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THE  LIBRARY 

of 

VICTORIA  UNIVERSITY 

Toronto 


THE   "NESTORIAN   MONUMENT"   IN   THE  PEL  UN  hi 
HSI-AN   FU. 


(From  Holms  " Nestorian  Monument.") 


[Frontispiece. 


THE 

NESTORIAN  MONUMENT 
IN  CHINA 


BY 

P.  Y.  SAEKI 

PROFESSOR    AT    THE    WASEDA    UNIVERSITY 
TOKYO 


WITH    AN    INTRODUCTORY    NOTE    BY 

LORD  WILLIAM  GASCOYNE-CECIL 

AND 
A    PREFACE    BY   THE 

REV.   PROFESSOR   A.    H.    SAYCE 


LONDON 
SOCIETY    FOR    PROMOTING 
CHRISTIAN     KNOWLEDGE 

NEW  YORK  AND  TORONTO  ',  THE  MACMILLAN  CO. 


b3 


6MMANKJ& 


First  Published        1916 
Reprinted     -        .     1928 


PRINTED    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN    BY 
BILLING    AND    SONS    LTD.,    GUILDFORD    AND    ESHER 


THE  CROSS  ON  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT. 
(From  Holm's  "  Nestorian  Monument.") 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

TO  FACE 

The  "Nestorian  Monument"  in  the  Pei  Lin  at  Hsi-an  Fu 

{From  Holvi's  "Nestorian  Monument.") 

Frontispiece 
One  of  the  Gates  of  Hsi-an  Fu 

{From  Holm's  "  Nestorian  Monument,"  p.  30.) 

Japanese  Fan,  showing  a  Phrygian  Cap 
Pieces  of  Incense-Wood 

Specimens    of    the    "Honeysuckle"    Pattern    from   Japanese 
(1-6)  and  Chinese  (7-12)  Buildings 

The  Cross  and  Title  of  the  "Nestorian  Monument" 

The  Names  on  the  Left  Side  of  the  Monument 

The  Names  on  the  Right  Side  of  the  Monument 


39 

45 

63 
162 
176 
180 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTE 

It  is  with  the  greatest  pleasure  that  I  recommend  this 
book.  It  opens  up  a  new  view  of  the  origin  of  much  of  the 
Far  Eastern  civilisation.  Undoubtedly  that  civilisation  has 
been  largely  effected  by  the  Mahayana  Buddhism,  and  that 
Buddhism  has  always  been  acknowledged  to  have  had  close 
relations  to  Christian  teaching,  but  the  exact  path  whereby 
some  of  the  Christian  atmosphere  has  permeated  Eastern 
civilisation  has  never  been  so  clearly  traced  before.  The 
Western  reader,  while  he  must  remember  that  the  book  is 
written  from  an  Eastern  point  of  view,  will  find  much  to 
interest  him.  Apparently  the  mistake  made  by  the  Nestorian 
preachers  was  that  of  being  ashamed  of  their  faith,  and  trying 
to  recommend  it  merely  as  a  branch  of  Buddhism.  There  is 
always  a  temptation,  and  always  a  danger  in  Mission  work, 
to  soften  down  the  edges  of  our  faith,  to  represent  it  as  some- 
thing  not  so  very  new,  not  so  very  different  from  what  is 
already  known  ;  such  a  policy  may  avoid  immediate  difficulties 
but  afterwards  it  tends  towards  defeat ;  the  Christianity  which 
has  conquered  has  been  that  which  is  urged  with  distinctness 
even  amounting  to  harshness.  It  seems  as  if  the  compro- 
mising nature  of  Nestorianism  was  the  reason  why,  when 
Buddhism  fell,  it  was  entangled  in  that  fall  and  then 
forgotten. 

Perhaps  we  may  not  agree  with  all  the  Author  says  about 
Nestorianism,  but  the  reader  must  remember  the  book  is 
written  from  an  Eastern,  not  a  Western  point  of  view   and 


IV  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 


that  Professor  Saeki  does  not  write  to  elucidate  an  ancient 
heresy,  but  to  show  the  influence  Christianity  had  on  the 
Ch'ang-an  civilisation. 

It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  erudition  of  the 
Author  has  given  to  the  world  a  work  of  the  greatest 
importance,  which  will  be  valued  by  all  scholars  and  students, 
and  one  which  should  also  prove  of  great  interest  to  the 
general  reader. 

WILLIAM   GASCOYNE-CECIL. 


PREFACE 

Professor  Saeki's  elaborate  and  interesting  book  on  "  The 
Nestorian  Monument  in  China,"  is  one  of  the  most  important 
works  ever  written  upon  the  history  of  the  introduction  of 
Christianity  into  the  Far  East,  and  of  the  still-abiding  influence 
of  that  early  Christianity  in  the  religious  thought  of  China  and 
Japan.  It  is  the  work  of  a  Japanese  scholar  who,  it  is  need- 
less to  say,  is  able  to  understand  and  sympathise  with  Chinese 
thought,  speech  and  literature,  in  a  way  that  no  European 
scholar  can  ever  hope  to  do,  and  who  at  the  same  time  is 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  latest  results  of  European 
scholarship  and  criticism.  The  famous  monument  of  the  early 
Christian  Church  at  Hsi-an-fu  in  Western  China  has  found  in 
him  a  devoted  and  enthusiastic  interpreter,  and  for  the  first 
time  the  story  it  has  to  tell  is  fully  revealed  to  us. 

Nothing  bearing  upon  the  subject  has  been  overlooked, 
and  the  book  is  full  of  new  light  as  well  as  of  new  facts. 
Indeed,  a  considerable  proportion  jofjthe  facts  contained  in  it 
wilTbe  new  to  most  of  jts^  readers,  who  will  be  surprised  to 
learn  that  there  was  a  time  when  it  seemed  possible  that 
Christianity  would  be  the  state  religion  of  the  Chinese  Empire. 
The  most  brilliant  period  in  the  history  of  China  was  that 
when  the  country  was  governed  by  the  T'ang  Dynasty 
(A.D.  618-906),  and  it  was  at  the  beginning  of  this  period  that 
the  first  Nestorian  missionaries  ^arrived ^  in  Quna^jtnd _were 
favourably  received  by  the  government.  The  Chinese  were  at 
the  time  singularly  open  to  foreign  influence  ;  the  terra-cotta 
figurines  and  the  beautiful  pottery  and  porcelain  found  in  the 
T'ang  tombs,  bear  the  marks  of  Hellenistic  influence  ;  cloisonne 


VI  PREFACE 

^vork_g^LSJntro^ced_from  Byzantium,  and  Arab  traders  were 
allowed  tojrettle jind  bui ldjthei r  mosques Jn  the^seaport  towns. 
Theculture  of  China  was  carried  to  Japan,  where  the  court  of 
the  Mikado  soon  began  to  rival  that  of  the  Chinese  emperor 
in  luxury  and  splendour.  Along  with  this  culture  went  a 
knowledge,  more  or  less,  of  Christianity,  and  on  two  of  the 
beams  from  the  seventh-century  temple  of  Horyuji  in  Japan, 
which  are  now  in  the  Tokyo  Museum,  I  have  copied  inscriptions 
which  are  in  an  alphabet  belonging  to  the  same  class  as  the 
Syriac  and  are  accompanied  by  crosses. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  Professor  Saeki's  suggestions 
is  that  in  the  Chinese  secret  society  called  Chin-tan  Chiao,  we 
have  the  descendants  of  the  Chinese  Nestorians.  He  is  also 
successful  in  pointing  out  that  the  "  Protestant "  Buddhism  of 
Japan  is  to  be  ultimately  traced  to  Christian  tradition.  His 
book,  accordingly,  is  not  only  one  for  the  scholar  and  "  general 
reader,"  but  it  is  also  of  special  importance  to  the  ecclesiastical 
historian  and  to  all  who  are  interested  in  Christian  missions 
in  the  Far  East.  It  lifts  the  veil,  as  it  were,  from  Japanese 
and,  therewith,  Chinese  Buddhism,  and  reveals  on  the  one  hand 
the  elements  common  tojChristianity  and  Buddhism,  and  on 
the  other  hand  the  fundamentaT religious  conceptions  which 
have  to  be  respected  and  allowed  for  if  Christianity  is  ever  to 
win  over  the  educated  populations  of  China  and  Japan. 

A.   H.   SAYCE. 


THE   AUTHOR'S    PREFACE 

"  The  darkest  place  is  the  foot  of  the  lamp."  The  Nestorian 
Monument  in  China,  famous  as  it  is  in  the  West,  is  not  so 
well  and  widely  known  in  the  Far  East  This  is  strange 
enough  but  can  be  easily  accounted  for.  It  was  only  in  the 
year  1817  that  the  Nestorian  Inscription  itself  was  for  the 
first  time  made  known  to  the  Japanese.  In  that  year,  many 
books  were  imported  from  China  and  among  them  was  a 
book  compiled  by  Wang  Ch'ang  in  1805  called  "A  great 
Collection  of  Inscriptions  on  stone  and  metal,"  which  contained 
the  famous  Nestorian  Inscription  in  the  sixty-fifth  volume. 
But  the  sagacious  Kondo  Seisai  was  the  "  Inspector-General 
of  Publication  and  Imported  Books,"  of  Japan  at  that  time. 
As  soon  as  he  read  the  Nestorian  Inscription,  he  concluded 
it  had  something  to  do  with  "  the  Religion  of  Jesus,"  which 
was  then  strictly  forbidden  by  the  Shogun's  law,  and  he 
consequently  declared  the  whole  book  by  Wang  Ch'ang 
prohibited  in  Japan. 

Thus  it  came  about  that  nothing  had  ever  been  known 
about  this  famous  Inscription  in  Japan  until  the  year  1876, 
when  Dr.  Martin's  Chinese  book  called  "  T'ien  Tao  Su  Yuan  " 
("The  Way  of  Heaven  Traced  to  its  Origin"),  which 
contained  the  Nestorian  Inscription,  was  published  by  the 
London  Bible  and  Tract  Society  with  the  Japanese  reading 
marks  added  to  the  Chinese  text.  The  work  was  done 
by  the  famous  Dr.  Nakamura  Keiu,  the  translator  x>f  Dr. 
Samuel  Smiles' s  works  into  Japanese;  but  as  he  did  not 
express  his  views  on  it,  the  Inscription  still  remained  un- 
studied by  Japanese  scholars  at  large,  and  it  is  only  recently 


Mil  THE  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

that  fresh  attention  has  been  directed  to  it  by  two  of  our 
learned  men — Dr.  J.  Takakusu,  Professor  of  Sanskrit  and 
Pali  at  the  Imperial  University  of  Tokyo,  and  Dr.  H. 
Kuwabara,  Professor  of  Chinese  Classics  and  Oriental 
History  at  the  Imperial  University  of  Kyoto. 

In  the  year  1896  Dr.  Takakusu  published  a  very  interesting 
and  valuable  article  in  the  well-known  Journal  Toung  Pao. 
He  had  discovered  the  name  Cking-ching,  Adam,  the 
Persian  priest  who  composed  the  Inscription,  in  the  Buddhist 
Sutra  whilst  he  was  associated  with  Professor  Max  Muller  in 
Oxford  in  translating  a  certain  Chino-Sanskrit  work. 

More  than  nineteen  years  have  passed  since  he  wrote  this 
article,  and  his  article,  short  as  it  is,  speaks  volumes  as  to  the 
genuineness  of  the  stone  itself.  Every  work  on  the  Nestorian 
Monument  in  China  after  1897  by  European  as  well  as 
American  scholars  contains  some  quotations  from  this  article 
of  his.  Indeed  without  reference  to  his  work  the  study  is  not 
complete.  But  he  never  pushed  his  investigation  further,  or 
at  least  he  did  not  publish  the  result  of  his  investigation  as 
he  promised  at  the  end  of  his  Toung  Pao  article. 

On  the  other  hand,  Dr.  Kuwabara  saw  the  very  stone  at 
the  very  spot  a  few  years  ago.  He  published  his  opinion  on 
the  stone  in  the  Gei-Bun,  the  organ  belonging  to  the  College 
of  Literature  of  the  Imperial  University  of  Kyoto.  As  he 
is  so  well  versed  in  Chinese  literature  and  history,  it  goes 
without  saying  that  his  descriptions  of  the  Monument  and 
his  observations  on  the  Inscription  are  very  valuable,  whilst 
his  bibliography  is  complete.  But  to  our  great  disappoint- 
ment he,  too,  did  not  go  beyond  the  external  description  of 
the  Monument.  From  the  nature  of  the  work  he  intended  to 
do  in  his  article  perhaps  he  wished  to  avoid  entering  into  the 
textual  criticism  of  the  Inscription. 

Far  be  it  from  the  author  to  claim  that  he  has  filled  the 
gap  left  by  these  two  learned  friends  of  his.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  author   cannot   but   express  his   indebtedness   to 


THE  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  IX 

them  and  to  their  articles,  and  also  to  the  interesting  article 
"  On  Kobo  Daishi  and  the  Nestorians  in  China,"  by  the  Hon. 
Mrs.  E.  A.  Gordon,  who  set  up  the  replica  of  the  Nestorian 
Monument  at  the  top  of  Mount  Koya — the  holy  land  of 
Japan,  on  the  3rd  of  October,  191 1.  The  author  may  well  say, 
therefore,  that  his  book,  small  as  it  is,  contains  all  the  leading 
thoughts  that  have  been  expressed  about  the  Nestorian  Monu- 
ment either  by  the  Japanese  or  in  Japan,  and  at  the  same 
time  not  a  little  from  valuable  hints  and  suggestions  on  the 
Nestorian  Stone  in  the  words  of  such  great  scholars  as  Mr. 
Alexander  Wylie,  Dr.  James  Legge,  Father  H.  Havret,  Dr. 
Heller  and  many  others. 

Many  valuable  hints  and  suggestions  also  have  been 
received  from  Dr.  D.  S.  Margoliouth,  Professor  of  the  Syriac 
Language  and  Literature  at  Oxford ;  Mrs.  Margoliouth  ; 
Mr.  Philip  Dodge,  and  others.  The  author  feels  an  unspeak- 
able debt  of  gratitude  to  the  Hon.  Mrs.  E.  A.  Gordon,  the 
authoress  of  the  "World's  Healer,"  who  helped  him  from 
beginning  to  end  most  disinterestedly.  Indeed,  but  for  her 
kind  help  and  encouragement  the  work  would  have  been 
impossible. 

Lastly — but  not  the  least — the  author  expresses  his 
hearty  thanks  to  Professor  A.  H.  Sayce,  whose  kind  words 
of  sympathy  and  encouragement  from  time  to  time  helped  the 
author  to  pass  through  the  field  of  drudgery  and  by  whose 
valued  intervention  the  publication  of  the  book  in  England 
was  secured.  It  is  a  great  pleasure  for  any  author  to  have 
a  preface  by  Professor  Sayce  to  get  his  book  chaperoned  in 
England,  where,  as  we  are  told,  people  do  not  speak  to  each 
other  unless  they  are  properly  introduced.  How  much  more 
then  should  the  present  author  appreciate  a  great  service  of 
kindpess  rendered  to  him  by  the  great  professor  of  the 
English  University  whose  name  is  so  very  widely  known  ! 

If  the  book  rouses  in  any  way  interest  on  the  famous 
Inscription  and  serves  to  encourage  the  study  of  the  relation 


THE  AUTHORS  PREFACE 


between  Mahayana  Buddhism  and  Nestorianism  in  China, 
credit  is  mainly  due  to  those  persons  who  kindly  helped 
the  author  directly  and  indirectly.  For  the  shortcomings 
and  failures  of  this  book  the  author  is  alone  responsible, 
and  sincerely  begs  lenient  overlooking  of  them  on  the 
ground  that  this  is  the  first  book  in  which  the  whole  subject 
has  been  treated  in  English  by  a  Japanese. 

P.  Y.  SAEKI. 


The  Waseda  University,  Tokyo, 
Sept.  15th,  1913. 


THE   NESTORIAN    MONUMENT 
IN   CHINA 

PART   I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

THEjjESTORlANJtonewith  its  famous  Inscription,  which  we 
Nestorian  are  now  about  to  study,  is  the  "means  wherewith 
Monument  as  J° J[eye^tke^  the  East 

Wwid1.*1  f°r  *£*  the  West  which  was  buried  in  the  clouds  of 
history-  the  Dark  ages^  It  furnishes  a  light  by  which  we 

may  retrace  the  old  route  between  China  and  theRoman 

g5ii^^i£^-&r  SQ  long  ton  obscurs,  ItTstudp^hich 
may  be  likened  to  that  of  the  "  Rosetta  Sto"ne  "  or  "  Rock  of 
Behistun  "— is  destined  to  throw  an  abundant  light  on  the 
character  of  Chme^edvilizatinn  in  High  Asia   during  the 

Midd^^^^^r 

It  is  by  means  of  this  stone  that  we  are  enabled  to  ascertain 
the  reason  why  we  encounter  some  European  elements  in  the 
Ch'ang-an  civilization— a  civilization  so  exquisitely  high  as  to  a 
place  even  that  of  Rome  in  the  shade.  Through  itVecan  at  ^l^^^4 
once^rasjijy^ejdea  of  the  position  held  by  AssxnaA,  Chris- 
tianity amongst  Buddhists,  Confucianists.  T*nUt*t  Zn™. 
^^^£^^o^mmegS^mthe  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth 
centuries_A.D.^         """ — ~~ 

^^ZiHI^ii^  can  clearly  see  how 

^rej^ej^Jigious  struggle  for  existence  was,  and  in  what  a 

jajfficujt_position  the  Nestorian  missionaries  found  themselves, 

in  spite  of  the  favour  and  recognition  they  received  from  the 

reigning    sovereigns    of    China.      In    short,   it   is    only   by 


2  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

studying  this  Monument  that  we  can  decide  how  far  the 
Ch'ang-an  civilization  was  a  Christian  one. 

"  Only  a  stone !  "  I  hear  some  one  exclaim.  Yes !  but 
"  the  very  stones  shall  cry  out "  if  we  men  fail  to  do  so. 
"  Only  a  stone ! "  but  this  one  has  been  preserved  by  the 
Divine  Providence  to  reveal  to  us  the  true  condition  of  the 
spiritual  side  of  the  T'ang  Era,  which  lasted  for  some  three 
hundred  years  (618-907  A.D.). 

It  is  a  picture  of  Chinese  thought.  It  brings  to  light 
the  background  of  the  Ch'ang-an  civilization  which  influenced 
the  neighbouring  countries  of  High  Asia  ;  and  possibly  it  will 
illuminate  the  origin  of  the  Chin-tan  Chiao  (^  f\^  ^),  a 
strong  Secret  Society,  which  claims  the  immense  number  of 
11,000,000  adherents,  and  also  that  of  Mohammedans, 
21,000,000  of  whom  are  said  to  be  found  in  China  to-day.* 

Besides,  the  stone  is  actually  the  great  torch  which 
reveals  the  nature  of  the  civilization  which  the  Japanese 
received  from  the  Asiatic  Continent  as  the  result  of  their 
intercourse  with  China  during  the  T'ang  Dynasty.  Hence 
the  study  of  the  inscription  is  too  important  a  subject  to 
leave  entirely  in  the  hands  of  archaeologists. 

It  should  be  studied  not  only  by  those  who  take  interest 
in  so-called  Missionary  work,  but  by  University  scholars,  as 
well  as  by  practical  statesmen. 

China  is  the  greatest  problem  of  the  twentieth  century, 
and  for  those  who  desire  to  study  China  there  is  no  better 
initiation  than  the  study  of  this  wonderful  historic  stone  ! 

At  present,  this  famous  stone  can  be  seen  at  Hsi-an-fu 
The  (25  ~Sc  Iff)'  tne  greatest  and  most  historic  city 

Nestorian        0f  au   China.     The  name  of  no  other  place  in  the 

Monument,  * 

where  can  it    Far  East  has  been  so  differently  pronounced  as 

that  of  this  ancient  capital.     It  has  been  spelled 

Hsi-an ;  Si-an  ;  Si-gan  ;  Sengan  ;  Si-ngan  ;  Hsingan.     Even 

in  conservative  China  the  name  of  the  city  has  experienced 

*  See  the  footnote  on  p.  49. 


INTRODUCTION 


frequent  alteration.  It  had  been  Ching-chao  yin  (j^  ^ffe^P*)  ; 
Yung-chou  (Ching-chao)  (%£  >$])(&  $&)  ;  Shang-tu  (Ching- 
chao-fu)  (_t  f|?)  (j§»  ^  Jff).  It  was  during  the  Ming 
Dynasty  that  the  city  was  for  the  first  time  denominated 
Hsi-an-fu. 

Strange  to  say,  the  modern  prefectural  city  of  Hsi-an-fu 
— which  is  the  seat  of  the  provincial  government — really 
consists  of  two  district  cities — Ch'ang-an  hsien  and  Hsien- 
ning  hsien — within  the  same  walls,  the  former  occupying  the 
western,  the  latter  the  eastern  section.  This  modern 
Hsi-an-fu  is  better  known  in  history  as  Ch'ang-an,  the  name 
now  applied  exclusively  to  the  district  in  which  part  of  the 
city  stands. 

