stele).]

Abstract

Authorship and date: composed by Jǐngjìng 景淨 (Syriac Adam / Aluoben Adam; lifedates ca. 740s–790s), the principal Chinese-Nestorian writer-translator of the late 8th century. The stele was erected on the 7th day of the 1st month of Jiànzhōng 2 = 4 February 781 CE at the DàQínsì Nestorian temple in Chángān. notBefore = 781, notAfter = 781 (firmly dated by the stele inscription). Catalog dynasty 唐.

The stele inscription is the single most important document of pre-modern Chinese Christianity and one of the most consequential historical documents of the Tang dynasty. Its substantive content includes:

• Theological exposition of Trinitarian Christian doctrine in Tang-Chinese cosmological-philosophical idiom — drawing on Buddhist prajñā, Daoist yīn-yáng, and Confucian sān-cái terminology to express Christian theological content.
• Historical narrative of the Tang-period Christian church from A-luó-běn’s arrival in 635 through the imperial patronage of successive Tang emperors.
• List of names of approximately 70 Tang-period Nestorian clergy (in the Syriac side-inscriptions).
• Date and patron information — the stele was erected under the patronage of Yīsī 伊斯 (= Yazdbozid, a Persian-Syriac Christian who held high Tang military rank and served as imperial advisor under De-zōng 德宗).

The 1625 rediscovery of the stele in Xī’ān was a foundational moment in modern Sinology and Christian-mission studies. Jesuit missionaries (notably Álvaro Semedo) immediately recognized its significance and produced the first European translations and commentaries. The stele became one of the principal pieces of evidence for the early presence of Christianity in China and a key text in the late-Míng / early-Qīng Catholic-Confucian rapprochement.

Translations and research

A vast scholarly literature; selected major works:

• A. C. Moule, Christians in China before the Year 1550 (London, 1930) — foundational English translation and analysis.
• P. Y. Saeki, The Nestorian Monument in China (London, 1916; 2nd ed. 1951) — comprehensive monograph with translation.
• R. Todd Godwin, Persian Christians at the Chinese Court: The Xi’an Stele and the Early Medieval Church of the East (I. B. Tauris, 2018) — comprehensive recent treatment.
• Pelliot, Paul, L’inscription nestorienne de Si-ngan-fou (Kyoto, 1996, posthumous publication of his classic study) — the foundational French-language scholarly treatment.
• Lín Wù-shū 林悟殊, Táng-dài jǐng-jiào zài huá liú-chuán shǐ-lùn (2003).
• Matteo Nicolini-Zani, La via radiosa per l’Oriente (Magnano, 2006) — Italian-language comprehensive treatment.
• Maximiliaan Christian Spahr, Erica C. D. Hunter, and successor scholars on the Syriac inscriptions and the Tang-period Christian church.

Other points of interest

The Nestorian Stele’s burial after the 845 Huìchāng persecution and its 1625 rediscovery is one of the most dramatic preservation-and-recovery stories in pre-modern Chinese religious history. The stele is one of the principal documentary anchors for the modern study of Tang-period Chinese Christianity and a foundational document for the broader history of Christianity in Asia before the European missionary expansions. Its inclusion in the Buddhist canon (T2144) reflects the comprehensive religious-canonical Chinese tradition; its physical preservation as the Xī’ān Stele is one of the principal pre-modern Chinese inscriptional monuments of any religion.

Links

• DILA authority: (no preserved authority entry for Jǐngjìng / Adam)
• CBETA: T54n2144
• Author: Jǐngjìng 景淨 (= Adam, Syriac Aluoben Adam; ca. 740s–790s)
• Date and location: 4 February 781 CE, DàQínsì 大秦寺 in Chángān
• Patron: Yīsī 伊斯 (= Yazdbozid, Persian-Syriac Christian, Tang imperial military advisor)
• Modern rediscovery: ca. 1625 in Xī’ān, by an excavating workman; rapidly studied by Jesuit missionaries
• Current location: Bēilín museum 碑林博物館, Xī’ān
• Companion Tang Christian texts: KR6s0081 Xùtīng Míshīsuǒ jīng, KR6s0082 Jǐngjiào sānwēi méngdù zàn
• Foundational mission: A-luó-běn 阿羅本 (Aluoben, the first Nestorian missionary to Tang China, 635)