The  history  of  Ch'ang-an  is  really  a  history  of  the  Chinese 
Empire  dating  from  its  earliest  period.  It  was  already  in 
existence  in  2205  B.C.,  and  was  known  then  as  "  the  Well- 
watered  City"  (g  7JC).  It  was  the  capital  of  the  Chou 
Dynasty  (^jj)  (1122-255  B.C.).  About  twenty  miles  north- 
west of  the  present  site  another  capital  was  founded  by 
Hsien,  King  of  Chou  ($5)  j§j|  3E)»  under  the  name  of  Hsien- 
vang  {$L  $k)  in  350  B.C.  This  was,  however,  given  up  in 
207  B.C.,  with  the  downfall  of  the  Ch'in  Dynasty,  which  had 
succeeded  the  Chou  in  255  B.C.  The  famous  A-fang-kung 
(PSJ  J§  ^),  the  Chinese  "  Temple  of  Bel,"  stood  about  half- 
way between  the  present  sites  of  Hsien-yang  and  Hsi-an-fu. 

With  the  rise  of  the  Han  Dynasty  (g|)  in  206  B.C., 
another  new  seat  of  the  Imperial  Government  was  founded 
by  Liu  Pang  (^|J  ^fl),  the  founder  of  the  dynasty,  who  is 
commonly  known  as  the  Kao-Tsu  of  Han  (g|  j^  fljjj).  The 
new  city,  together  with  its  walls  and  forts,  was  completed  in 
190  B.C.,  and  was  called  Ch'ang-an  ( Jf^  tJJ-  jjfc)  (i.e.  Long- 
peace),  and  has  ever  since  been  known  by  that  name. 

When  the  usurper  Wang  Mang  (5^)  (9  A.D.-25  A.D.) 
set  up  his  own  capital  Lo-yang  (^  |y|),  further  down  the 
Huang-ho    (]g  Jpf,  the  Yellow  River)  in  12  A.D.,  and  called 


4  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

it  the  "Eastern  Capital,"  the  older  city,  Ch'ang-an,  still 
remained  as  the  "  Western  Capital." 

The  founder  of  the  Eastern  Han  Dynasty  again  made  "  the 
Western  Capital "  the  seat  of  his  government  in  24  A.D.,  and 
so  it  remained  until  220  A.D.,  when  the  Empire  was  divided 
into  "the  Three  Kingdoms  "—Minor  or  Shu  Han  (Jgg),  Wei 
(^&)  anc*  Wu  (^).  Each  kingdom,  of  course,  had  its  own 
capital  in  different  parts  of  China,  and  Ch'ang-an,  the  ancient 
capital  itself,  was  abandoned. 

But  the  glory  of  the  old  city  was  soon  again  to  be  revived. 
It  was  made  the  capital  of  all  China  in  589  A.D.,  when 
the  Sui  Dynasty  (p^)  began  to  rule  over  the  reunited 
country. 

In  618  A.D.,  when  the  T'ang  Dynasty  came  into  power, 
Ch'ang-an  began  to  realize  its  most  glorious  time.  It  occupied 
the  position  in  the  Asiatic  Continent  during  the  seventh, 
eighth,  and  ninth  centuries  which  Madrid  occupied  in  Europe 
during  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries.  Its  splendour 
was  proverbial  for  many  centuries.  In  fact,  it  remained  the 
finest  city  in  the  Far  East  until  960  A.D.,  when  the  Sung 
Dynasty  ($Q  arose  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  T'ang  Dynasty 
and  once  more  changed  the  capital  from  Hsi-an-fu  to  Pien- 
Hang  (ft  §£). 

Thus  Hsi-an  remained  the  capital  of  China  during  five 
out  of  nineteen  dynasties,  or  for  over  ten  of  the  over  thirty 
centuries  of  its  existence.  It  was  the  greatest  city  in  the 
Far  East  and  is  the  most  historic  in  all  China.  But  the 
site  and  size  of  the  city  have  not  been  one  and  the  same 
at  all  times.  The  size,  especially,  has  varied  with  the  ups 
and  downs  of  the  reigning  dynasty.  In  its  most  glorious 
time  it  covered  about  thirty  square  miles,  while  in  its  evil 
days  it  occupied  only  four  and  a  half  square  miles. 

In  the  book  called  "  Ch'ang-an  Topography"  (^  $£  j^) 
written  by  Sung  Min-ch'iu  (^  |$£  ?}t)  in  1079  A.D.,  he 
remarks  that  "the  city  itself  is   13  li  {i.e.  5  miles)  square." 


ONE  OF   THE   GATES  OF   IISI-AN    FU. 
{From  Holm's  "  Acstorian  Afotiuvnut,"  p.  30.) 


[To  face  p.  $. 


INTRODUCTION 


(&  £  tl«  E  +  H  M  It  ft  +  H  S)-  The  num- 

bcr  of  the  postal-station  towns  of  China  in  the  Tang  Era 
is  said  to  have  been  1639  in  all.  All  the  roads  lead  to 
Ch'ang-an,"  and  47  of  these  postal-station  towns  were 
within  100  miles  from  the  Royal  city.  They  were  all  good, 
thriving  towns  when  Ch'ang-an  was  a  flourishing  capital. 
But  with  the  downfall  of  the  Pang  Dynasty  its  glory 
departed,  and  the  attached  towns  and  suburb-villages  de- 
clined. 

The  present  city  was  thus  correctly  described  by  Mr.  C.  F. 
Hogg,  a  great  authority  on  Chinese  topography  : 

"  Calculating  that  something  more  than  half  an  hour's 
brisk  walking  will  take  one  through  the  city  from  East  to 
west,  we  are  safe  in  saying  that  the  circumvallation 
measures  certainly  not  more  than  ten  miles.  The  city  lies 
in  the  shape  of  a  parallelogram,  the  distance  between  East 
and  West  being  considerably  greater  than  that  of  North 
and  South." 

Now  this  is  the  exact  outline  of  our  city  of  Kyoto  in 
Japan,  which,  we  are  told,  was  laid  out  after  the  pattern 
of  that  famous  capital  Ch'ang-an  or  Hsi-an-fu !  As  Hsi-an 
was  designated  with  two  Chinese  characters  denoting  the 
"  Western  capital "  or  "  West  pacified,"  so  in  old  days  was 
Kyoto,  which  even  now  is  known  as  the  "Western  Capital" 
(Saikyo). 

The  only  difference  between  Kyoto  and  Ch'ang-an  is  that 
the  Chinese  capital  was  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  immense 
stone  walls  some  30  feet  high,  with  towers  on  the  gateways 
which  are  much  higher  still,  whilst  the  ancient  Japanese 
capital  was  not  walled  in  the  same  way  as  the  Chinese  city, 
although  it  had  its  walls  and  as  many  gates  as  Hsi-an-fu— 
16  outer  and  9  inner— each  of  which  bore  a  similar  name 
to  that  of  those  gates  in  the  Chinese  capital. 

The  location  of  Hsi-an-fu  is  1090  30'  longitude  and  340  if 
North  latitude.      It  stands  in  the  district  not  far  from  the 


6  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

place  where  the  Wei  and  the  Ching  (fg  7jC.  Jg  7jt)  flow 
into  the  Yellow  River.  Being  the  terminus  of  the  great 
caravan-roads  throughout  Asia,  it  was  really  a  reservoir  into 
which  anything  and  everything  from  those  outside  countries 
which  were  commonly  known  as  "  Western  Regions "  lying 
beyond  the  desert  and  the  prairies  were  gathered  and  from 
which,  in  turn,  ampler  currents  of  Oriental  history  have 
flowed. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  Hsi-an-fu,  which  is  known  as  Hsien- 
ning  (Jg£  S|£),  there  is  a  place  called  "  Pei-lin  "  ( J^.  $£)  which 
means  the  "  Forest  of  Tablets,"  where  the  Chinese  keep  not 
only  all  the  precious  stone  monuments  of  the  city  and  its 
neighbourhood,  but  also  some  from  other  cities.  Since 
October  2, 1907,  our  famous  monument  has  lain  in  the  Pei-lin, 
well  protected  from  wind  and  rain  as  well  as  from  the 
mischievous  hands  of  children. 

Dr.  Kuwabara,  Professor  of  Chinese  classics  and  Oriental 
What  is  the     History  m  the  Imperial  University  of  Kyoto,  who 

Monument  saw  the  stone  standing  on  its  old  site  in  the  back- 
like? 

yard  of  the  temple  ground,  and  by  a  fortunate 

chance  witnessed  its  actual  removal  to  the  Pei-lin  "  Forest  of 

Tablets  "  for  preservation,  thus  describes  it : 

"  In  the  autumn  of  1907  A.D.,  intending  to  make  an 
excursion  to  Hsi-an-fu  and  its  neighbouring  places  of  renown, 
we  left  Peking  for  Hsi-an  on  the  3rd  of  September.  After 
spending  sixteen  days  on  the  way,  we  finally  reached  Hsi-an- 
fu  on  the  19th  of  the  same  month.  And  spending  a  week  in 
the  ancient  capital  for  sight-seeing  and  investigating  many 
things  in  connection  with  our  historical  studies  there,  we 
finally  went  to  the  Chin-sheng-ssu  (^  Tjjfff.  ^p),the  Buddhist 
temple,  behind  which  the  famous  Nestorian  Stone  stood. 

"This  Chin-sheng-ssu  temple  stands  aj  a  place  a  little 
more  than  a  mile  outside  the  Western  Gate  of  the  city. 
Ch'ung-sheng-ssu  (|||  §|  ^p)  was  the  name  by  which  the 
temple  was  known  in  the  tenth  and  twelfth  centuries,  whilst 


INTRODUCTION  7 

Ch'ung-jen-ssu  (^  £  ^f )  was  the  name  given  to  it  during 
the  Ming  Dynasty  (i 368-1664  A.D.)  as  well  as  in  the  Manchu 
Dynasty  (1662-1911).  But  Chin-sheng-ssu  (^  ($f  ^f)  is 
the  common  name  for  it. 

"The  building  was  burned  down  in  1862  A.D.  during  the 
Mohammedan  trouble  and  nothing  left  but  a  heap  of  ruins. 
The  old  site  and  the  remaining  stones  of  the  temple,  however, 
speak  volumes  for  its  former  glory,  the  site  itself  covering 
more  than  two  acres  of  ground. 

"  The  present  temple  is  quite  new,  being  recently  built, 
and  is  very  poor  and  unworthy  indeed.  But  behind  this 
temple  there  is  a  ruined  stone  gateway  built  in  1584  A.D., 
inscribed  with  the  four  Chinese  characters  Ch'i-yiian-che'n- 
ching  (jjjj£  p|)  JIl  tjjfa),  which  means  '  the  best  of  the  Garden 
that  was  dedicated  to  Sakyamuni.' 

"  Not  far  from  this  ruin  and  standing  almost  opposite  it, 
th^re  are  several  monuments  erected  during  the  Ch'eng-hua 
(1464-1487)  and  Chia-ching  (1522-1566)  periods  of  the  Ming 
Dynasty.     They  all  record  the  past  history  of  the  temple. 

"  Behind  the  stone  gateway  and  to  the  North  of  it  we  see, 
some  sixty  yards  ahead,  five  comparatively  large  stones 
standing  in  a  row.  The  second  monument  from  the  East  is 
the  famous  Nestorian  Stone !  The  rest  are  all  monuments 
that  were  set  up  after  1738  A.D. 

"The  Nestorian  Monument  has  no  shelter.  It  is  not 
protected  at  all  from  wind  and  rain  as  well  as  against 
mischievous  human  hands.  Two  days  after  we  saw  this 
famous  Monument,  we  left  the  city  for  a  week's  trip  to  the 
northern  part  of  the  country.  We  returned  to  the  city  again 
on  the  4th  of  October.  On  entering  the  Western  Gate  that 
day,  we  met  a  body  of  coolies  carrying  a  big  foundation  stone 
shaped  like  a  tortoise  towards  the  centre  of  the  city.  The 
stone  was  not  unfamiliar  to  us,  but  we  were  in  a  hurry  to 
return  to  our  hotel,  and  did  not  stop  to  make  any  enquiries 
about  it. 


THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


"That  night,  however,  we  had  a  visit  from  a  Japanese 
professor  in  connection  with  the  Hsi-an-fu  school.  He  told 
us  that  there  had  been  a  rumour  that  a  certain  foreigner  had 
arrived  in  the  city  and  had  tried  to  buy  the  famous  stone 
for  a  sum  of  3,000  taels  in  order  that  he  might  sell  it  to  the 
British  Museum,  and  that  this  rumour  had  so  startled  the 
Governor  of  the  Province  of  Shenshi,  that  he  had  ordered 
the  Nestorian  Monument  to  be  carried  to  the  Pei-lin,  Forest 
of  Tablets,  and  forbidden  any  one  without  the  permission  of 
the  proper  authorities  even  to  take  a  rubbing  of  it 

"Hearing  this,  we  concluded  that  the  tortoise-shaped 
foundation  stone  we  had  seen  being  carried  into  the  city 
through  the  Western  Gate  a  few  hours  before  must  have 
been  the  very  stone,  and  we  finally  decided  to  visit  the  back 
yard  of  the  Chin-sheng-ssu  temple  the  following  morning, 
that  is  to  say,  on  the  5th  of  October.  We  did  so,  and  found 
(as  we  expected)  that  the  stone  had  gone  from  its  old  site 
where  it  had  stood  for  so  many  years  ever  since  its  excava- 
tion in  1623  a.d. 

"We  were  rather  glad  to  find  this,  because  the  stone 
thus  carried  into  the  Pei-lin  is  now  under  the  protection  of  the 
Chinese  authorities.  We  left  Hsi-an-fu  on  the  9th  of  October 
for  Peking.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  12th  of  the  same  month, 
we  halted  at  Fu-shui-chen  (^  7JC  $§),  and  there  we  chanced 
to  observe  a  very  large  cart  passing  by.  It  was,  no  doubt, 
constructed  with  a  special  purpose  to  carry  something  very 
heavy. 

"  It  was  drawn  by  seven  or  eight  horses,  which  had  very 
great  (unspeakable)  difficulty  with  the  weight  of  their  heavy 
load,  owing  to  the  bad  state  of  the  road  after  the  rain.  On 
enquiring  what  it  might  be,  the  chief  coolie  replied  that  they 
were  carrying  a  Monument  newly  made  at  Hsi-an-fu  down 
to  Cheng-chou  (^  j>\\).  Then  we  could  not  but  remember 
what  we  had  seen  and  heard  at  Hsi-an-fu  ! 

"We  were    curious   enough   to   wish    to    peep    at    this 


:se 


INTRODUCTION 


Monument.  But  owing  to  the  incessant  rain  which  had 
previously  fallen,  the  road  was  too  muddy  to  examine  it, 
even  if  the  stone  had  not  b(*n  so  well  packed  that  there  was 
no  telling  whether  it  was  even  a  newly  made  one,  as  the 
coolie  professed  it  to  be,  or  not ! 

"  With  much  regret  we  left  the  stone  and  the  coolies  ;  and 
arrived  at  Peking  on  the  20th  of  October.  In  January,  1908, 
we  received  a  letter  from  our  friend  and  fellow-traveller 
Prof.  T.  Uno,  together  with  a  copy  of  '  the  Han-kow  Daily 
News,'  in  which  we  found  that  the  foreigner  referred  to 
above  was  no  other  than  Dr.  Frits  Holm,  a  Danish  journalist ; 
and  that  our  visit  to  Hsi-an-fu  was  at  the  very  time  when 
Dr.  Frits  Holm  was  doing  his  best  to  get  the  replica  after 
failing  to  purchase  the  original  stone." 

It  will  interest  our  readers  to  compare  Prof.  Kuwa- 
The  Replica     bara's   account    of    the   stone   and    its    replica 

Monument  in  with  Dr-  Frits  Holm's  own  description.  He 
New  York.        savs  : 

"  On  the  10th  of  June,  1907,  I  first  visited  the  resting- 
place  of  the  unique  Monument.  I  went  out  alone  on  horse- 
back through  the  West  Gate,  traversed  the  weste/n  suburb, 
and,  having  passed  some  military  barracks  outside  the 
western  suburb  gate,  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  the  old 
Buddhist  temple,  on  the  premises  of  which  the  stone  is 
situated.  A  large  brick  entrance  in  ruin  and  some  remnants 
of  a  decayed  loess  wall  show  the  former  large  extent  of  the 
temple.  But  to-day  we  only  find  a  comparatively  modern 
centre  building  which  is  more  of  a  farm-house  than  of  a 
temple.  Behind  this  farm  temple  is  a  piece  of  ground  where 
a  large  stone  arch  and  several  memorial  slabs  are  situated. 
In  a  row  of  five  stones,  the  Ching-chiao-pei  (i.e.  the  Luminous 
Religion  Monument)  is  the  fourth,  counting  towards  the  East 
(Prof.  Kuwabara  says  '  the  second  counting  from  the  East '). 
Like  most  stones  of  a  similar  kind  it  stands  on  the  back  of 
a    clumsily  worked    stone-tortoise,   but  nothing  is  left  of 


io  THE  NESTOR  MX  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

a  protecting  shed,  and  nothing  indicates,  as  some  authors 
most  wrongly  assert,  that  the  stone  and  its  neighbours, 
which  do  not  even  stand  in  a  straight  line,  have  ever  been 
built  into  a  brick  wall.  But  there  is  no  trace  of  any  niche 
around  the  tablet,  nor  of  any  later  wooden  shed,  and  the 
74  years  old  chief  Priest,  who  has  been  constantly  on  the 
spot  for  over  50  years,  only  remembers  the  stone  standing 
free  and  frank  and  lonely — looking  apart  from  the  ramshackle 
of  1891. 

'The  Monument  is  ten  feet  high,  its  weight  being  two 
tons.  The  difficulties  in  connection  with  the  transport  of 
the  original  or  a  replica  were  consequently  appalling,  as  it 
would  be  necessary  to  transport  the  stone  on  a  specially 
constructed  cart  over  350  miles  to  the  nearest  railway  station, 
Cheng-chou  (J$  >)$). 

"I  may  briefly  mention  that  I  did  everything  in  my 
power  to  obtain  the  original  by  applying  to  the  local 
authorities  in  an  indirect  manner,  etc. ;  but  although  the 
Chinese  do  not  care  more  to-day  for  the  stone  than  for  any 
ordinary  brick,  they  at  once  got  suspicious  ;  and  I  might  as 
well  have  endeavoured  to  lift  the  Rosetta  Stone  out  of  the 
British  Museum,  or  take  the  Moabite  Stone  from  the  Louvre, 
as  to  carry  away  the  Ching-chiao-pei  from  Hsi-an  ! 

"I  shall  not  dwell  here  on  the  almost  insurmountable 
difficulties  the  officials  and  even  some  of  the  foreign  mis- 
sionaries laid  in  my  way  when  I  decided  to  confine  my 
efforts  to  obtain  and  carry  home  to  Europe  or  America  a 
replica  of  the  venerable  Tablet.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  both 
the  local,  the  transport,  and,  eventually,  the  Customs' 
difficulties  were  all  overcome  in  due  course,  and  after  eleven 
months  on  Chinese  soil,  I  was  able  to  leave  Shanghai  on  the 
last  day  of  February,  1908,  bound  for  New  York. 

"This  replica  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  pieces  of 
Chinese  workmanship  I  have  ever  seen.  In  the  first  place, 
there  is  not  a  measure,  not  a  character,  not  a  detail  that 


INTRODUCTION 


differs  from  the  original  Tablet — even  the  weight  is  the 
same.  In  the  second  place,  this  piece  of  art  was  executed 
by  four  native  stone-cutters  in  eleven  days,  including  polish- 
ing after  the  huge  slabs  had  been  brought  from  the  Fu-p'ing 
quarries  to  Hsi-an.  In  the  third  place,  the  Chinese  artisans 
have  been  able  to  accomplish  the  miracle  of  carving  the 
Cross  and  chiselling  the  Syriac  characters,  which  they  did 
not  of  course  know,  to  absolute  perfection. 

"On  the  16th  of  June,  1908,  in  accordance  with  the 
arrangement  with  Sir  Purdon  Clarke,  Director,  the  replica 
was  deposited  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  in  the 
City  of  New  York,  as  a  loan. 

"Although  the  replica  is  not  yet  the  property  of  the 
Museum,  there  is  a  probability  that  it  will  never  leave  its  new 
abode  again  ;  but  the  fact  should  not  be  overlooked  that  all 
the  museums  and  universities  of  the  world  can  now  be 
supplied,  if  so  desired,  with  plaster  casts  of  the  Nestorian 
tablet,  casts  which  would  not  be  more  accurate  had  they 
been  taken  from  the  original  itself." 

In  1909,  when  Prof.  Y.  Okakura  went  to  New  York,  he 
examined  Mr.  Holm's  replica  in  the  Central  Museum  and 
found,  to  his  satisfaction,  that  it  was  a  very  good  replica 
indeed. 

So  much  for  the  first  replica  that  was  made.  Now  let  us 
Another  sa^  a  ^ew  worc*s  about  the  "  second  replica  in  the 

Replica  in  world"  which  stands  to-day  at  the  top  of  Mt. 
Japan. 

Koya — the  Holy  Land  of  Japan. 

To  explain  why  the  replica  was  set  up  there  on  the  21st    CA    .    P 
of  September,  191 1,  we  must  ask  the  reader  to  accompany 
us~ "from   Hsi-an-fu  to  Mt.  Koya,  .where  the  famous  Kobo 
Daishi,   "the    Great    Teacher   of    the    Law,"    opened    the 
monastery  of  Kongo-buji  in  the  year  816  A.D. 

This  famous  monastery  belongs  to  a  sect  known  as 
Shingonshu  (^  ~g  £j£),  which  means  the  "  True- Word - 
Religion." 


12  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


Being  numerically  the  strongest  in  Japan — the  member- 
ship of  this  Buddhist  sect  numbering  a  little  over  17,538,000 
(the  Shinshu  sect  has  13,325,619)— the  erection  of  this 
replica  is  very  full  of  promise,  for  every  year  half  a  million 
Pilgrims  of  all  ages  and  classes  and  from  all  parts  of  Japan 
climb  the  Holy  Mountain  to  visit  the  tomb  of  Kobo  Daishi 
in  the  Okunc-in,  so  that  the  stone  is  sure  to  speak  aloud  and 
strongly  in  God's  due  time  ! 

It  was  dedicated,  with  full  Buddhist  ceremonial,  on 
Sunday,  Oct.  3rd,  191 1,  and  is  an  exact  copy  of  the  original 
stone.  It  stands  just  within  the  entrance  to  the  wonderful 
cemetery  of  the  Okuno-in,  where  tens  of  thousands  of  the 
Japanese,  from  Emperors  to  peasants,  have  been  laid  to  rest 
in  expectation  of  the  Coming  of  Miroku — the  expected 
Messiah  of  the  Buddhists — during  the  1100  years  since  their 
beloved  and  venerated  saint  Kobo  Daishi  returned  from 
Ch'ang-an,  where  he  is  supposed  to  have  seen  that  "Speaking 
Stone  "  which  the  Nestorian  Monks  had  erected  there  only 
23  years  before  his  arrival. 

The  Nestorian  Tablet  is  just  over  9  feet  in  height  by 
The  Descrip-    l\  feet  in  width,  and  a  little  under  a  foot  thick. 

Original1*  lt  was  no  doubt  hewn  out  of  the  celebrated  stone 
Stone.  quarries  of  Fu-p'ing-hsien. 

"  The  material  is  a  black,  sub-granular  oolitic  limestone 
(with  small  oolites  scattered  through  it),  probably  dating 
from  the  Carboniferous  formation  of  some  15  or  20  millions 
of  years  ago." 

The  figure-head  decoration  of  the  Tablet  consists  of  an 
immense  pearl  between  two  creatures  called  "  Kumbhira," 
which  Dr.  Eitel  describes  as  "  a  monster  with  the  body  of  a 
fish,  but  shaped  like  a  snake  and  carrying  pearls  in  its  tail  "  ; 
but  others  say  that  it  was  a  four-footed  crocodile,  over  20 
feet  long. 

Now  "peai!"  is  called  "hoshu"  or  "tama"  in  Japanese, 
and   in   Sanscrit   chindamani — the    incarnation    of    all    the 


INTRODUCTION  13 


principles  of  prayer.*  But  here  we  are  sure  that  the  pearl 
symbol  has  the  regular  Nestorian  significance.  We  read  in 
the  "  East  Syrian  Daily  Offices,"  by  Arthur  John  Maclean  :— 

"  O  illustrious  martyr,  Mar  Sergius !  A  pearl  without 
flaw.  A  light  hath  shone  in  thy  soul :  thou  hast  bought 
it  with  thy  blood,  and  become  rich  thereby  "  (p.  46). 

"The  Athletes  saw  a  pearl  without  flaw  on  the  top  of 
Golgotha  "  (p.  48). 

"  And,  as  by  a  bridge,  they  crossed  the  sea  of  the  world 
by  the  Cross.  To  Eden  (the  high  pearl),  which  is  their 
dwelling"  (p.  124). 

"  My  mind  wondered  at  the  blessed  company  of  athletes, 
the  famous  martyrs.  How  they  despised  and  scorned  this 
world  and  its  desires.  In  tlie  glorious  brightness  of  tlie  pearl 
which  is  at  the  head  of  the  Cross.  With  piercing  eyes  they 
looked  and  saw  it.     And  desired  to  seize  it." 

This  "Kumbhira"  design  at  the  head  of  the  stone  is 
thoroughly  Buddhistic.  It  is  a  Hindoo  idea  which  the 
Nestorian  Missionaries  adopted  ;  and  that  this  "  Kumbhira  " 
design  was  quite  common  at  the  time  may  easily  be  seen 
from  a  monument  at  Seoul  in  Korea,  which  has  been  well 
illustrated  in  Vol.  I.  of  Mrs.  Bird-Bishop's  "  Korea." 

The  ceiling  in  the  former  Throne-room  in  Keum-chyong 
displays  a  similar  device.  Between  Pingyang  and  Chin- 
nampo  the  Japanese  discovered  some  dolmens  with  interest- 
ing frescoes  said  to  date  back  to  the  fourth  or  fifth  century. 
A  fine  copy  of  such  fresco  may  be  seen  at  the  Museum  in 
Seoul  with  the  same  design. 

*  "In  any  world  where  there  is  not  known 

The  Law  of  Buddha,  which  is  the  Pearl  of  good  qualities, 
There  I  pray  that  all  (Bodhisattvas)  shall  be  born 

And  show  (the  people)  the  Law  of  Buddha,  just  like  Buddha  Himself." 
The  quotation  is  from  the  Jodo-ron,  or  "  Pure  Land  Sastra,"  i.e.  the  Amitayus- 
sutropadesa,  translated  by  Bodhiruki  in  the  6th  century  a.d.,  and  Don-ran 
compiled  a  commentary  on  this  Sastra ;  and  upon  this  work,  according  to  Dr. 
Nanjio,  the  theology  of  Doshaku  and  Zendo  was  built  (see  the  Introduction, 
XXV.,  "A  short  History  of  the  Twelve  Japanese  Buddhist  Sects,"  by  Bunyo 
Nanjio,  M.A.  Oxon.). 


14  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

In  the  centre  of  the  figure-head  right  under  the  Pearl 
is  the  apex  of  a  triangle,  which  forms  a  canopy  over  nine 
clearly  carved  large  Chinese  characters  arranged  vertically 
in  three  lines  which  form  the  "Titular  Heading"  of  the  stone. 
Their  literal  meaning  is  "The  Monument  Commemorating 
the  Propagation  of  the  Ta-ch'in  Luminous  Religion  in  the 
Middle  Kingdom." 

Observing  narrowly  this  roof-shaped,  triangular  form,  we 
cannot  but  be  struck  by  the  unique  and  most  suggestive 
symbolic  signs,  viz.  the  Cross,  the  Cloud,  the  Lotus-flower 
and  two  branches  of  a  tree  or  grass — which  may  be  taken 
either  for  a  myrtle-branch,  or  a  lily — the  one  a  regular 
Buddhistic  emblem,  and  the  other  a  familiar  Christian 
symbol. 

The  Cross  on  the  stone  is  said  to  be  not  very  clear  now, 
and  must  almost  be  searched  for  before  it  is  found.  But 
in  the  rubbing  of  the  inscription  it  comes  out  quite  clearly. 

The  form  of  the  Cross  is  said,  by  one  authority,  to  be  a 
copy  from  memory  of  the  Roman  Papal  Cross  of  the  sixth 
century ;  but  it  somewhat  resembles  that  on  St  Thomas's  tomb 
at  Meliapor  in  S.  India,  and  like  it,  bursts  into  fleurs  de  lys 
at  each  point,  just  as  Pere  Somedo  describes.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  the  Cross  symbol  is  quite  sufficient  to  prove  that  the 
stone  itself  is  a  Christian  monument ! 

Beneath  the  Cross — i.e.  supporting  the  Cross,  there  is  the 
Cloud,  which  the  Chinese  describes  as  a  "  Flying-cloud  " 
(M  31)  or  "  White-cloud  "  (Q  |g).  This  is  the  character- 
istic symbol  of  Taoists  as  well  as  of  Mohammedans  in 
China. 

Beneath  this  Cloud  there  lies  a  Lotus-flower  (^  3g)t 
the  characteristic  emblem  of  Buddhists.  The  design  was 
doubtless  used  to  denote  that  the  "Three  Religions  are 
One." 

Then  comes  the  inscription  (which  consists  of  one 
thousand  nine  hundred  Chinese  characters   and  about  fifty 


INTRODUCTION  15 


Syriac  words),  besides  some  seventy  Syriac  names  in  rows 
on  the  narrow  sides  of  the  stone  with  the  corresponding 
Chinese  characters  which  denote  the  Chinese  synonyms  or 
phonetics  for  the  Syriac  names. 

These  Syriac  names  alone  supply  a  unique  key  whereby 
to  discover  the  old  sounds  of  the  Chinese  characters  in  the 
Pang  Era. 

In  the  text  there  are  three  or  four  Syriac  words,  such  as 
"  Satan,"  "  Messiah,"  "  Eloah,"  as  well  as  Sanscrit  words,  such 
as  "  Sphatica,"  "  Dasa "  ;  and  even  one  Persian  word  to 
denote  "  Sunday,"  the  first  day  of  the  week,  "  Yaksambun  " 
(jlS  iSt  30'  besides  a  great  many  more  Buddhist  and 
Taoist  expressions,  and  still  more  extensive  quotations  from 
the  Chinese  Classics. 

This  is  a  very  important  question,  but  so  far  it  has  not 
Where  was  been  made  clear.  There  are  three  or  four  different 
firsfdU-6  theories  as  to  the  exact  spot  where  the  Nestorian 
covered?  stone  was  excavated  in  the  early  part  of  the 
17th  century. 

The  first  theory,  started  by  Martini  and  others,  insists 
that  the  stone  was  first  dug  out  at  an  old  town  called  San-yuan 
(5E  M)  which  is  located  90  li  (i.e.  35  miles)  to  the  North 
of  Hsi-an-fu,  and  which  is  the  native  place  of  the  well-known 
Chinese  Christian  and    High    Official,  Dr.    Philippe  Wang 

a  mm- 

But  this  opinion  cannot  be  so  readily  accepted,  since 
Pere  Trigault  and  his  party  who  were  in  San-yuan  in  1625 
a.d.  do  not  maintain  this  view. 

Trigault  was  ordered  in  April  of  1625  by  Pere  Emmanuel 
Diaz  (jr.),  who  had  been  appointed  Superior  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus  in  1623,  to  make  every  effort  to  have  a  house  bu'lt 
outside  the  Metropolis  Hsi-an-fu.  But  Trigault  had  scarcely 
arrived  at  San-yuan  when  he  fell  sick  and  was  laid  in  bed 
for  five  months. 

By  the  time  Trigault  recovered  from  his  illness,  Dr.  Philippe 


1 6  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


Wang  had  begun  cautiously  to  suggest  Trigault's  plan  to 
the  Viceroy  and  some  other  mandarins  in  Hsi-an-fu :  and 
finally  he  visited  the  metropolis  together  with  Trigault  some 
time  in  November,  1625. 

If  the  stone  had  been  in  San-yuan  (^  Jjgl),  these  two 
men  should  have  t>een  the  first  eye-witnesses  to  bear 
testimony  on  this  point.  But  neither  of  them  gives  any 
testimony  in  favour  of  the  theory.  On  the  contrary,  Trigault 
says  in  his  diary,  as  we  are  told  :  "  This  year,  1625,  outside 
the  country-town  of  Chou-chih,  which  was  ten  leagues  away 
from  the  metropolis,  a  stone  was  discovered,  on  which  the 
Chinese  and  Chaldean  writings  were  inscribed.  By  these 
writings  we  can  be  sure  that  the  Law  of  our  Lord  was 
preached  to  the  Chinese  a  long  time  ago." 

The  second  theory  says  that  the  stone  was  found  in  the 
suburb  of  Hsi-an-fu.  This  was  asserted  by  Lin  Lai-chai 
(^C  ^  3§f)'  a  great  Chinese  authority  on  "  Metal  and  Stone 
writings."     He  says : 

"A  devout  child  of  Tsou  Ching-ch'ang  ($$  |§J  j|), 
Governor  of  Hsi-an-fu,  died  rather  suddenly.  The  grave  for 
the  child  was  dug  in  the  South  of  the  Ch'ung-jen-ssu 
(HI  £  ^-jp)  (a  Buddhist  temple  in  the  Western  suburb  of 
Hsi-an-fu).  The  workmen  lighted  on  a  stone  which  had  been 
buried  several  feet  deep  in  the  ground.  This  stone  proved 
to  be  the  Nestorian  Monument !  " 

Now,  the  south  side  of  the  Ch'ung-jen-ssu  is  in  the 
western  suburb  of  Hsi-an-fu.  The  distance  from  the  City 
gate  is  about  one  mile  and  a  half. 

If  we  were  to  accept  this  second  theory,  we  might  safely 
conclude  that  the  stone  had  been  originally  erected  in  the 
precincts  of  the  first  Nestorian  monastery  which  was  built  in 
638  A.D.,  for  the  Ch'ung-jen-ssu  itself  is  very  close  to  the 
ancient  site  of  I-ning  Ward  (||  ^  tft). 

But  this  theory,  too,  cannot  be  accepted  as  so  many 
authorities  are  against  it. 


. 


INTRODUCTION 


The  third  theory  says  that  the  stone  was  found  at  a 
certain  place  not  far  from  Chou-chih  (%£  Jg  j|g).  Now, 
Chou-chih  is  160  li  (t£.  about  6$  miles)  south-west  of  Hsi-an- 
fu,  whilst  the  place  where  the  stone  was  discovered  is  said  to 
be  30  miles  from  the  capital. 

Pere  Havret,  author  of  u  La  Stele  Chr£tienne  de  Si-ngan- 
fou ,"  concludes  as  follows  : 

It  is  not  at  San-yuan  nor  in  the  suburbs  of  Hsi-art>,  but 
at  or  near  Chou-chih — a  place  30  miles  from  Hsi-an-fu,  that 
the  stone  was  actually  found  ! 

In  support  of  this  theory,  Pere  Havret  quotes  some  very 
rare  works  on  the  stone,  and  very  precious  documents  pre- 
served only  at  Rome.  The  great  names  of  Kircher,  Trigault, 
Bartoli,  Thomas  Ignace  Dunyn-Szpot,  and  Antoine  de 
Gouvea,  who  bear  testimony  in  favour  of  this  theory  are 
enough  to  strengthen  it. 

But  here  comes  in  the  fourth  theory  which  insists  on  the 
stone  being  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  Hsi-an-fu  and  which 
we  must  harmonize  with  the  third  theory.  The  theory  was 
that  of  Emanuel  Diaz  and  Alvarez  Semedo.  The  former 
wroTe"a~lKfo1r^n*"The  Nestorian  Inscription  in  1641  A.D., 
whilst  the  latter  went  up  to  Ch'ang-an  to  examine  the  stone 
by  himself  in  1628  A.D.  It  is  moreover  strongly  supported 
by  the  writings  of  the  two  most  famous  Chinese  Christians 
of  the  time,  Dr.  Leon  Li  (^  j£  §1)  aad  Dr-  Paul  Hsu 
(ffe  yt  ^F)  '  and  it:  was  to  tne  former  that  the  first  rubbing 
of  the  Nestorian  Inscription  was  sent  by  Chang  Keng-yii 
(5M  Jft  JH)'  who  lived  in  Ch'i-yang  (|fc£  g§)  50  li  east  of  Feng- 
hsiang-fu  (J^  |§]  Jg),  which  is  situated  165  li  (i.e.  70  miles) 
north-west  of  Chou-chih  in  1625,  whilst  Chang  Keng-yu 
himself  does  not  say  that  he  saw  it  at  Chou-chih  as  alleged 
by  some  writers. 

On  the  1 2th  of  June,  1625,  Dr.  Leon  Li  writes  : 

*  During  my  residence  in  retirement  between  Ling  and  Chu 
{i.e.  Hang-chou)  Mr.  Chang  Keng-yu,  a  native  of  Ch'i-yang, 


18  THE  NEST0R1AN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


who  is  one  of  our  best  friends,  sent  me  a  rubbing  of  an 
inscription  of  the  T'ang  Era,  saying :  -  recently  in  Ch'ang-an, 
they  dug  out  a  stone  bearing  the  title,  'The  Monument 
Commemorating  the  Propagation  of  the  Luminous  Religion 
in  the  Middle  Kingdom/  We  have  never  heard  of  the  name 
before.  But  is  this  not  the  same  Western  Holy  Teaching 
that  has  been  preached  by  Matteo  Ricci  ?  *  etc. 

In  1627,  Dr.  Paul  Hsu  tffe  %  Jgf),  a  high  official  of  the 
Chinese  Government,  wrote  a  book  called  "  Iron  Cross " 
(^1  "t"  -?)  m  wn*cn  ne  vindicated  the  Christian  Faith. 
He  says : 

"  In  Ch'ang-an,  they  dug  out  '  The  Monument  Com- 
memorating the  Propagation  of  the  Luminous  Religion  in 
the  Middle  Kingdom/  " 

In  his  book  called  "A  Critical  Study  on  the  Nestorian 
Inscription  "  (Jjf  ^  |$r  j£  $g  J£  |£),  Emanuel  Diaz  says  : 
"  Originally  the  stone  was  discovered  in  the  third  year  of  the 
T'ien-ch'i  Period  (^  Jg£  ^£  &f)  (i.e.  1623  A.D.)  at  the  base  of 
a  ruined  wall  in  Kuan-chung  (||Jj}  tfl)  (i.e.  Hsi-an  district)  while 
the  workmen  were  digging  the  ground  by  an  official  command." 

The  "  Kuan-chung  "  of  Emanuel  Diaz,  as  every  one  knows, 
is  nothing  but  the  classical  name  for  Ch'ang-an  and  its  neigh- 
bourhood. Of  course  it  includes  the  western  suburb  of  the 
modern  Ch'ang-an  and  in  wider  sense  it  even  includes  Chou- 
chih  itself — which  once  formed  the  westernmost  end  of  the 
Ch'ang-an  district. 

We  think  it  entirely  wrong  to  say  that  the  stone  was 
discovered  in  Hsi-an-fu,  because  it  was  actually  unearthed  in 
1623  at  a  certain  spot  thirty  miles  west  of  Hsi-an-fu  as  insisted 
on  by  those  who  hold  the  fourth  theory  ;  whilst  on  the  other 
hand  we  deem  it  equally  wrong  to  insist  that  the  stone  was 
discovered  at  Chou-chih,  because  it  was  actually  excavated 
at  a  spot  thirty  miles  east  of  Chou-chih,  as  is  equally  alleged 
by  those  who  maintain  the  third  theory. 

In  fine  we  may  conclude  that  the  stone  was  discovered 


INTRODUCTION  19 


at  a  certain  spot  just  between  Hsi-an-fu  and  Chou-chih — 
a  few  miles  nearer  to  Hsi-an-fu  than  to  Chou-chih.  After 
all,  Alvarez  Semedo  was  not  wrong  in  saying  that  the 
stone  was  discovered  in  the  western  neighbourhood  of 
Hsi-an-fu. 

We  are  told  by  Alvarez  Semedo,  as  well  as  by  Pere  Havret, 
that  the  Governor  of  the  Hsi-an  Prefecture  hastened  to  the 
spot  where  the  stone  had  been  discovered  and  paid  homage 
to  this  ancient  relic  by  making  a  most  profound  and  solemn 
bow  to  it,  and  ordered  the  transportation  of  the  stone  to  the 
outside  yard  of  the  Taoist  temple  in  the  western  surburb  of 
Hsi-an. 

Long  as  the  distance  is  and  heavy  as  the  stone  was, 
the  transportation  of  the  Monument  to  the  western  suburb 
of  Hsi-an  by  the  Tsao-Ho  (||  ^Bj)  and  then  by  the 
Wei-Ho  ( JH  |8j)  may  have  not  been  so  difficult  a  matter ; 
the  stone  was  carried  there  and  stood  there  until  1907. 

It  was  in  1625  A.D.  that  the  existence  of  the  stone 
When  was  attracted  tne  attention  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
the  Stone  missionaries  in  the  Far  East,  who  then  made  it 
known  to  the  Christian  world  in  Europe. 
Although  there  are  three  different  theories  about  the  date 
of  its  discovery,  so  far  no  one  has  ascertained  what  it  was 
exactly  ;  but  it  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been  discovered 
in  1625  a.d. 

First  of  all,  Emanuel  Diaz  in  his  book  published  in  1644 
A.D.,  fixed  the  date  of  its  discovery  as  1623  A.D. 

But  many  authorities  agree  in  saying  that  it  was  discovered 
in  1625  A.D.,  since  Nicholas  Trigault  who  visited  Hsi-an-fu 
in  1625  A.D.  saw  the  stone  in  the  back  yard  of  Chin-sheng-ssu 
in  October  of  that  year,  and  says  that  it  was  discovered  in 
1625  A.D. 

Dr.  Leon  Li,  as  we  have  remarked  already,  wrote  on  the 
1 2th  of  June,  1625,  using  the  word  "  recently."  So  there  may 
be  some  who  would  insist  that  the  stone  was  discovered  in 


20  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


the  early  months  of  1625  a.d.  But  it  must  have  taken  at 
least  a  few  months  for  the  rubbing  sent  by  Chang  Keng-yii 
to  reach  Dr.  Leon  Li ;  for  the  one  was  residing  in  about  130 
miles  west  of  Hsi-an-fu  and  the  other  was  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Hang-chou-fu,  at  Che-kiang. 

If  Chang  Keng-yii  himself  had  seen  the  stone  at  Chou-chih, 
as  stated  by  Mr.  Moule,  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  fixing 
the  date  as  well  as  the  place  of  its  discovery.  But  so  far 
we  fail  to  find  any  positive  testimony  to  prove  what  these 
writers  say. 

On  the  contrary,  we  think  that  Chang  Keng-yii  could  not 
have  seen  the  stone  in  the  eastern  neighbourhood  of  Chou- 
chih  for  several  reasons.  For  instance,  granting  that  the 
stone  was  actually  found  at  Chou-chih,  it  must  have  been 
some  time  before  the  news  of  the  discovery  of  the  stone 
reached  him  in  his  home  at  the  foot  of  Ch'i-shan,  which  is  70 
miles  away  from  Chou-chih.  How  much  more  so  if  the  stone 
was  actually  discovered  35  miles  away  from  Chou-chih — 
105  miles  away  from  his  home !  We  think,  therefore, 
that  the  news  of  the  discovery  of  the  Nestorian  Stone 
spread  much  morely  quickly  after,  not  before,  its  removal 
to  Hsi-an-fu  by  the  end  of  1624  or  in  the  early  part  of 
1625  A.D. 

So  Chang  Keng-yii  must  have  heard  of  the  stone  very 
early  in  162  5,  and  if  he  saw  the  stone  we  think  it  was  at  the 
western  suburb  of  Hsi-an-fu — but  not  at  Chou-chih :  and  it 
must  have  been  some  time  in  March  or  April  that  he  got 
his  rubbings  made  to  send  one  copy  of  them  to  Dr.  Leon  Li 
in  Hang-chou. 

Mr.  Ch'ien  (§|  ^  [J)f ),  a  Chinese  authority  on  "  The 
Inscriptions  on  Stone  and  Metal,"  tried  to  fix  the  date  of  its 
discovery  between  A.D.  1573  and  1620. 

Judging,  therefore,  from  the  evidence,  it  must  have  been, 
beyond  doubt,  already  discovered  and  removed  to  Hsi-an-fu 
as  early  as  1625  A.D.     So  it  is  quite  safe  to  say  that  it  was 


INTRODUCTION  21 


discovered  sometime  early  in  1625  A.D.  if  we  cannot  accept 
Emmanuel  Diaz's  theory  of  1623  !  * 

Anyhow  it  must  have  been  discovered  before  March  in 
1625  A.D.,  although  not  earlier  than  1620  A.D.,  for  in  that  year 
the  famous  Jules  Aleni,  one  of  the  most  energetic  of  the  Jesuit 
missionaries,  visited  Shen-si.  Had  the  stone  been  already 
exhumed,  he  would  certainly  have  heard  of  it.  We  think 
that  his  complete  ignorance  of  the  stone  must  have  been  due 
to  the  fact  that  it  had  not  then  been  discovered. 

The  exact  circumstances  under  which  the  stone  was 
How  was  it  discovered  are  not  known,  and  we  are  still  in  the 
discovered?     dark  as  to  who  actuany  did  discover  it. 

A  great  authority  on  Chinese  archaeology  says  that  some 
workmen  found  it  when  digging  a  grave  in  the  suburb  of 
Ch'ang-an  wherein  to  bury  the  child  of  a  town  official,  and 
that  the  people  of  Ch'ang-an  at  that  time  believed  the  dis- 
covery to  be  due  to  the  guidance  of  the  departed  spirit  of 
this  child,  who  was  a  most  earnest  little  Buddhist !  Another 
authority  says  that  a  farmer  when  ploughing,  happened  to 
light  on  the  stone.     Mr.  Moule  says  : 

"  Early  in  the  year  1625,  perhaps  about  the  beginning  of 
March,  trenches  were  being  dug  for  the  foundations  of  some 
building  near  the  district  town  of  Chou-chih,  thirty  or  forty 
miles  to  the  west  or  south-west  of  the  city  of  Hsi-an,  when 
the  workmen  came  upon  a  great  slab  of  stone  buried  several 
feet  beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground." 

Differing  as  these  three  accounts  do,  all  agree  on  one 
point,  viz.  that  the  Nestorian  Monument  was  dug  out  of  the 
ground.     It  had  been  buried,  no  doubt,  for  a  long,  long  time. 

*  The  best  attested  dates  and  facts  make  it  at  least  possible  that  the  stone 
was  discovered  in  March,  1625.  There  are  six  statements  that  the  stone  was 
found  in  1625.  One  of  these  is  certainly,  and  another  probably,  by  Trigault 
himself,  who  spent  the  greater  part  of  1625  at  or  near  Hsi-an.  Trigault  had  been 
specially  ordered  to  examine  the  stone,  so  his  evidence  is  likely  to  be  good. 
He  died  in  1628  or  1629,  so  his  evidence  must  be  very  nearly  contemporary — one 
statement  is :  hoc  anno  1625  invent}.  (The  author  is  indebted  to  Mr.  A.  C. 
Moule  for  these  useful  informations. ) 


22  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


- 


One  advantage  this  monument  enjoys  over  other  old 
monuments  in  China  is  its  perfect  state  of  preservation — due 
to  its  having  been  so  long  buried.  Had  it  stood  above  the 
ground  all  these  1130  years,  it  would  not  have  been  in  its 
present  condition,  and  the  writing  upon  it  would  not  have 
been  so  legible ! 

Important  as  the  question  is,  nothing  definite  in  regard 
Where  was  to  it  has  ever  yet  been  made  out.  But  the  fact 
erected°n '  tnat  tne  stone  was  discovered  buried  in  the 
781  A.D.?  ground  between  Hsi-an  and  Chou-chih  naturally 
suggests  two  theories. 

One  is  that  the  stone  might  have  been  erected  in  Chou- 
chih  instead  of  Hsi-an.     Mr.  Moule  says : 

"The  fact  that  the  original  church  at  the  capital  seems, 
as  we  shall  see,  to  have  survived  that  edict  (of  a.d.  845) 
is  thus  an  argument  in  favour  of  the  first  erection  and  dis- 
covery of  the  monument  at  Chou-chih  rather  than,  as  some 
early  authorities  state,  at  Hsi-an  itself"  (p.  79,  "Journal 
of  the  North-China  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society," 
Vol.  XLL,  Shanghai,  1910). 

In  order  to  decide  whether  or  not  this  new  theory  is  right, 
we  have  to  describe  to  a  certain  extent  the  state  of  things  at 
Chou-chih  in  781  A.O.  as  well  as  we  possibly  can. 

Chou-chih  itself  is  sixty-five  miles  west  of  Hsi-an-fu  and 
its  old  name  was  Chou-nan  (^§|  j|jj),  but  ever  since  206  B.C. 
it  has  kept  the  name  of  Chou-chih  (|t$£  J§|).  According  to  an 
authoritative  Chinese  dictionary,  the  Cheng-tzii-fung,  "  Chou  '' 
means  M  mountain-corner  "  and  "chih"  means  "river-bend." 

The  name  describes  the  town  which  occupies  the  head- 
land of  the  delta  formed  by  the  Wei-ho  and  the  Tsao-ho. 
It  was  noted  for  its  beautiful  scenery — both  land  and  water. 
The  famous  Liu  Tsung-yiian  (770-819  A.D.),  was  the 
Governor  of  Hsi-an  from  803  to  806  A.D.,  and  among  his 
many  writings  we  have  found  two  masterpieces  of  Chinese 
classical  literature.     The  one  is  called  "  The  Inscription  on 


INTRODUCTION  23 

the  Wall  of  the  Post-town  Hall  "  (|§  $*  £ff  J|  f£)  dated 
804  A.D.,  and  the  other  "  On  the  Completion  of  the  New 
Banqueting  Hall  at  Chou-chih  "iiKltfg) 
dated  802  a.d. 

In  the  former  he  says  :  "  Between  Ctiang-an  and  Chou-chih 
there  are  eleven  stages.  Their  military  stronghold  is  Yang- 
chou  (pfc  j>W}.  Their  military  post  is  known  by  the  name  of 
Hua-yang  (^  B§)"  In  the  latter,  he  describes  this  banquet- 
ing hall,  which  is  nothing  else  than  a  sort  of  English  club 
in  the  heart  of  China  in  802  A.D.  The  writings  themselves 
throw  an  abundant  sidelight  upon  the  social  life  of  China 
in  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century.  So  we  give  here 
a  full  translation  of  the  originals. 

We  are  perfectly  aware  that  the  original  is  a  perfect 
specimen  of  prose  literature — a  gem  of  Chinese  literary  com- 
position, whilst  the  translation,  however  good  and  faithful  it 
may  be,  is  like  a  "  broken  piece  of  a  tile "  as  the  Chinese 
have  it.  Literary  translation  is  something  like  looking  at  a 
beautiful  embroidery  from  the  wrong  side  ! 

"  In  the  year  802  A.D.,  the  banqueting  hall  was  completed 
at  Chou-chih.  It  stands  on  the  right  side  of  the  town  hall. 
Since  the  first  outbreak  of  the  rebellion  (i.e.  that  of  General  An 
Lu-shan  in  755-756  A.D.,  followed  by  that  of  General  Shih  Ssu- 
ming  in  759A.D.),  the  western  district  (g§  $JJ)of  the  Imperial 
city  became  an  important  strategic  point  in  the  defence  of 
the  capital ;  and  Chou-chih  was  made  outpost  headquarters  of 
the  Imperial  army  for  twenty-six  years.  The  inhabitants 
could  not  remain  there  :  they  all  fled  for  their  safety  from 
friend  and  foe.  So  when  the  army  left  the  town  at  last  there 
remained  nothing  but  ruin  and  desolation !  The  town  was 
really  unfit  for  human  habitation  for  another  nineteen  years. 

"  There  was  no  town  life  in  Chou-chih  for  a  great  many 
years,  and  in  consequence  the  Chou-chih  people  had  very- 
little  occasion  to  meet  together  for  a  long,  long  time  ! 

"  Very  recently,  however,  the  town  officials  were  able  to 

c 


THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


restore  the  order  and  grandeur  of  Chou-chih.  Already  they 
have  restored  the  broken  bridges  and  ruined  country  roads. 
They  have  built  warehouses  and  granaries  ;  they  have  rebuilt 
the  school -houses. 

"  Saving  odds  and  ends  out  of  these  public  building  and 
construction  expenses,  one  of  the  town  officials  succeeded  in 
adding  to  the  town  buildings  this  large  and  beautiful 
banqueting  hall.  The  dining-room  itself  measures  twenty- 
two  feet  long  from  south  to  north  with  proportionate  width. 
The  surrounding  verandas  are  imposing,  whilst  the  beams 
and  posts  of  the  building  are  all  in  exquisite  taste.  The 
beauty  of  the  garden  and  the  dignity  of  a  long  flight  of  stone 
steps  leading  up  to  the  entrance  all  clearly  show  the  nature 
of  the  town,  whilst  the  building  itself  is  a  credit  to  the  people 
of  Chou-chih. 

"With  the  lofty  mountains  before  and  behind  and  the 
murmuring  brook  streaming  at  the  foot,  this  new  '  banquet- 
ing hall '  claims  to  be  just  the  place  both  for  meditation  and 
for  merry-making. 

"  We  are  told  that  as  soon  as  the  building  was  completed, 
a  good  round  sum  of  money  was  assigned  as  a  banqueting 
hall  fund  to  meet  the  running  expenses  of  the  building. 

"  Now  every  month  the  town  officials  meet  here  and  enjoy 
themselves.  And  yet  order  is  kept  very  decently  in  coming 
in  and  going  out,  and  even  the  seats  are  arranged  according 
to  their  official  rank ;  thus,  what  with  salutation  and  what 
with  laughter,  they  can  know  one  another  well  whilst  lectures 
and  discussions  make  them  understand  the  essentials  of  the 
present-day  politics. 

"  The  cooking  is  good  and  the  tables  are  all  nice  and  clean, 
whilst  the  wine  is  excellent.  In  this  hall  they  can  enjoy  all 
the  real  pleasure  of  fellowship.  Even  if  they  had  come  here 
as  enemies,  they  would  all  go  away  as  friends. 

"We  all  know  that  the  social  dinner-party  is  a  very  old 
institution.     Every  official  circle  in  the  capital  nowadays  has 


INTRODUCTION  25 


organized  a  certain  kind  of  society.  [Kuan-nei  (i.e.  Kumdan)] 
is  the  Imperial  District,  and  the  officials  should  be  well 
informed  with  all  important  knowledge,  and  be  kept  in 
touch  with  one  another.  Seclusion  and  society  make  a  wide 
difference !  We  ought  to  be  solemn  and  stern,  and  yet  at  the 
same  time  harmonious  and  kind  !  With  friendly  intercourse 
among  the  officials,  all  forms  of  suspicion  will  disappear  and 
their  good  words  alone  become  conspicuous !  Let  all  who 
visit  this  hall  remember  the  original  idea  of  its  nature,  and 
let  this  true  idea  last  for  ever  and  ever !  " 

This  shows  that  Chou-chih  was  made  an  outpost  citadel 
in  758  A.D.,  and  remained  so  for  26  years,  that  is  to  say,  until 
784  A.D.,  and  that  after  the  army  left  the  town  continued  for 
nineteen  years  in  ruins  ! 

This  fact  was  well  expressed  by  the  famous  Lu 
Lun  in  his  poem  written  in  785  or  786  A.D.,  entitled : 
"  Coming  back  to  Chou-chih  in  Early  Spring,  I  address  my 
friends  Keng  Wei  and  Li  Tuan  "  (Jfi  ^  gg  jjg  g  ^  ^ 
j||  ^  jjfil).  which  may  be  roughly  translated  as  follows  : 

"  The  sun  now  shone  on  fields  where  wheat  once  grew. 
The  garden  plots,  the  groves  of  green  bamboo, 
The  village  streets  were  thronged  with  roving  deer ; 
Tall  weeds  and  ruined  wells  where  once  was  cheer. 
One  flowering  tree  alone  that  broke  the  gloom 
Was  solitary  there  beside  a  tomb. 
Unbroken  ice  had  settled  on  the  spring 
From  which  we  tried  the  water  sweet  to  bring. 
A  stony  plain  as  far  as  eye  could  see 
Replaced  the  fertile  fields  that  used  to  be. 
Alas  !  alas !  how  desolate  the  scene, — 
The  village  waste  before  the  mountain  green  ! 
The  only  cheering  token  that  is  mine, 
Behold  this  branch  plucked  from  the  changeless  pine  ? " 

Thus   two   contemporary   writers   agree   in   saying   that 


26  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


Chou-chih  was  a  deserted  village  in  781  A.D.  when  the  stone 
was  erected  !  But  must  we  suppose  that  the  stone  had 
originally  been  erected  at  this  deserted  town  of  Chou-chih  in 
781  A.D.,  because  the  stone  was  dug  out  at  a  certain  spot 
near  Chou-chih — 35  miles  east  of  Chou-chih  and  30  miles 
west  of  Hsi-an  ?     Certainly  we  think  not. 

Then  must  we  suppose  that  the  stone  was  originally 
erected  somewhere  in  the  western  neighbourhood  of 
Ch'ang-an  ? 

But  so  far  as  the  text  of  the  Inscription  is  concerned, 
there  is  no  knowing  where  the  stone  was  originally  erected, 
and  any  conjecture  may  be  possible. 

Our  supposition  is  that  the  stone  had  originally  been 
erected  not  far  from  the  very  spot  where  it  was  unearthed  in 
1623  A.D.,  and  that  place  may  have  been  one  of  "the  seven 
post-towns  "  which  existed  between  Ch'ang-an  and  Chou-chih 
as  described  by  Liu  Tsung-yiian  in  804  A.D.  What  he  calls 
"  Yang-chou  "  or  "  Hua-yang"  may  have  been  in  the  locality 
where  the  stone  was  discovered.  It  is  our  opinion  that 
this  stone  was  erected  at  a  certain  post-town  30  miles  from 
Hsi-an-fu,  and  that  the  place  must  have  had  something  to 
do  with  General  I-ssu  (ffi  fljf )  mentioned  in  the  Inscription. 

The  great  General  Duke  Kuo  Tzu-i  died  six  months  after 
the  erection  of  the  stone,  but  evidently  General  I-ssu  himself 
was  living — this  is  certain  from  the  Chinese  text  of  the 
Inscription. 

When  the  news  of  its  discovery  reached  Hang-chou-fu 
How  was  the  ($j[  j\\  Jffi)  sometime  in  1625  A.D.,  there  were  a 
known™*  C  great  many  Jesuit  missionaries  living  there  in 
the  world?  quiet  hiding  after  a  recent  persecution  in  Hang- 
chou-fu  (^/j[  >J\t\  JU)  as  weU  as  to  escape  from  the  dangerous 
mobs  then  so  common,  owing  partly  to  the  weakness  of  the 
Ming  Dynasty  and  partly  to  the  influence  and  instigation  of 
the  rising  Manchus,  who  had  begun  to  establish  themselves  at 
the  expense  of  the  Mings,  and  who  actually  came  into  power 


INTRODUCTION  27 


in  1644  A.D.  As  early  as  161 8  A.D.  the  founder  of  the  Manchu 
Dynasty  rose  in  rebellion  against  the  Ming  Dynasty,  and 
began  to  carry  out  the  plan  which  ended  in  the  overthrow 
of  the  reigning  Ming  power,  "thus  disorder  ruled  everywhere, 
and  the  missionaries  were  not  safe  at  all. 

Among  the  missionaries  then  in  Che-kiang  (jjjft  ££  ^jj) 
was  the  famous  Alvarez  Semedo,  Procurator  of  the  Provinces 
of  China  and  Japan.  In  his  book,  u  History  of  the  Great  and 
Renowned  Monarchy  of  China  "  (translated  into  English  from 
the  Portuguese  original  in  1720  A.D.),  after  expressing  his 
great  delight  at  the  good  news  which  was  received  by  Dr. 
Leon  Li  from  his  friend  Chang  Keng-yii  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Ch'ang-an,  he  goes  on  to  say  : 

"  The  news  was  received  with  a  spiritual  jubilee  in  A.D. 
1625.  The  Chinese  workmen  came  upon  a  great  slab  of 
stone  while  they  were  digging  trenches  to  lay  the  foundation 
stones  at  Chou-chih,  not  far  from  Hsi-an-fu,  the  capital  of 
Shensi.  The  size  of  the  stone  proved  to  be  9  empan  *  in 
length  and  4  empan  wide  and  1  empan  thick. 

4<  On  the  extremity  of  the  stone  there  is  the  figure  of  a 
pyramid,  which  is  1  empan  at  the  base  and  2  empan  high  at 
the  apex.  In  the  centre  of  this  pyramid  there  is  a  beautiful 
cross  whose  ends,  finishing  in  fleurs  de  lyst  resemble  that 
carved  upon  the  tomb  of  the  Apostle  St.  Thomas  in  the 
city  of  Meliapor.     The  cross  is  surrounded  by  clouds. 

"  As  soon  as  this  curious  stone  was  discovered,  the  Chinese 
reported  it  to  the  authorities,  and  the  chief  official  came  on 
horseback,  and,  after  inspecting  it  most  carefully,  ordered  it 
to  be  set  up.  He  also  ordered  a  temporary  cover  to  be  made 
for  it  so  as  to  protect  it  from  wind  and  rain.  When  the  newly- 
discovered  stone  was  set  up,  the  public  were  allowed  to  see  it." 

The  removal  of  the  stone  from  Chou-chih  to  Hsi-an-fu 
must  have  occurred  sometime  in  1623  or  1624  A.D.     Semedo 

*  This  maybe  the  corruption  of  the  Chinese  word  for  measurement.     It  seems 
to  correspond  to  one  foot. 


28  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


himself  went  up  to  Hsi-an-fu  in  1628  A.D.,  and  describes  his 
happiness  in  having  been  entrusted  with  the  affairs  of  the 
Christian  Church  newly  built  there,  because  living  in  the 
small  house  attached  to  it  afforded  him  the  precious  privilege 
of  leisure  wherein  to  study  and  consider  most  carefully  the 
Nestorian  Inscription. 

When  he  read  the  Chinese  text  he  felt  as  St.  Paul  once 
had  done :  "  God  indeed  had  not  left  Himself  without  a 
witness  !  "  He  thought  that  the  long-felt  desire  of  his  pre- 
decessors, Matteo  Ricci,  Jules  Aleni,  and  others  was  at  last 
fulfilled,  and  the  more  he  studied  it  the  more  delighted  he 
was  with  the  stone. 

Although  he  could  understand  the  Chinese  text  fairly 
well,  Semedo  could  not  decipher  the  curious  foreign  writing 
on  the  stone — which  he  at  once  perceived  was  neither 
Hebrew  nor  Greek,  but  he  did  not  recognize  that  it  was 
Syriac — the  ecclesiastical  language  of  the  Nestorian  Church 
as  well  as  the  commercial  tongue  once  spoken  throughout 
Central  Asia.  So  he  went  to  Cochin-China  on  purpose  to 
consult  Pere  Antony  Fernandez  at  Cranganor,  knowing  how 
well  versed  he  was  in  reading  the  books  of  the  Christians  of 
St.  Thomas.  Fernandez  assured  him  that  the  characters 
were  Syriac,  like  those  which  he  himself  was  then  using — ue. 
what  is  now  known  as  Estrangelo. 

The  text  of  the  Inscription  was  first  translated  by  a 
member  of  the  Society  of  Jesus — probably  Nicholas  Trigault 
— into  Latin,  the  universal  language  of  Christendom  in 
Europe.     It  appeared  in  1625  a.d. 

In  1628  A.D.,  an  anonymous  and  incomplete  French 
translation  from  the  Latin  appeared — French  being  to  the 
Catholic  world  what  English  was  to  the  Protestant  world. 

In  1 63 1  A.D.  a  complete  Italian  translation  was  first  made 
from  Portuguese — probably  by  Semedo,  whose  Portuguese 
translation  with  notes  appeared  afterwards  in  1638  A.D. 

The  news  of  the  discovery  naturally  flew  to  Rome  as  well 


INTRODUCTION  29 


as  to  Lisbon,  and  by  163 1  A.D.,  only  eight  years  after  the 
stone  had  been  lifted  out  of  its  grave  in  the  place  not  far 
from  Hsi-an,  the  whole  story  had  been  made  pretty  well 
known  amongst  the  leading  scholars  of  Europe  as  well  as 
in  the  missionary  field. 

In  1636  A.D.,  the  famous  Athanasius  Kircher,  a  man  of 
varied  research  and  a  professor  of  mathematics  in  the  College 
at  Rome,  described  the  discovery  of  the  stone  in  his  book, 
<c  Prodromus  Coptus  Sive  Aegyptiacus,"  and  many  years 
later — in  1667  A.D. — he  again  treated  the  subject  in  a  book 
called  "  China  Illustrated,"  published  at  Amsterdam.. 

By  giving  a  transcript  of  the  Chinese  and  reproducing 
the  Syriac  text,  he  explained  it  thoroughly,  and  through  his 
efforts  the  whole  of  the  Nestorian  Inscription  in  China  was 
thus  first  submitted  to  the  critics  in  Europe. 

About  the  year  1653  A.D.,  Antoine  de  Gouvea  translated 
it  into  Latin.  M.  Boym's  Latin  version  of  about  A.D.  1653 
was  printed  in  Kircher's  "China  Illustrated,"  1667;  and  in 
1663  A.D.  Daniel  Bartoli  published  a  compilation  of  all  the 
previous  works  on  the  Inscription.  And  so  the  news  spread 
gradually  and  steadily  throughout  the  Catholic  world* 

Now  let  us  see  how  it  affected  the  Protestants.  The 
news  of  the  discovery  was  diffused  chiefly  through  the 
medium  of  the  English  language  into  which  Semedo's  work  was 
first  translated  in  1655  A.D. — ix.  about  two  years  after  Oliver 
Cromwell  was  made  Lord  Protector  of  the  Puritan  Common- 
wealth of  England,  and  only  one  year  before  the  "  Christi- 
anity-prohibition-board "  appeared  everywhere  in  the  "  Land 
of  the  Rising  Sun  "  under  the  fourth  Shogun,  Iyetsuna. 

Through  the  mighty  pen  of  Edward  Gibbon,  the  historian, 
the  fact  was  again  revealed  to  the  world  at  the  end  of  the 
1 8th  century.  During  the  19th  century  many  translations 
of  the  text  appeared  by  such  scholars  as  Dr.  Bridgman 
(1845),  Mr.  Alexander  Wylie  (1854),  and  Dr.  Legge  (1888), 
in   English  ;   whilst  amongst  the  French  we  have  those  of 


30  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


Abbe  Hue  (1857),  M.  G.  Pauthier  (1858),  and  Pere  Havret 
(1902)  ;  and  amongst  the  German,  those  of  Prof.  Neumann 
of  Munich  (1866)  and  Dr.  Heller  (1885, 1897).  All  these  and 
many  more  made  the  stone  famous  throughout  the  Western 
World. 

Whilst  European  scholars  have  taken  so  much  interest 
The  study  of  in  the  Nestorian  Stone  of  China  during  so  many 
tion  'Jn^the  vears»  we  are  ashamed  to  confess  that  very  little 
Far  East.  indeed  has  been  done  by  either  Japanese  or 
Chinese ! 

For  instance,  in  China  itself  where  the  stone  is  still  to 
be  seen,  the  study  of  the  Inscription  has  neither  been  very 
popular  nor  attractive  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  anti-Christian 
feeling. 

Only  a  few  Chinese  archaeologists  and  students  of  the 
calligraphy  of  the  T'ang  era  and  those  interested  in  "  Writing 
on  Metal  and  Stones,"  know  of  the  stone's  existence. 

Generally  speaking,  the  opinions  expressed  by  Chinese 
scholars  remind  one  of  a  blind  man's  description  of  an 
elephant,  for  sometimes  their  criticism  is  altogether  beyond 
the  mark,  owing  to  their  ignorance  of  Christianity  itself,  as 
well  as  of  Syriac  and  of  the  foreign  terms  which  are  found 
in  the  Inscription. 

A_bojokjhoweverf  written^ bv_Mr.  Yang  Yung-chih 
(fJI  ^1  $S)»  called  "A  Critical  StudyonThe  Nestorian  In- 
scription," gives  a  tolerably  good  account  of  the  views  of  the 
Chinese  Christians  concerning  the  Inscription.  But  even 
this  book,  suggestive  as  it  is  in  a  way,  is  far  from  being 
complete,  and  does  not  quite  come  up  to  the  standard  of 
a  critical  study  on  the  subject. 

But  we  hope  and  trust  that  as  a  nation  the  Chinese  will 
pay  more  attention  to  it,  after  Dr.  Frits  Holm's  attempt 
to  buy  the  stone  for  the  British  Museum  in  1907,  and  since 
the  first  President  of  the  Chinese  Republic,  Dr.  Sun-yat-sen, 
in  his  official  letter  to  the  people  of  China  on  the  5th  of 


INTRODUCTION 


January,  19 12,  referred  to  the  Nestorian  Inscription  in  order 
to  prove  that  China  was  once  not  behind  the  rest  of  the 
world  in  opening  up  her  territories  to  foreign  intercourse. 

As  the  result  of  over  fifteen  hundred  years'  intercourse 
with  China,  and  so  many  years'  study  of  her  literature  and  the 
adoption  of  things  Chinese,  Japanese  scholars  are  generally 
accredited  with  as  thorough  a  knowledge  as  the  Chinese 
scholars  themselves  on  all  and  every  point  of  the  classics 
and  literature  of  China. 

But,  strange  to  say,  very  many  Japanese  do  not  know  of 
the  stone's  existence,  whilst  very  few  take  interest  in  it ! 

This  is  strange  enough,  but  can  be  easily  accounted  for. 

It  was  only  in  the  year  18 17  that  the  Nestorian  Inscrip- 
tion was  first  made  known  to  some  learned  Japanese  through 
the  importation  of  Chinese  books,  among  which  there  was 
a  large  work  called  "  A  Great  Collection  of  Inscriptions  on 
Metal  and  Stone,"  compiled  by  the  famous  Wang  Ch'ang 

(3E  M)  in  *805  A.D. 

It  deals  with  nearly  one  thousand  inscriptions,  long  and 
short,  from  about  2000  B.C.  down  to  1264  a.d.  The  larger 
part  of  the  sixty-fifth  volume  is  occupied  with  the  Nestorian 
Inscription.     The  whole  text  (except  the  Syriac)  is  given. 

Although  the  work  is  not  without  errors  of  transcription, 
on  the  whole  it  is  complete  and  contains  even  the  compiler's 
own  criticisms  as  well  as  those  of  others  which  were  added 
to  each  text. 

As  soon  as  this  work — one  hundred  and  sixty  volumes 
in  all — by  Wang  Ch'ang  was  inspected  by  the  Government 
authorities  at  Yedo,  the  sagacious  Kondo  Seisai,  Inspector- 
General  of  Publications  and  Imported  Books,  found  the 
Nestorian  Inscription  in  it,  and  concluding  that  it  was  related 
to  the  "  Religion  of  Jesus,"  which  was  then  forbidden  by  the 
strict  law  of  the  Shogunate,  he  declared  the  whole  work  of 
Wang  Ch'ang  to  be  proscribed  in  Japan. 

Although  Kondo   Seisai  was  clever  enough  to  discover 


32  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

the  Inscription,  the  whole  Japanese  nation  was  kept  so  com- 
pletely in  the  dark  about  the  Nestorian  Monument  that  they 
did  not  even  hear  its  name  until  some  years  after  the 
Restoration,  a.d.  1865  ! 

It  was  only  after  1872,  when  the  Japanese  Government 
in  its  Treaty  with  the  Foreign  Powers  gave  the  people 
religious  liberty  by  taking  down  the  notorious  "  Christianity- 
prohibition-boards,"  that  we  began  to  hear  about  the 
Nestorian  Inscription  in  Japan. 

During  the  most  glorious  reign  of  the  late  great  Meiji 
Emperor  (1867-1912),  we  can  cite  only  three  scholars  who 
have  paid  much  attention  to  the  subject  in  their  writings,  viz. 
Dr.  Takakusu,  Dr.  Kuwabara  and  the  late  Dr.  Nakamura. 

Since  Mr.  Holm  carried  the  first  replica  of  the  Nestorian 
Monument  to  America — and  since  an  Irish  lady  (the  Hon. 
Mrs.  Gordon)  had  a  second  replica  made  and  erected  on  the 
summit  of  Koya  San — the  Holy  Mount  of  Japan,  it  is  surely 
the  duty  of  the  Japanese  to  make  a  pilgrimage  there  and 
study  for  themselves  this  wonderful  stone  with  a  view  to  solve, 
if  possible,  the  religious  difficulties  and  futile  contentions  in 
Japan  and  China  which  (being  the  largest  missionary  field  of 
the  world)  are  the  centre  of  severe  strife  between  natives  and 
foreigners  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  unhappy  divisions  between 
Christian  and  non-Christian  relatives  on  the  other. 

That  the  civilization  and  culture  of  the  T'ang  Dynasty  in 
China  was  really  the  model  for  the  Japanese  Government 
and  nation,  we  already  knew ;  but  when  studying  this  Syrian 
Monument  and  its  Inscription  we  feel  that  the  Great  T'ang 
did  not  fail  to  supply  us  also  with  a  model  for  the  religious 
policy  of  Japan ! 

When  our  Gyogi  Bosatsu  (680-749  A.D.),  and  Kobo 
Daishi  (774-835  A.D.),  and  other  advanced  thought-leaders 
endeavoured  to  harmonize  the  Japanese  national  cult,  they 
wisely  took  a  leaf  out  of  the  Nestorian  book  in  China ! 
How  the  Japanese  people  can  now  best  utilize  the  stone  is 


H 


INTRODUCTION 


therefore  a  question  of  paramount  importance  to  the  whole 
civilized  world  ! 

Believing  as  we  do  that  this  twentieth  century  will  see 
China  opened  up  in  many  ways,  and  that  Chinese  thought 
will  become  better  understood  in  Christendom  as  was  that  of 
India  in  the  nineteenth  century,  we  are  strongly  convinced 
that  the  Nestorian  Monument  will  supply  any  European  or 
American  who  desires  to  understand  either  China  or  Japan 
with  the  true  compass  for  guiding  him  through  his  intricate 
course. 

Soon  after  its  discovery,  the  Nestorian  Stone  attracted  the 

_u  attention   of  several   Chinese  scholars,  who  ex- 

Tne  reception 

of  the  News  plained  its  important  points  as  best  as  they 
in  the  West.     coul(^  acconjing  to  their  own  ideas,  and  expressed 

their  opinions  without  reserve. 

But  though  all  sorts  of  opinions  were  expressed,  not  one 
even  suggested  that  the  stone  was  *  the  fabrication  of  a  later 
age."  On  the  contrary,  its  calligraphic  characteristics — on 
which  the  Chinese  are  great  experts — (i.e.  style  and  character 
of  the  handwriting)  all  Chinese  scholars  agree  in  pronounc- 
ing to  belong  decidedly  to  the  T'ang  era. 

But  in  the  West  many  noted  men  have  expressed  their 
opinions  against  the  genuineness  of  the  stone  and  its  inscrip- 
tion.    This  seems  very  queer  to  the  Japanese  ! 

Prior  to  the  nineteenth  century,  La  Craze  and  Voltaire 
in  France,  Bishop  Home  in  England,  and  others  contended 
that  it  could  not  be  genuine,  and  they  challenged  it  as  "  a 
Jesuit  forgery." 

Later  on  in  the  nineteenth  century,  Prof.  Neumann  of 
Munich,  Stanislas  Julien  of  Paris,  the  great  Sinologist,  who 
translated  Hsiian-tsang's  Travels,  and  others,  threw  doubts 
more  or  less  on  the  genuineness  of  the  stone  ;  and  in  1853 
Prof.  E.  E.  Salisbury  published  an  article  examining  the 
opinion  he  had  expressed  in  October,  1852,  at  a  meeting 
of   American   Orientalists,   "that   the    so-called    Nestorian 


34  THE  NEST0R1AN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


Monument  was  now  generally  regarded,  by  the  learned,  as  a 
forgery." 

Prof.  Salisbury  insisted  that  "  seeing  is  believing,"  and 
that  since  he  had  met  no  one  who  had  seen  it  in  China,  nor 
had  any  of  his  friends  ever  met  such  an  one,  he  was  not  sure 
whether  such  a  thing  did  actually  exist  in  the  interior  of 
China  or  not!  ("On  the  Genuineness  of  the  so-called 
Nestorian  Monument  of  Singan-fu,"  pp.  399-419,  "  The 
Journal  of  the  American  Oriental  Society,"  Vol.  III.) 

On  the  other  hand,  great  Sinologists  like  Alexander 
Wylie  and  James  Legge  of  England,  and  M.  G.  Pauthier 
of  France,  confirmed  its  genuineness  from  various  sources. 
Mr.  Wylie  published  a  translation  of  the  Inscription  at 
Shanghai  in  1854.  His  translation  is  pronounced  to  be 
one  of  the  best  yet  made.  He  then  published  in  detail 
a  series  of  discussions  based  on  the  consensus  of  Chinese 
authorities  and  on  a  great  variety  of  historical  and  topo- 
graphical notices,  besides  that  of  calligraphical  notices  of 
the  Tang  era  in  "The  Journal  of  the  American  Oriental 
Society,"  Vol.  IV. 

Indeed,  we  are  glad  to  say  that  Mr.  Wylie  made  it 
impossible  for  us  ever  to  doubt  its  genuineness  again  ! 

Three  years  later  (1857),  M.  G.  Pauthier,  in  his  famous 
book  "  Chine,"  fully  acknowledged  the  value  of  Mr.  Wylie's 
labours  and  made  the  very  best  use  of  all  his  materials,  but 
he  himself  went  far  beyond  Mr.  Wylie's  work,  as  he  eluci- 
dated every  point  connected  with  the  Inscription  with  a  large 
amount  of  evidence,  both  internal  and  external,  omitting, 
however,  two  very  important  points  regarding  the  priest 
Ching-ching  (^  J=Jf),  who  composed  the  Inscription  and 
Lii  Hsiu-yen  (Q  ^  j^),  the  Chinese,  who  wrote  it  out  for 
Ching-ching. 

In  1888,  Dr.  Legge  published  his  translation  of  the 
Inscription  together  with  the  lecture  which  he  delivered 
upon   it   at    Oxford.      As    regards   the    Chinese    text    and 


INTRODUCTION  35 


translation,  Dr.  Legge's  work  stands  very  high.  Short  and 
insufficient  as  the  lecture  is,  it  is  very  suggestive  and 
truly  helpful. 

The  Monument  was  originally  erected  or,  to  speak  more 
When  was        correctly,  unveiled  on  the  4th  of  February,  78 1  A.D. 
ortefnaHy        Tne  Chinese  Inscription  states  that  it  was  : 
setup?  "Erected  in  the  second  year  of  the  Chien- 

chung  period  (i.e.  781  A.D.)  of  the  Great  T'ang  (Dynasty),  the 
year-star  being  in  Tso-o,  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  first 
month,  the  day  being  the  Great  Yao-sen-wen." 

And  these  dates  are  also  given  in  Syriac  : 

"  In  the  days  of  the  Father  of  Fathers,  my  Lord  Hanan- 
Ishu,  Catholicus,  Patriarch." 

And  again : 

u  In  the  year  one  thousand  and  ninety-two  of  the  Greeks 
(1092  -  311  =  781)  was  erected  this  Stone-Tablet." 

So  it  is  quite  clear  that  the  Monument  was  set  up  on  the 
4th  of  February,  781  A.D.,  when  Hanan-Ishu  was  Patriarch 
of  the  Nestorian  (or  more  correctly  the  Assyrian)  Church. 
But  this  date  does  not  agree  with  that  of  the  Patriarchate 
of  Hanan-Ishu,  who  (according  to  European  writers)  is 
generally  said  to  have  died  in  yyS  a.d. 

How  can  we  account  for  this  apparent  discrepancy  ? 
Dr.  Legge  says  in  his  book,  "The  Nestorian  Monument  in 
CKina/'p.  29  note :  " 


This  is  an  important  note  of  time,  and  occasions  some 
little  difficulty.  We  know  from  the  Bibliotheca  Orientalis 
Clementino-Vaticana  of  J.  S.  Assemani,  that  this  Hanan- 
Yeshu  (same  as  Hanan-Ishu)  was  created  Patriarch  of  the 
Nestorians  at  Bagdad  in  A.D.  774,  and  died  in  A.D.  yyS  ; 
whereas  here  is  this  Monument  erected  in  A.D.  781.  But  is 
not  this  discrepancy  rather  a  proof  of  its  genuineness  ?  The 
news  of  the  Patriarch's  death  had  not  reached  them  at  Ch'ang- 
an.  In  fact,  according  to  Assemani  (Vol.  III.,  1,  347)  the  canon 
for  communication  between  more  distant  metropolitan  sees 


36  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


and  the  Patriarchate  required  the  interchange  of  messages 
only  once  in  six  years." 

But  Dr.  Wright  (the  author  of  "  A  Short  History  of  Syriac 
Literature  ")  says  that  Hanan-Ishu,  the  Patriarch,  died  some- 
time in  779  A.D.  instead  of  778  A.D.,  the  date  given  by  Dr. 
Legge ;  whilst  Dr.  Budge,  the  translator  of  the  "  Book  of 
Governors,"  says  in  a  foot-note  that  this  pious  Patriarch 
Hanan-Ishu  succeeded  Mar  Jacob  as  Nestorian  Patriarch 
in  774  A.D.,  and  died  in  780  A.D. 

We  think  that  the  death  of  Hanan-Ishu  probably  occurred 
sometime  in  October  or  November  of  the  year  780  A.D.  Our 
ground  for  this  is  that  as  no  two  authorities  agree  about  the 
date  of  Hanan-Ishu's  death,  we  are  compelled  to  adopt  the 
date  nearest  to  the  date  of  the  Inscription.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  are  told  by  Dr.  Wright  and  others  that  eight 
months  elapsed  between  the  death  of  Hanan-Ishu  and  the 
final  election  of  his  successor,  Mar  Timothy.  This  brings 
the  consecration  of  Mar  Timothy  down  to  May,  781  A.D., 
and  the  Nestorian  missionaries  in  China  could  not  possibly 
know  of  Hanan-Ishu's  death  at  the  end  of  780  A.D.,  when  the 
stone  was  finished  and  only  waiting  for  the  day  when  it 
should  be  unveiled.  (The  unveiling  took  place  on  the  4th 
of  February,  781  A.D.). 

In  the  famous  "Book  of  Governors"  by  Thomas  of 
Margha,  840  A.D.,  this  Hanan-Ishu  is  thus  mentioned  : 

"  And  when  the  pious  Hanan-Ishu,  this  other  Catholicus, 
died,  and  a  synod  was  assembled  to  appoint  a  Catholicus, 
the  Election  to  the  Patriarchate  was  ordered  and  prepared 
for  the  blessed  Mar  Isho-yahbh  by  all  Bishops  and  Metro- 
politans and  heads  of  believers,  so  that  he  might  become  the 
Patriarch,"  etc. 

But  Mar  Isho-yahbh  was  not  made  Patriarch  after  all. 
Mar  Timothy  succeeded  Hanan-Ishu  in  May,  781  A.D.  (Dr. 
Wright  says,  779  A.D.,  and  Dr.  Budge  says  780  A.D.,  as 
we  have  already  mentioned).      The  "  Book  of  Governors," 


INTRODUCTION  37 


describing  "  how  Timothy  obtained  possession  of  the  Patri- 
archate by  fraud,  like  Jacob  who  obtained  by  fraud  the 
blessings  of  Isaac  his  father,"  says  : 

"  And  when  Timothy  saw  the  face  of  every  man  fixed  upon 
our  Mar  Isho-yahbh,  he  advised  him  secretly  when  they  were 
alone  together  and  said  to  him,  Thou  art  an  old  man,  and 
thou  art  not  able  to  stand  up  and  meet  the  attacks  of  the 
envious,  Ephraim  of  Elam,  Joseph  the  son  of  Mari,  and  other 
opponents ;  but  do  thou  excuse  thyself,  and  become  one 
of  my  supporters,  and  I  will  make  thee  Metropolitan  of 
Adiabene ;  and  to  speak  briefly,  Timothy  was  appointed 
Catholicus  and  Patriarch,  and  was  proclaimed  among  the 
heads  of  the  fathers  "  (p.  383,  Vol.  II.). 

Neither  the  news  of  Hanan-Ishu's  death  nor  the  result  of 
the  election  had  reached  Nestorians  in  China  before  they 
finished  the  stone  at  Ch'ang-an  at  the  end  of  780  A.D. 

We  think  that  when  they  heard  the  news  the  Monument 
must  have  been  already  finished  and  set  up,  ready  to  be  un- 
veiled. And  this  is  why  the  Inscription  has  Hanan-Ishu's 
name  as  Patriarch  and  Catholicus  instead  of  that  of  Mar 
Timothy. 

So  this  stone  tablet  is  as  old  as  Charlemagne,  and  the 
Inscription  itself  is  older  by  seventy  years  than  the  famous 
Syriac  "  Book  of  Governors."  It  is  twelve  years  older  than 
the  founding  of  Kyoto,  the  greatest  of  Japan's  old  cities. 

The  stone  had  been  standing  there  in  Hsi-an-fu  for  twenty- 
three  years,  when  our  Kobo  Daishi  and  Dengyo  Daishi,  the 
two  greatest  monks  of  Japan,  visited  China  at  the  beginning 
of  the  ninth  century,  when  Lli  Hsiu-yen  (g  ^  |||),  the 
penman  of  the  Inscription,  was  the  local  official  in  T'ai  Chou  \ 
(  El  ^H)»  where  was  situated  T'ien-t'ai-shan  (^  ^  |J_|)-         J 

It  is  younger  only  by  sixty-nine  years  than  the  oldest 
historical  book,  the  Kojiki  (^  ^  f2),  that  our  Japan  has 
produced.  So  if  we  regard  this  Inscription  merely  as  a 
historical  document  it  will  be  worth  our  while  to  study  it. 


38  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

How  much  more  so  then,  if  it  be  the  key  wherewith  to 
unlock  some  facts  which  were  hitherto  hidden  from  our 
knowledge ! 

"  Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day ! "  and  this  unique  Nestorian 
Monument  was  not  set  up  until  one  hundred  and  forty-six 
years  after  the  introduction  of  Assyrian  Christianity  itself 
into  China  in  635  A.D. 

Thus  the  Monument  was  unveiled  on  the  4th  of  February, 
781  A.D.,  but  nothing  was  known  of  the  existence  of  such  a 
stone  either  in  China  or  in  the  West  until  1625  a.d.  ;  and 
this  very  fact  aroused  suspicion  amongst  inquiring  minds  in 
Europe  and  America.  This  was  not  surprising  at  all,  as  they 
could  neither  see  the  rubbing  nor  yet  read  the  original 
Chinese  text ! 

We  therefore  feel  our  first  duty  is  to  clear  away  all  such 
suspicions  from  our  readers'  minds,  by  placing  before  them 
every  possible  detail.  What  the  historian,  Edward  Gibbon, 
wrote  a  century  ago  in  his  celebrated  "  History  of  the  Decline 
and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  still  holds  good  in  the  light 
of  the  latest  discoveries.     He  said  : 

"  Unlike  the  senators  of  Rome,  who  assumed  with  a  smile 
the  characters  of  priests  and  augurs,  the  mandarins,  who  affect 
in  public  the  reason  of  philosophers,  are  devoted  in  private  to 
every  mode  of  popular  superstition.  They  cherished  and  they 
confounded  the  gods  of  Palestine  and  of  India;  but  the 
propagation  of  Christianity  awakened  the  jealousy  of  the 
state,  and  after  a  short  vicissitude  of  favour  and  persecution, 
the  foreign  sect  expired  in  ignorance  and  oblivion. 

"The  Christianity  of  China,  between  the  seventh  and 
thirteenth  century,  is  invincibly  proved  by  the  consent  of 
Chinese,  Arabian,  Syriac,  and  Latin  evidence.  The  inscrip- 
tion of  Siganfu  [Hsi-an-fuJ,  which  describes  the  fortunes 
of  the  Nestorian  Church  from  its  first  mission  a.d.  636, 
to  the  current  year  781,  is  accused  of  forgery  by  La  Craze, 
Voltaire,  &c,  who  become  the  dupes  of  their  own  cunning, 


JAPANESE  FAN,   SHOWING  A   PHRYGIAN   CAP. 

[To  face  p.  39. 


IXTRODUCTIOX  39 


while  they  are  afraid  of  a  Jesuitical  fraud "  (Chapter 
XLVIL). 

The  first  external  evidence  is  the  fact  that  the  overland 
External  communication  between  the  capital  of  China  and 

Evidences.  tne  Graeco-Roman  civilized  countries  around  the 
Mediterranean  Sea  had  existed  long  before  the  introduction 
of  Assyrian  Christianity  into  China  proper  in  635  A.D.  The 
visit  of  the  Nestorian  missionary  is  only  one  of  the  many 
results  of  the  political,  social,  and  economical  relations  which 
had  for  centuries  existed  between  China  and  Persia. 

How  great  the  economical  activity  was  along  the  caravan- 
roads — those  wonderful  land-bridges  between  the  East  and 
West — from  China  to  Byzantium  on  the  one  hand  and  from 
China  to  Alexandria  through  Palestine  on  the  other,  as  well 
as  by  the  sea-routes  to  Persia  and  India,  is  not  very  difficult 
to  ascertain  from  the  historical  and  philosophical  evidences 
left  to  us. 

According  to  the  "  Spring  and  Autumn  "  (an  historical 
book  said  to  have  been  compiled  by  Confucius  himself  in 
481  B.C.),  the  arrival  of  "the  white  foreigners"  (£j  ^) 
is  mentioned  several  times.  Whether  these  white  people 
came  from  Persia,  or  from  Parthia,  from  Bactria,  or  from 
the  plains  of  Mesopotamia,  or  from  "the  lands  beyond  the 
Great  Rivers  " — Tigris  and  Euphrates — we  cannot  tell. 

But  what  Ssu-ma  Ch'ien  (fj]  J|  Jg)  wrote  in  his  "Chroni- 
cles "  (^  gg)  in  95  B.C.  ought  to  be  considered  carefully  as 
Sinologists  have  proved  its  authenticity.  According  to  this 
book,  already  as  early  as  214  B.C.  the  Great  Wall  was  built  to 
defend  China  against  the  Huns. 

In  the  year  122  B.C.,  the  Chinese  general  Chang  Ch'ien 
($t  !lf  )  was  sent  at  the  head  of  an  embassy  to  the  "  Western 
Regions."  Among  the  names  of  Western  Regions  then 
known  to  China  were  Ta-ch'in,  Tiao-chih,  Bactria,  Parthia, 
and  Persia,  besides  the  name  of  India,  which  they  sometimes 
used  to  express  Persia  and  Parthia. 

D 


40  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


The  Nestorian  Inscription  says  :  u  A  virgin  gave  birth 
to  the  Messiah  in  Ta-ch'in,"  and  we  are  sure  that  by  "  Ta- 
ch'in  "  is  meant  Judea. 

But  in  Chinese  books  of  historical  and  literary  worth, 
Ta-ch'in  is  mentioned  under  three  different  names. 

In  the  books  written  before  the  fifth  century  A.D.  the 
country  was  called  Li-k'an  (^^f),  whilst  in  those  written 
after  the  ninth  century  it  was  called  Fu-lin  (^Jj»  ^£). 

In  order  to  determine  which  country  was  meant  by  these 
names  Sinologists  have  written  many  books  and  pamphlets. 

According  to  the  best  authorities,  Li-k'an,  Ta-ch'in  and 
Fu-lin  seem  to  have  denoted  the  Roman  Empire  in  the 
East     (Dr.  Hirth:  "China  and  the  Roman  Orient.") 

We  cannot  deny  the  fact  that  during  the  middle  part  of 
the  Han  Dynasty  (206  B.c -8  A.D.)  the  Chinese  Empire  flung 
its  sphere  of  influence  very  far  and  wide  towards  the 
u  Western  Regions,"  beyond  the  Gobi  Desert  and  to  the  old 
Babylonian  plains. 

The  above-mentioned  Chinese  embassy  (that  of  Chang 
Ch'ien)  crossed  the  Oxus  and  even  visited  a  city  called  "  AN- 
TU,"  which  has  been  identified  with  Antioch  by  Dr.  Hirth, 
while  Dr.  Shiratori,  professor  of  the  Imperial  University  of 
Tokyo,  claims  that  it  was  Alexandria. 

This  embassy  was  astonished  to  find  the  people  in  Ta- 
ch'in  using  silver  coins  at  a  time  when  copper  coins  were 
in  common  use  in  China.  They  felt  it  very  strange  to  see  the 
Royal  image  struck  on  the  coins ;  and  they  wrote  back  to 
China  :  "  These  people  make  coins  with  silver,  and  each 
coin  bears  the  Royal  image  on  it.  In  case  the  King  should 
die,  the  new  coins  are  made  after  the  image  of  the  new  King." 

Already  paper  was  in  common  use  in  China  as  a  writing 
material.  But  in  Ta-ch'in  they  did  not  yet  know  the  use 
of  paper,  vellum  (skin)  being  used  for  writing  purposes.  So 
the  embassy  reported  to  China:  "These  people  write  on 
parchment." 


INTRODUCTION 


And  they  also  thought  the  mode  of  writing  very  strange, 
and  reported :  "  These  people  when  they  write  proceed 
from  left  to  right  and  some  from  right  to  left,"  instead  of 
from  the  top  as  the  Chinese  do. 

All  these  things  were  witnessed  by  Chang  Ch'ien  and  his 
party  as  early  as  122  B.C. 

Again,  in  94  A.D.  the  Chronicle  says :  "  General  Pan  Ch'ao 
($E  J®)  anc*  General  Kan  Ying  ("^  jjj£)  and  their  party  visited 
Ta-ch'in  by  the  special  orders  of  the  Emperor  Wu  of  the 
later  Han  Dynasty  (^  g|  ]j£  ^)." 

It  is  recorded  in  the  official  Chronicle  that  "  in  the  ninth 
year  of  the  Yen-hsi  period  [166  A.D.]  of  the  Emperor  Huan,  the 
King  of  Ta-ch'in  by  the  name  of  An-Tun  (t£  ^)  sent  an 
embassy  to  the  court." 

This  "  An-Tun  "  has  been  rightly  identified  with  Marcus 
Aurelius  Antoninus,  who  ruled  the  Roman  Empire  from  161 
a.d.  to  180  A.D.  It  is  well  known  that  he  made  war  against 
Parthia,  the  Roman  troops  being  under  the  command  of 
Lucius  Verus  (162-165  A.D.).  This  commander,  however, 
soon  gave  himself  up  to  dissipation  in  Antioch,  whilst  his 
legates  carried  on  the  war  with  great  success,  and  finally 
conquered  Antaxata,  and  burned  Seleucia  and  Ctesiphon. 
Thus  part  of  Mesopotamia  once  more  came  under  Roman 
sway  as  it  had  been  in  Hadrian's  reign  (1 17-138  A.D.). 

The  epithets  *  Parthicus,  Armeniacus,  and  Medicus " 
were  given  to  Marcus  Antoninus,  and  these  commemorated 
his  brilliant  victories  over  the  Parthians.  Hence  in  166  A.D. 
there  was  nothing  to  hinder  the  Roman  Emperor  from  com- 
municating with  China.  The  Roman  sphere  of  influence  in 
the  Orient  was  extended  to  the  territory  outside  the  Great 
Wall  of  China  ;  and  to  her  capital  Hsi-an-fu  an  embassy 
was  sent,  as  is  written  in  the  Chinese  Chronicles. 

And  knowing  that  this  important  event  took  place  only 
one  year  before  the  death  of  Justin  Martyr  at  Rome  and  of 
Polycarp  at  Smyrna,  we  cannot  deny  that  in  the  lifetime  of 


42  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


these  Christian  martyrs  Rome  had  already  come  into  contact 
with  China.  And  owing  solely  to  the  immense  distance 
China  was  fortunate  enough  not  to  clash  with  the  Roman 
arms. 

Again  we  read  in  the  Chronicle  that  an  embassy  from 
Ta-ch'in  visited  the  Chinese  Court  twice  during  the  third 
century,  i,e.  between  265  A.D.  and  287  A.D. 

This  fact  agrees  with  what  we  read  in  European  history. 
Aurelianus  (270-275  A.D.)  defeated  Zenobia  in  two  battles, 
one  at  Antioch  and  another  at  Edessa.  He  subdued  Syria, 
besieged  and  destroyed  Palmyra  and  reconquered  Egypt. 
Again  we  read  that  in  282-283  A.D.  the  Emperor  Carus 
captured  Ctesiphon  in  the  course  of  an  expedition  to  Persia. 

From  what  is  written  in  the  Chinese  Chronicles  it  is  most 
natural  to  conclude  that  these  two  Roman  Emperors  followed 
the  examples  set  by  Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus  about  100 
years  earlier. 

It  is  also  written  in  the  Chinese  Chronicles  that  in  the 
year  381  A.D.  more  than  62  countries  in  "the  Western 
Regions "  either  sent  embassies  or  brought  tribute  to  the 
Chinese  Court. 

We  do  not  know  which  these  "  62  countries "  were  or 
how  remotely  scattered,  but  the  fact  proves  that  China  was 
then  opened  widely  to  foreign  intercourse ;  and  that  her 
secluded  and  exclusive  existence  is  of  later  development. 

In  the  early  centuries  not  only  the  Chinese  Government, 
but  the  Chinese  people  at  large  were  open-hearted  and  very 
active.  For  example,  399  A.D.  the  famous  monk,  Fa-hsien 
(^  US)'  set  out  on  ms  travels  throughout  Buddhist  lands. 
He  spent  six  years  in  reaching  Central  India,  where  he  spent 
over  six  years.  On  his  return,  he  spent  three  years  on  the 
journey  to  Ch'ing-chou  (416  A.D.). 

These  historical  facts  suffice  to  prove  the  existence  of  the 
Land-bridge  between  China  and  the  Roman  Orient ;  and 
that    ancient    China    had    overland     communication     with 


INTROD  UCTION  4  3 


Mediterranean  countries  as  well  as  with  India.  The  route 
may  have  been  by  way  of  Khotan  and  Turkestan,  to  Northern 
India,  Afganistan,  etc.  It  would  be  very  strange  if  the 
energetic  Syrian  Christians,  full  of  true  missionary  zeal,  did 
not  proceed  to  China  after  reaching  Persia  about  the  middle 
or  end  of  the  second  century  ! 

"When  one  recollects  that  Antioch  was  the  mother- 
Church  of  Gentile  Christianity,  the  spread  of  Christianity  can 
be  illustrated  from  the  standpoint  of  Syrian  trade  activity. 

"One  of  the  most  remarkable  facts  in  the  spread  of 
Christianity  is  the  rapid  and  firm  footing  which  it  secured  in 
Edessa  ...  for  there  is  no  doubt  that  even  before  A.D.  190, 
Christianity  had  spread  vigorously  within  Edessa  and  its 
surroundings,  and  that  shortly  after  201,  or  even  earlier,  the 
Royal  House  joined  the  Church,  so  that  Christianity  became 
the  State  religion  ;  while  even  during  the  Easter  controversy 
(c.  190  A.D.)  'the  churches  in  Osrhoene  and  the  local  towns ' 
(implying  that  there  were  several  bishoprics — according  to 
the  Liber  Synodalis,  there  were  eighteen)  addressed  a  com- 
munication to  Rome.  .  .  . 

"  The  strong  local  Judaism  in  Edessa  undoubtedly  formed 
a  basis  for  the  spread  of  Christianity  both  here  and  still  farther 
eastward  to  the  bounds  of  Persia. 

"  It  was  Edessa  and  not  Antioch— which  became  the  head- 
quarters and  missionary  centre  of  national  Syrian  Christianity 
during  the  third  century, 

"Sozomen  (H.  E.,  p.  118)  says,  '  I  think  the  introduction 
of  Christianity  among  the  Persians  was  due  to  their  intercourse 
with  the  people  of  Osrhoene  *nd  Armenia,  in  all  probability  ; 
associating  with  these  godly  men  they  were  incited  to  imitate 
their  virtues  also.*  ..." 

It  is  natural  to  suppose  (says  Dr.  Harnack)  that  after  the 
conquest  of  Syria  and  sack  of  Antioch  A.D.  260,  many 
Christians  of  the  district  (together  with  Bishop  Demetrianus 
of  Antioch)  were  deported  to  Mesopotamia  and  Persia. 


44  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


Bardesanes  of  Edessa  (born  154  ad.,  died  222  A.D.). 
wrote  :  "  Nor  are  the  Parthian  Christians  polygamists,  nor  do 
Christians  in  India  expose  their  dead  to  dogs,  nor  do  Persian 
Christians  marry  their  daughters,  nor  are  those  in  Bactria  and 
among  the  Getai  debauched." 

Hence,  Christianity  must  have  been  already  an  important 
factor  in  the  life  of  Persia  and  the  other  nations  which  are 
named. 

"...  Heresies,"  says  Harnack,  "  swarmed  in  Eastern 
Syria  and  Persia  even  in  the  third  century." 

The  above  quotations  are  from  Vol.  II.,  pp.  140-148,  of 
What  wc  read  Harnack's  "Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity 

HistoiyCfsC        in  the  FirSt  Three  Centuries•,,   As  ^  result  of  the 
supported        overland  communication  which  so  long  existed 

philosophical  between    China   and  the  countries  around   the 

evidences.        Mediterranean,  many  foreign  matters  and  manners, 

words  and  thoughts,  were  introduced  into  China. 

The  foreign  elements  in  the  Chinese  language,  for  example, 
are  a  most  stimulating  subject  for  investigation.  As  yet, 
only  a  very  little  has  been  done,  but  that  little  reveals 
much. 

According  to  Dr.  Otsuki,  a  great  authority  on  the 
Japanese  language,  there  are  over  one  hundred  and  twenty 
Sanscrit  words  in  the  daily  parlance  of  the  Japanese  people. 
The  very  first  word  a  foreign  visitor  hears  in  Japan  is 
"  Danna,"  the  Sanscrit  for  the  English  "  Master"  or  "  Lord." 

In  A.D.  170-180  the  Nirvana  Sutra  was  translated  into 
Chinese  by  a  Yueh-chih  monk  named  Chih-i,  and  an  epoch  of 
vigorous  translation  work  set  in  ;  so  extensively,  indeed,  that 
the  people  of  Shensi,  Pechili,  and  Shansi  at  the  beginning  of 
the  fourth  century  learned  Sanscrit — such  was  their  eagerness 
to  study  the  Mahayana  Buddhist  literature  in  the  original — 
and  as  a  result,  the  dialect  of  North  China  became  particularly 
Sanscritized. 

According  to  Prof.  Giles  of  Cambridge  and  other  great 


PIECES  OF  INCENSE-WOOD. 


[To  face  p.  45. 


INTRODUCTION  45 


authorities,  some  words  which  we  Japanese  had  fully  believed 
to  be  Chinese,  because  we  borrowed  them  from  China  about 
twelve  hundred  years  ago,  are  really  Greek,  Persian  and  even 
Hebrew  words  (p.  134,  "China  and  the  Chinese,"  by  Prof. 
Giles). 

For  example,  "Bu-do"  (^|j  ^§),  a  well-known  Japanese 
word  for  the  English  "  grapes,"  is  pronounced  "  P'u-t'ao  "  in 
modern  Chinese.  But  this  is  nothing  else  than  a  corrup- 
tion of  the  Greek  fioTpvg.  We  read  in  the  Chinese 
Chronicles  (]£  fg),  written  by  Ssu-ma  Ch'ien  ( pj  jg  jg) 
in  the  91st  year  B.C.,  how  grapes  were  introduced  into  China 
from  Ferghana  together  with  fine  horses  from  Arabia. 

Again,  the  Japanese  word  "Sai-kwa"  (gg  JQJJ  for  the 
English  rt  water-melon  "  is  denoted  by  two  Chinese  characters 
representing  "west-melon"  instead  of  "water-melon."  The 
Chinese  pronunciation  "  Hsi-kua "  corresponds  exactly  with 
the  sound  of  the  Greek  aiKva. 

The  Chinese  word  "Lo-po"  (ff^)  for  "radish"  is  a 
corruption  of  the  Greek  word  pa^rj.  This  word  came  over 
to  Japan  in  three  different  Chinese  forms  (viz.  35$[]iff[>  MSfC- 
and  ffj^])  with  one  and  the  same  Japanese  reading  for 
tltem  all— " Daikon,"  "big  root"— but  not  with  the  Chinese 
sounds— that  is  to  say,  the  Chinese  characters  for  pd<f>n  were 
introduced  into  Japan,  but  not  the  Chinese  pronunciation  of 
them. 

As  for  the  Greek  word  irpaaov  ("  leek "),  it  came  as  far 
as  the  Korean  peninsula,  but  did  not  cross  the  Tsushima 
Channel  into  Japan. 

A  kind  of  incense  in  common  use  among  all  classes  in 
Japan  is  known  as  "Ansoku-ko"  ($£  ^  ^),  "Ko"  is  the 
Japanese  for  the  English  word  "  incense,"  whilst  "  Ansoku  " 
is  the  word  used  in  China  to  represent  Parthia.  Our 
"  Ansoku-ko  "  is  therefore  the  "  Parthian  incense." 

Now  Parthia  was  known  to  the  Chinese  ever  since  the 
third  century  a.d.  as  "  An-hsi"  (t£  J| [),  or  "the  Kingdom 


40  THE  NEST0R1AN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


of  An-hsi,"  which  was  simply  a  corruption  of  "ARSAKES," 
the  name  of  the  founder  of  the  Arsacide  Dynasty,  whilst  the 
Parthian  prince  An-shih-kao  (^  ^  j^]),  Arsakes,  is  very 
familiar  to  the  Japanese  as  the  translator  of  Buddhist 
scriptures  into  Chinese. 

A  tree  from  which  in  Japan  we  get  wax  is  called  "  Hasi  " 
or  "  Hase  "  (|g).  The  word  "  Hase  "  or  "  Hasi  "  is  the 
corruption  of  Po-ssii  (^  3JJJ1),  Persi  or  Persia,  in  Chinese. 
This  indicates  that  the  tree  was  originally  introduced  from 
Persia  through  China  and  Korea;  whilst  the  best  kind  of 
falcon  in  Japan  was  known  as  "  Hasi-taka,"  which  means 
*  Persian  hawk." 

The  name  for  pomegranate  in  China  is  "the  Parthian 
fruit"  (t£  Jj,  >fg),  showing  that  it  was  first  introduced  into 
China  from  Parthia,  whilst  the  Chinese  word  "Shih"  (Jjjf), 
"lion,"  is  said  to  be  derived  from  the  Persian  "shir."  The 
Persian  word  "  Yesumband  "  (j^  5^  jjr),  for  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  was  already  adopted  in  the  Chinese  translation  of 
the  Indian  books  on  astronomy  in  the  eighth  century. 

Even  the  words  "Satan"  (§S£  550  and  "Messiah" 
(381  T*  §*?)  aPPear  In  two  or  three  different  forms  in 
Chinese  writings  of  the  T'ang  era.  But  how  the  Hebrew 
word  "Shedek"  appeared  in  Chinese  works  on  astronomy 
as  "  She-ti-ko "  (  j}§  ^  ^)  is  a  mystery  which  we  cannot 
explain.  The  Japanese  word  "Maru"  (^fa)  or  "Maro" 
(iSfc  S)  once  usec*  as  tne  honorific  masculine  in  the  sense  of 
M  Master,"  "  Lord,"  or  "  Saint,"  but  now  chiefly  used  as  the 
name  of  a  ship,  e.g.  "  the  Tenyo  Maru,"  can  be  traced  back 
to  the  Syriac  word  "Mar,"  "Maro,"  or  "  Mari,"  meaning 
"Master,"  "Lord,"  or  "Saint,"  and  for  which  the  Chinese 
character  "  Mo "  (J§g),  or  "  Ma-lo "  ()j§fc  |$g),  was  used  in 
China  instead  of  "  Maro  "  (JjjpjJ  g),  which  we  use  in 
Japan. 

If  it  be  true  that  "where  there  is  smoke  there  must  be 
fire,"  we  may  safely  conclude  that   these   words   suffice   to 


INTRODUCTION  47 


prove  that  there  was  age-long  communication  between  China 

and  the  Graeco-Roman  countries  in  the  Mediterranean,  and 

that  what  we  have  called  land-bridges  prepared  the  way  for 

the  coming  of  the  Nestorian  missionaries  to  Hsi-an-fu  in  the 

seventh  century,  so  that  nothing  is  more  natural  than  the 

existence  of  Assyrian    Christianity  in    China   between    the 

seventh  and  the  thirteenth  centuries  of  our  era — if  not  far 

earlier ! 

Another  external  evidence  is  found  in  the  Imperial  Edict 

_    _  of  845  A.D.,  which  ordered  the  destruction  of  the 

Further  ^J  %        ' 

external  Buddhist  temples  and  monasteries  saying : 

"As  to  the  monks  and  nuns  who  are  aliens 
and  who  teach  the  religions  of  foreign  countries,  we  command 
that  these — over  three  thousand — from  Ta-ch'in  (Nestorians) 
and  Muhufu  (Mohammedans)  return  to  secular  life  and  cease 
to  confuse  our  national  customs  and  manners,"  etc. 

Again  in  the  complete  works  of  Li  Te-yii  (^  ^&  |g)? 
who  was  Premier  to  the  Emperor  Wu-tsung  from  841  to 
846  A.D.,  we  find  a  private  letter  to  the  Emperor  which  was 
written  some  time  after  the  destruction  of  the  temples  and 
monasteries.  It  was  entitled :  "  Congratulations  on  the 
complete  destruction  of  all  the  monasteries."  In  his  letter 
Li  Te-yii  says  "  two  thousand  of  Ta-ch'in  and  Muhufa  ceased 
to  confuse  the  national  customs  and  manners." 

These  two  contemporary  writings  prove  that  there 
were  at  least  over  two  thousand  foreign  missionaries 
throughout  China  at  that  time,  including  Nestorians  and 
Mohammedans,  whilst  the  way  in  which  these  two  religions 
are  mentioned — Ta-ch'in  coming  at  the  head  of  the  two 
bodies— indicates  also  that  the  Nestorians  were  the  stronger 
body  of  the  two. 

This  fact  alone  is  enough  to  prove — even  were  there  no 
other  proof — that  it  is  no  matter  for  surprise  that  as  many 
as  seventy  names  of  Nestorian  missionaries  should  be  found 
carved  on  the  monument  of  781  A.D. 


48  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  W  CHfNA 


When  this   Imperial  Edict  (which  was  chiefly  aimed  at 

What  became  the  Buddhists)   was  enforced    to  the   letter,  the 

of  the  Nestorian    Mission    doubtless    also    received    a 

Nestorlans 

in  China?  great  blow.  The  native-born  Christians  of  the 
Syriac  Church  in  China,  being  naturally  mixed  up  with  the 
mass  of  the  Chinese  population,  disappeared.  But  did  they 
disappear  so  completely  as  to  leave  no  traces  whatever 
behind  them  ? 

This  is  the  most  important  question  of  all  in  the  study 
of  the  Inscription,  and  we  are  glad  to  announce  that  we  have 
discovered  some  remnants  of  the  Assyrian  Christians  in  China. 

After  the  severe  blow  they  received  in  the  ninth  century, 
the  Chinese  Nestorians  gradually  might  become  amalgamated 
with  the  Chinese  Mohammedans,  and  this  absorption  into  the 
Mohammedan  body  might  have  been  completed  in  the  four- 
teenth century  through  the  great  persecution  which  Timur, 
"  the  Scourge  of  Asia,"  directed  against  both  Nestorians  and 
Mohammedans. 

As  for  the  foreign  missionaries  who  survived  the  Emperor 
Wu-tsung's  persecution  in  the  year  845  A.D.,  some  remained 
in  China,  but  most  wandered  back  westward,  and  reached 
the  nearest  sees  of  the  Assyrian  Church  in  Western  Turkestan. 
The  Chinese  Christians  who  did  not  join  the  Mohammedan 
body  may  be  found  among  the  "  Secret  Societies,"  of  which 
about  ten  are  known  at  the  present  day,  viz.  (1)  Fa-lu 
Chiao  (J5£  gfr  tiC),  U  the  teaching  of  Fa-lu  ;  (2)  T'ai-yang 
Chiao  (^J^  ffc),  i£-  Sun-teaching,  or  Sun-religion  ;  (3)  Pai- 
yun  Chiao  (£j  g|  ffc),  *>.  White-cloud  religion  ;  (4)  Chao- 
kuang  Chiao  (1$  %  W0>  **  Morning-Ltght-worshipping 
Society ;  (5)  Wu-wei  Chiao  ($§  ^  fgc),  i.e.  Non-action 
religion  ;  (6)  Ssu-ch'uan  Province  Sect  (gg  J||  ^r)  or  Chin-tan 
Chiao  {$£  f\  j^C),  i.e.  the  Religion  of  the  Pill  of  Immortality  ; 
(7)  Pai-lien  Chiao  (£j  g|  gf),  i.e.  White  Lily  Sect ;  (8)  Pa- 
kua  Chiao  (/^  E||*  ^),  i.e.  Eight  Diagrams  Society  ;  (9)  Tzu- 
mu  Chiao  (^f  -gj:  jffc),  i.e.   Mother  and  Son    Society  ;  (10) 


INTRODUCTION  49 


Sheng-hsien  Chiao  (1^  f[Jj  f|J£),  i.e.  Religion  of  the  Sages 
and  Worthies. 

Of    these     ten     secret    societies,    the    Chin-tan     Chiao 

(&  fl*  UC)»  the  "Religion  of  the  PiU  of  Immortality,"  is 
decidedly  Christian  in  character,  and  that  it  is  a  relic  of  the 
Nestorians  who  set  up  our  Monument  we  are  convinced  from 
both  internal  and  external  evidence.  How  the  Chin-tan 
Chiao  believers  represent  the  Nestorians  we  shall  explain 
hereafter,  but  that  the  greater  part  of  the  Nestorians, 
after  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century,  became  gradually 
amalgamated  with  Chinese  Mohammedans,  we  have  the 
following  grounds  for  believing. 

According  to  the  Rev.  H.  V.  Noyes  and  Mr.  Navarra 
(the  author  of  "China  und  die  Chinesen")  there  are  now 
about  20  millions  of  Mohammedans  throughout  China  proper.* 
In  the  province  of  Kansu  alone  there  are  over  8  millions  ; 
in  the  province  of  Shensi  about  7  millions ;  and  in  Honan 
2  millions. 

The  presence  of  so  many  Mohammedans  in  China  at  the 
present  day  cannot  be  accounted  for  unless  this  Nestorian 
amalgamation  was  completed  by  the  fourteenth  century. 

Causes  for  the  amalgamation  are  not  far  to  seek.  Different 
and  intolerant  as  were  their  creeds,  the  people  themselves 
who  embraced  the  two  religions  were  very  much  alike  both 
in  race  and  language,  whilst  they  were  fellow-sufferers  for 
their  respective  faiths. 

And  not  only  so.  What  actually  did  take  place  three  hun- 
dred years  ago  on  the  part  of  Queen  Elizabeth  and  the  Sultan 
Murad  Khan,  must  have  occurred  several  centuries  before 
in  China  on  the  part  of  the  Nestorians  and  Mohammedans, 

*  The  Rev.  A.  C.  Moule  writes  :  "  Broomhall,  in  his  'Islam  in  China,'  1910, 
p.  215,  has  reduced  the  Moslem  population  to  10,000,000  at  mosty  and  d'Ollone, 
in  his  '  Recherches  sur  les  MusulmansChinois,'  1911,  p.  430,  to  4,000,000  or  less  ; 
the  latter  being,  on  the  whole,  the  more  ■  expert '  opinion  of  the  two,  while  both 
are  estimates  and  not  the  result  of  a  census." 

The  general  opinion,  however,  amongst  the  Japanese  experts  on  the  subject 
favours  the  estimates  given  here. 


50  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


as  both  of  them  were  equally  opposed  to  the  perverted 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity — Father,  Mother  {i.e.  Mary)  and  Son 
— the  false  doctrine  and  gross  conception  of  the  Trinity, 
as  then  taught  by  certain  Christians.  Neither  Nestorians 
nor  Muslims  could  bear  to  see  the  human  mother  Mary 
worshipped  as  the  Mother  of  the  Ineffable  God. 

Prof.  Max  Muller  says  in  his  "  Last  Essays  "  (on  Moham- 
medanism and  Christianity)  that  "Queen  Elizabeth,  when 
arranging  a  treaty  with  Sultan  Murad  Khan,  stated  that 
she  was  the  Defender  of  the  Faith  against  those  who  have 
falsely  usurped  the  name  of  Christ,  and  that  Protestants  and 
Mohammedans  alike  were  haters  of  idolatry. 

"  Her  ambassador  was  still  more  outspoken,  for  he  wrote 
on  the  9th  of  November,  1587:  'Since  God  alone  protects 
His  own,  He  will  so  punish  these  idolaters  (i.e.  the  Spaniards) 
through  us,  that  they  who  survive  will  be  converted  by  their 
example  to  worship  with  us  the  True  God,  and  you,  fighting 
for  this  glory,  will  heap  up  victory  and  all  other  good  things.' 

"  The  same  sentiments  were  expressed  on  the  part  of  the 
Sublime  Porte,  by  Sinan  Pasha,  who  about  the  same  time 
told  the  Roman  ambassador  that  to  be  good  Mussulmans  all 
that  was  wanting  to  the  English  was  that  they  raise  a  finger 
and  pronounced  the  Eshed,  or  Confession  of  Faith.  The  real 
difference  between  Islam  and  Christianity  was  considered  so 
small  by  the  Mohammedans  themselves,  that  at  a  later  time 
we  find  another  Turkish  ambassador,  Ahmed  Rasmi  Effendi, 
assuring  Frederick  the  Great  that  they  considered  Protestants 
as  Mohammedans  in  disguise  "  ("  Last  Essays,"  pp.  242-243). 

Although  there  is  no  evidence  for  saying  that  Mohammed 
himself  ever  was  a  Christian,  his  feelings  at  first  were  evidently 
more  friendly  towards  the  Christians  than  towards  the  Jews. 
He  declares,  "  Thou  wilt  surely  find  that  the  strongest  in 
enmity  against  those  who  believe  are  the  Jews  and  the 
idolaters,  and  thou  wilt  find  the  nearest  in  love  to  those  who 
believe  to  be  those  who  say,  '  We  are  Christians ' ;  that  is 


INTROD  UCTION  5 1 


because  there  are  amongst  them   priests   and   monks,  and 
because  they  are  not  proud." 

The  Nestorian  Patriarchs  were  already  basking  in  the 
favour  of  the  Mohammedan  Khaliph  at  Bagdad  at  the  close  of 
the  eighth  century — Khaliph  Harun-al-Rashid  of  whom  we  so 
often  hear  in  the  famous  "  Arabian  Nights'  Entertainments  " 
— whilst  their  missionaries  were  much  helped  by  the  Moham- 
medans all  along  the  caravan-route  to  China  after  635  A.D. 

The  Syrian  monk  A-lo-pen  (ffff  |j|  ;?jc)  and  his  party^ 
followed  in  the  wake  of  the  Mohammedan  mission  which' 
reached  China  in  628  A.D.  or  in  632  A.D. 

According  to  Dabry  de  Thiersant,  the  author  of  the 
book  called  "  Mahometanisme  en  Chine  "  (see  pp.  86,  87), 
in  the  year  628  A.D.  a  Mohammedan  named  Wah  Abi 
Kobsha  had  audience  with  the  Emperor  T'ai-tsung  in  Hsi- 
an-fu  and  was  allowed  to  build  a  mosque.  He  returned  to 
Arabia  in  632  to  reinforce  that  mission.  In  742  A.D.  there 
were  already  over  five  thousand  Mohammedans  in  China. 

In  755  A.D.,  when  the  notorious  An  Lu-shan  (tJ£  jjjjjjk  \\\) 
rebelled  and  carried  all  before  him  and  the  throne  of  the 
T'ang  Dynasty  was  in  imminent  danger,  4000  Uigurs  were 
invited  by  the  Chinese  Emperor  to  serve  as  Imperial  mer- 
cenaries.   They  fought  so  well  that  they  finally  won  the  day. 

Although  we  cannot  be  sure  whether  these  4000  Uigurs 
were  Mohammedans  or  Nestorians,  we  know  that  they  be- 
longed to  the  mixed  tribes  who  used  a  Syriac  system  of  writ- 
ing, as  appears  from  the  recent  discoveries  of  Sir  Aurei  Stein 
and  the  Rev.  Z.  Tachibana  of  the  Honganji  temple  of  Kyoto. 

These  facts  show  that  there  were  many  Mohammedans  in  * 
China  during  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries.  But  twenty-one 
millions,  or  more,  of  Mohammedans  in  China  at  the  beginning 
of  the  twentieth  century  is  altogether  too  many  to  be  accounted 
for  by  their  natural  and  gradual  increase  in  ten  centuries. 

We    must    find    some    other    reason    to    explain     this 


*  See  the  footnote  on  p.  49. 


52  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


extraordinary  number  of  them.  Knowing  that  it  was  the 
Nestorians  who  first  introduced  the  Graeco- Roman  civilization 
into  Arabia  ;  that,  later,  both  Nestorians  and  Mohammedans 
in  Persia  worked  together,  hand  in  hand,  before  either  of  them 
reached  China  in  the  seventh  century;*  and  that  even  after 
the  Saracenic  power  was  established  in  Persia,  the  Nestorian 
churches  throve  under  the  Khaliphate,  we  are  led  to  surmise 
that  the  Nestorians  must  have  been  drawn  still  closer  to 
the  Mohammedans  as  a  result  of  the  Emperor  Wu-tsung's 
persecution  in  845  A.D.  and  the  still  fiercer  persecution  of 
Timur  in  the  fourteenth  century. 

Both  the  Emperor  Wu-Tsung  and  Timur  equally  detested 
the  Mohammedans  and  Nestorians,  but  Timur  persecuted 
the  Mohammedans  even  more  severely  than  the  Nestorians. 

After  Timur,  do  we  find  any  Nestorians  in  China  ?  No  ! 
but  what  we  do  find  is  the  enormous  number  of  twenty-one 
millions  of  Mohammedans.  Why  should  there  be  so  many 
Mohammedans  and  yet  no  Nestorians  ■? 

This  question  no  one  can  answer^yery easily.  Our  theory 
is  that  the  stronger  Mohammedan  body  swallowed  up  the 
weaker  Nestorians.  The  minority  had  to  conform  to  the 
majority  on  account  of  the  external  pressure. 

After  the  death  of  Yahbh-alaha  III.,  of  Uigur  origin,  who 
was  Nestorian  Patriarch  at  Bagdad  from  1281  A.D.  to  13 17 
A.D.,  Christian  influence  gradually  declined  until  all  trace  of 
it  in  Chinese  history  is  lost  So  that  unless  that  immense 
body   of  Mohammedans   now  in    China  is,  so  to  speak,  a 

*  We  read  in  the  letter  of  the  Patriarch  Ishu-yabh  III.  (648-660)  that  the 
conduct  of  the  Mohammedans  was  in  general  kindly  toward  the  Nestorians. 
(Cf.  p.  xc,  note  2,  vol.  I.,  "Cathay  and  the  Way  Thither.")  Again  we  read 
Gibbon's  words,  "To  his  Christian  subjects,  Mahomet  readily  granted  the 
security  of  their  persons,  the  freedom  of  their  trade,  the  property  of  their  goods, 
and  the  toleration  of  their  worship."  (See  Chapter  L.,  "  The  Decline  and  Fall 
of  the  Roman  Empire.")  "  During  the  first  age  of  the  conquest,  they  suspected 
the  loyalty  of  Catholics,  whose  name  of  Melchites  betrayed  their  secret  attach- 
ment to  the  Greek  emperor,  while  the  Nestorians  and  Jacobites  approved 
themselves  the  sincere  and  voluntary  friends  of  the  Mahometan  government." 
(See  Chapter  LI.) 


INTRODUCTION  53 


metamorphosis  of  the  Nestorians,  who  were  so  influential 
prior  to  the  ninth  century,  what  could  have  become  of 
them  ? 

Accordingly,  we  take  the  existence  of  over  twenty-one 
millions  of  Mohammedans  in  China  as  one  of  the  external 
evidences  which  indicate  that  there  must  have  been  a  very 
large  body  of  Nestorians  when  our  Monument  was  set  up  in 
A.D.  781. 

But_even  should  this  be  denied,  we  can  yet  find  traces 
of  the  Nestorians  among  the  secret  sects  of  China. 

TIia  Chin   fan 

Chiao,  a "  Among  the  ten  secret  societies  known  to  us, 

u£5&>>  the  Chin-tan  Chiao  (±  ft  |fc),  or  "Religion  of 
and  the  the  Pill  of  Immortality,"  may  be  identified  with 
the  ancienjtNestoxian  body  in  China. 

To  describe  what  the  Chin-tan  Chiao  is,  we  cannot  do 
better  than  quote  the  well-known  missionary,  Dr.  Timothy 
Richard,  who  says : 

"  The  Kin  Tan  Kiao  (>£  ft  ^r),  the  Religion  of  the 
Pill  of  Immortality,  is  perhaps  the  most  widespread  and 
powerful  of  all  the  secret  societies  in  the  North  of  China, 
and  deserves  a  more  extended  notice.  It  is  to  be  found  in 
Szechuan,  Shensi,  Shansi,  Honan,  Shantung,  in  the  borders 
of  Mongolia,  and  in  Manchuria.  In  the  last  few  years  in 
Mongolia  most  of  the  disaffected  people  have  been  joining  it, 
as  it  is  their  only  hope  from  the  oppression  of  the  Mandarins. 
Although  the  sect  is  not  political,  it  is  obliged  under  persecu- 
tion to  take  joint  measures  for  self-defence.  The  pity  is, 
every  powerful  combination  against  the  Mandarins  is  regarded 
by  them  as  rebellion.  The  Government  massacred  15,000  of 
these  Kin  Tan  Kiao  believers  in  1891  under  the  false  charge 
of  being  rebels,  if  we  are  to  credit  good  men  who  were  living 
in  the  midst  of  the  troubles. 

"The  Taoists  talked  of  having  discovered  the  Pill  of 
Immortality  some  Centuries  before  the  time  of  Christ,  but  for 
about  a  thousand  years  they  only  sought  for  it  in  minerals, 


54  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


herbs  and  other  physical  essences  as  remedies  against 
disease  and  death. 

"But  in  A.D.  755  was  born  a  man  named  Lu  Yen 
(3  HI)-  His  other  names  are  Tung  Pin  (flp)  jg)  and  Shun 
Yang-tsze  ($i£  ^  ^).  His  home  was  in  P'uchow-fu 
(^g  >J>|»|  ffi)  in  the  south  of  Shansi.  Heattajned  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Literature  (Chin-shin)  (jf£  -J^),  and  subse- 
quently held  office  in  the  province  of  Kiang-si  (££  gg).  This 
man  was  a  voluminous  writer  on  religion,  and  put  the  search 
for  immortality  on  a  moral  and  spiritual  basis,  largely  using 
the  old  physical  terms  of  Yin  (|3||)  and  Yang  (^),  but  with 
a  new  and  higher  meaning,  and  so  called  himself  '  Son  of  the 
Essence  of  the  Universe ' !  He  did  not  profess  to  have 
discovered  this  new  truth  himself,  but  to  have  received  it, 
transmitted  from  the  first  and  greatest  of  the 'Eight  Im- 
mortals '  (J\^  f[lj),  who  lived  about  seven  centuries  before 
him.  The  real  name  of  this  one  does  not  seem  to  be  given, 
but  the  symbolical  ones  are  '  The  Warning  Bell,  which  does 
not  trust  physical  force'  (gg  J£  |g[)  ;  'The  Quiet  Logos' 
(|£*I);  c  The  King  of  the  Sons  of  God '(£  ^^f);' The 
First    Teacher     of    the    True    Doctrine    of   Immortality  ' 

(S4Ii).  and  ' Teacher  from  Above  '  (§1  ^  jjfc  £) ; 
and  there  are  other  important  truths  not  indicated  in  these 
names  which  remind  us  strongly  of  Christian  truth. 

"  The  question  of  supreme  importance  here  is  this :  Did 
there  live  at  that  period  any  other  teacher  in  the  whole  world 
who  taught  such  transcendent  truths,  but  one — Jesus  of 
Nazareth  ?  We  have  not  yet  heard  of  any  other,  and  if  it 
was  transmitted  from  Western  Asia  ttten  the  question  is,  how 
did  Lu  Yen  (g  jg|)  get  hold  of  these  doctrines  ? 

"  A  little  history  and  geography  will  help  us  here.  The 
Nestorian  missionaries  were  received  by  the  Chinese  Emperor 
in  Hsian-fu  in  A.D.  635,  and  permitted  to  settle  down  and 
teach  their  religion.  The  famous  general,  Kwo  Tsze-yih 
($K  ~?  "SI)' the  Prince  of  Fen-yang  (gj  gg  f£)  in  Shansi, 


INTRODUCTION  55 

became  a  believer  in  the  Nestorian  religion,  and  he 
lived  A.D.  697-781.  From  the  Nestorian  Monument  we  see 
that  the  Nestorian  missionaries  used  Chinese  philosophical 
terms  then  current  to  express  Christian  truths,  just  as  we 
borrow  many  religious  terms  in  our  days.  As  the  Christian 
religion  was  patronized  in  the  capital,  and  by  one  of  the  most 
powerful  princes  of  the  day,  and  as  this  had  now  gone  on  for 
more  than  a  century,  we  have  ample  time  for  a  number  of 
adherents  to  become  thorough  followers  of  Nestorianism  in 
this  region.  Now  Lu  Yen  was  brought  up  in  this  very  centre 
between  the  capital  Hsian-fu  and  P'ing-yang  Fu,  so  there 
seems  to  have  been  ample  opportunity  for  him  to  get  hold 
of  these  doctrines  from  the  West. 

"This  doctrine,  whatever  its  origin  may  have  been,  has 
taken  a  great  hold  in  China.  Temples  to  Shun-yang-tsze, 
i.e.  Lu  Yen,  are  all  over  North  and  Central  China  at 
least,  and  are  the  places  much  resorted  to  for  healing  by 
faith  and  prayer  and  for  superhuman  guidance  ;  the  doctrine 
is  also  often  associated  with  the  Buddhist  Mi-mi'-kiao 
(?§  WO'  wmch  is  extensively  known  in  the  north  with 
Kuan-yin  (||g  -^),  the  Goddess  of  Mercy,  in  whose  worship 
Mr.  Beal  has  proved  the  prayers  in  use  are  essentially  the 
same  as  the  Christians'  prayers.  (See  '  Catena  of  Buddhist 
Scriptures,'  by  Rev.  S.  Beal.) 

"Moreover,  the  Manchu  Dynasty  has  forbidden  the 
image  as  formerly  to  be  made  with  a  white  face.  If  the 
white  face  indicates  foreign  origin  then  the  step  is  clear.  If 
not,  it  is  difficult  that  the  Government  should  concern  itself 
about  what  otherwise  would  be  of  such  a  trifling  importance., 
"  Add  to  this  circumstantial  evidence  that  several  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Kin  Tan  Kiao,  whether  they  have  joined  the 
modern  Christians  or  not,  have  decided  that  the  essential 
doctrines  of  the  Kin  Tan  Kiao  and  Christianity  are  the 
same. 

"  In  the  absence  then  of  strong  evidence  to  the  contrary, 


56  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


there  is  very  strong  presumption  that  much  of  the  teaching 
of  this  Kin  Tan  Kiao,  like  the  highest  teaching  in  Buddhism, 
had  its  origin  in  Christianity.  And  if  not,  we  have  yet  to 
look  for  the  lost  Nestorians,  and  our  theory  of  the  irresistible 
power  of  Christian  truth  will  require  some  modification. 

"How  is  it  then  that  we  do  not  find  the  Christian 
scriptures  amongst  them  ? 

"  One  easy  answer  to  this  lies  in  the  anti-foreign  tradition 
of  ages  that  is  going  on  in  the  Chinese  government,  arising 
largely  no  doubt  from  Confucianism  being  a  national  instead 
of  a  universal  religion.  Anything  that  appeals  to  any  power 
above  the  Emperor  is  regarded  as  treasonable,  and,  therefore 
according  to  this  law,  books  containing  these  sentiments  or 
those  which  have  anything  clearly  expressed  in  terms  not 
current  amongst  other  recognized  religions  of  China,  have 
been  destroyed  again  and  again,  times  without  number,  for  a 
millennium,  and  this  is  going  on  even  now,  and  their  leaders 
are  put  to  death,  and  their  property  confiscated.  Yet  in 
spite  of  being  hunted  and  hounded  for  ages  they  still  thrive, 
and  new  martyrs  are  ripe  and  ready  in  every  age  to  risk 
property,  home,  and  their  very  lives  for  the  truth  they  have !  " 
("The  China  Mission  Handbook  for  1896,"  pp.  43-45.) 

To  what  Dr.  Timothy  Richard  says,  we  venture  to  add 
that  Lii  Yen  (g  ^),  the  founder  of  the  Chin-tan  Chiao,  was 
no  other  person  than  Lii  Hsiu-yen  (Q  ^  jj|),  the  Chinese 
scholar  who  wrote  the  Chinese  ideographs  on  the  Nestorian 
Stone  for  Ching-ching  (JJ  ^),  Adam,  the  author  of  the 
Inscription ! 

Lii  Hsiu-yen,  the  penman  of  the  Inscription,  ever  since 
the  discovery  of  the  stone  in  1623  A.D.,  has  been  a  mystery 
which  has  baffled  every  attempt  of  the  scholars,  Chinese  and 
foreign,  who  have  tried  their  hands  on  the  Inscription. 
Strange  to  say,  in  spite  of  its.  extraordinarily  beautiful 
writing — for  even  its  abnormal  form  of  some  Chinese 
characters  have  always  been  quoted  as  the  model  of  good 


INTRODUCTION  57 

handwriting — nothing  was  ever  known  about  this  China- 
man, Lii  Hsiu-yen  (Q  ^  j^).  Neither  in  the  field  of 
"  Stone  and  Metal "  writings,  nor  in  the  lists  of  the  Chinese 
officials  of  the  T'ang  Dynasty  do  we  find  the  name  of  Lii 
Hsiu-yen.  This  is  very  strange  indeed,  since  Lii  Hsiu-yen 
as  a  calligrapher,  could  vie  with  any  of  the  first-class 
penmen  or  calligraphers  of  the  time,  such  as  Ch'u  Sui-liang 
(IS  M£  fk)>  Ou-yang  Hsiin  (gfc  g§  ffo),  and  others. 

Another  point  we  must  notice  is  that  Lii  Hsiu-yen,  the 
writer  of  the  Nestorian  Inscription,  had  the  court  rank  of 
"Chao-i-Lang-ch'ien-hang"  (j|Q  f||  g[J  gfj  %f),  which  corre- 
sponds to  "  Ts'ung-liu-p'in-hsia  "  ($£  ^  p&  T^)»  the  Lower 
Sixth  Rank,  whilst  as  "  T'ai-chou-ssu-shih-ts'an-chun" 
( El  *M  &]  dtl  lO?  ?)  he  cannot  have  enjoyed  a  higher 
rank  than  that  of  the  Lower  Seventh  Rank  (^5  -H  bb  ~F) 
according  to  the  official  proceedings  preserved  in  the  book 
called  "Six  Codes,  of  the  Great  T'ang  "  (^  J|f  ^  J$L). 
This  shows  that  officially  he  was  of  comparatively  high  rank. 
He  was  a  local  official  whose  duty  was  to  look  after  ports, 
canals,  vehicles,  inns  and  the  general  industry  of  the  T'ai- 
chou  District,  Chekiang  Province  (Kiangnan),  standing  at 
the  foot  of  Mount  T'ien-t'ai  (^  ^  |Jj),  the  great  seat  of 
the  White-lotus-sect  of  Buddhism,  whither  our  Dengyo  Daishi 
went  to  study  in  A.D.  804. 

That  Lii  Hsiu-yen  enjoyed  comparatively  high  official 
rank  shows  that  he  was  a  promising  young  man,  who  had 
done  exceptionally  well  at  his  Civil  Service  examination,  and 
also  that  he  must  Have  been  between  19  and  30  years  of  age 
because  to  pass  the  examination  at  19  years  of  age  was 
supposed  to  show  uncommon  ability,  as  we  learn  from  the 
famous  case  of  the  well-known  Han  Yii  ($$  jg[). 

Such  a  good  calligrapher,  which  in  China  always  implies 
good  scholarship,  with  such  a  comparatively  high  rank,  could 
not  have  been  employed  as  a  local  official  unless  he  had  been 
a  young   man  in   his   twenties.     Moreover,   the  style  and 


58  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


character  of  the  writing  declare  to  the  experienced  eye  that 
the  writing  of  the  Inscription  was  not  done  by  an  old  man. 
And     again,    T'ai    Chou     ^=J  jty|     (now     Tai-chou     fu 
j\\  t^f)  was   a   department   in   the   eastern   portion    of 


£ 


Chekiang  ($f  XL  JH  ?1)'  which  was  itself  part  of  the 
province  of  Eastern  Chiang-nan  (££  ^  J&  M)> which  com" 
prised  parts  or  the  whole  of  the  modern  provinces  of  Kiangsu, 
Chekiang,  Fukien,  etc.  Lii  Yen  is  said  to  have  held  office  at 
P'en-ch'eng  J&$<  (now  Te-hua  |jg  Jfc  in  Chiu-chiang  in  the 
province  of  Kiangsi)  in  Western  Chiang-nan  (££  W  ?§  7$=0  ; 
and  so,  speaking  in  a  general  manner,  he  and  Lii  Hsiu-yen 
may  both  be  said  to  have  held  office  in  the  province  of 
Chiang-nan. 

Now  compare  all  these  facts  with  those  concerning  Lii  Yen 
(S  Sl)> the  originator  of  the  Chin-tan  Chiao  (fe  j$  |fc)» 
who  was  born  on  the  29th  of  May  in  755  A.D.,  the  last  year 
of  the  Emperor  Hsiian-Tsung  (]£  £§*),  the  Augustan  Age 
of  the  Tang  Dynasty.  Lii  Yen  must  have  been  25  years 
old  in  the  year  781  A.D.  (February  4th)  when  the  Nestorian 
Monument  was  set  up,  and  if  he  wrote  the  Inscription  (as  we 
affirm)  it  agrees  with  the  expert  opinion  of  famous  calli- 
graphers  who  say  that  the  writing  is  the  work  of  a  young 


man. 


If  Lii  Yen,  the  founder  of  the  Chin-tan  Chiao  sect,  held  his 
office  somewhere  in  the  Province  of  Kiangsi  (££  |§),  this 
does  not  disagree  with  the  fact  that  Lii  Hsiu-yen  (g  5§?  j^c)» 
the  writer  of  the  Inscription,  was  a  local  official  of  Tai-chou, 
in  the  Province  of  Kiangnan  (J£  ^f),  in  which  the  Che- 
kiang province  once  was  included. 

If  we  compare  the  name  Lii  Yen  (g  j^)  closely  with 
Lii  Hsiu-yen  (g  ^  j&),  we  find  indeed  that  the  middle 
character  "  hsiu  "  (Jf )  is  missing.  But  if  we  bear  in  mind 
that  prior  to  A.D.  932  most  of  the  books  in  China  were 
written  by  hand,  printing  not  being  in  fashion  in  China,  and 
that  printed  books  are  exceedingly  scarce  even  in  the  early 


INTRODUCTION  59 


period  of  the  Sung  Dynasty  (960-1279  A.D.),  we  can  easily 
see  how  the  name  of  Lii  Hsiu-yen  (g  ^  j^)  was  left  to 
the  mercy  of  transcribers  for  several  hundred  years. 

Besides,  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  names  are  very  often 
cut  short  in  Chinese  books  either  to  suit  the  occasion  or  the 
writers'  own  purpose.  For  instance,  the  name  of  the  famous 
statesman  of  Chou,  Chu  Po-yu  (j|g  f£j  3£)  was  shortened 
by  omitting  the  middle  character,  and  he  was  known  as 
Chu  Yii  (jjg  3£).  Again  that  of  Su  Tzu-tan  ($|  ^  Jg) 
was  shortened  by  omitting  tlie  middle  character,  and  was 
known  as  SuTan(j^  #§),  whilst  Tung  Ch'i-ch'ang^  j^  ||), 
the  famous  writer  of  the  Ming  Era,  was  frequently  known  as 
Tung  Ch'ang  ( j^  ^).  This  omission  of  the  middle  character 
was  so  common  that  after  many  years  people  could  not  tell 
which  was  the  right  form  of  the  personal  names. 

Mr.  Ch'ien  (gg  fc  J|Jf ),  a  great  authority  on  Chinese 
orthography,  once  said  in  his  book  on  "Writing"  (^  $f  $fc) : 
"  Strange  as  it  may  seem  to  us,  the  cutting  or  dividing  as 
well  as  the  omitting  of  the  personal  names  has  been  a  long- 
established  custom  since  the  Han  and  Wei  Eras.  This  was 
never  thought  strange." 

From  these  facts  it  is  no  wonder  if  Lii  Hsiu-yen,  the  full 
name  of  the  writer  of  the  Inscription,  should  be  written 
Lii  Yen,  the  name  of  the  founder  of  the  Chin-tan  Chiao  ;  and 
it  is  plain  that  "  Lii  Yen,"  whose  name  is  so  well  known  as 
the  originator  of  the  Chin-tan  Chiao,  as  a  poet,  and  as  a  great 
master  of  calligraphy*  besides,  was  really  "  Lii  Hsiu-yen" 
who  wrote  the  ideographs  of  the  Inscription. 

Anyhow,  in  the  year  781  A.D.  there  were  two  names — 
Lii  Yen  (g  j^)  and  Lii  Hsiu-yen  (g  fjf  g|).  The  former 
is  found  in  the  books  published  several  centuries  later,  whilst 
the  latter  occurs  in  the  Inscription  itself  written  by  that  very 
person  who  lived  at  that  very  time.    We  shall  therefore  be 

*  That  he  was  a  poet  and  a  great  master  of  calligraphy  may  clearly  be  seen 
from  his  biography  by  the  four  authors  we  mention  here  as  well  as  from  any 
good  Dictionary  of  the  Chinese  Cursive  Style  ($L  0  ^  H). 


6o 


THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


justified  in  correcting  the  book-name  by  that  which  is  pre- 
served on  the  "  Speaking  Stone,"  if  our  theory  prove  true. 

Moreover,  we  may  refer  to  four  writers  on  the  life  of 
Lii  Yen  (g  g|).  (i)  Hsin  Wen-fang  (^  ^  J§),  a  China- 
man of  Uigur  extraction  who  lived  between  1276  A.D.  and 
1 367  A.D.,  and  wrote  a  book  called  "  The  Biography  of  the 
Illustrious  Men  and  Women  of  the  Tang  Era"  (^  yj*  -^  ^), 
in  which  he  dealt  at  length  with  Lii  Yen.  (2)  In  the  year 
1 571  A.D.,  Wang  Shih-chen  (J  -Jjh  J|)  again  treated  the  life 
of  Lii  Yen  in  a  book  called  "  The  Biographical  History  of  the 
Chinese  Sages  and  Hermits "  (^Ij  ^\  ^  $f),  whilst  in 
1579  A-D-  (3)  Ll*ng  Chih-che  (3g|  $|  ^2f)  gave  a  short  but 
most  authentic  sketch  of  the  life  of  Lu  Yen  in  a  book  called 
"  The  Authentic  Biography  of  the  Personal  Names  of  China  " 
(Hift'^if)-  (4)  The  last,  but  not  the  least,  of  all, 
Liu  T'i-shu  (g|j  |jg  Jjjg),  in  the  year  1742  A.D.,  edited  what 
is  now  commonly  called  "The  Complete  Works  of  Lii 
Yen  "  (S  jSJL  I^T  ||)>  the  Founder  of  the  Chin-tan  Chiao 

All  these  writers  with  the  exception  of  Hsin  Wen-fang 
agree  in  saying  that  Lii  Yen,  the  founder  of  the  sect, 
was    known    by    the    nickname    of    "  Hui-Tao-Chdn-Jen " 

(U  it  *  A)-  or  "  Hui-Tao-Chen-Shih"  (|||  $£  jfc  ±)> 

which  means  "The  True  Man  of  Islam."  * 

But,  if  he  were  really  a  Mohammedan,  why  should  he  be 
so  nicknamed?  and  if  he  was  a  true  Mohammedan,  what 
reason  had  he  for  founding  the  Chin-tan  Chiao  ?  The  fact  that 
he  had  originated  the  Chin-tan  Chiao  shows  that  he  was  not 
"  The  True  Man  of  Islam,"  as  recorded  to  have  been  by  the 
writers  of  the  sixteenth  and  eighteenth  centuries — writers 
who  were  born  at  a  time  when  the  name  of  the  "  Luminous 
Religion  "  {i.e.  Nestorianism  in  China)  was  entirely  forgotten 
and  only  the  name  of  Islam  remained. 


*  To  many  it  will  seem  that  this  is  obviously  a  Taoist  appellation,  meaning 
"  The  Pure  Man  who  has  reverted  to  Tao." 


INTRODUCTION  61 


Besides  these  external  evidences,  we  have  some  internal 
ones  to  prove  that  Lii  Yen,  the  founder  of  the  Chin-tan  Chiao, 
was  Lii  Hsiu-yen,  the  Penman  of  the  Nestorian  Inscription, 
and  that  the  Chin- tan  Chiao  is  the  present  form  of  the  old 
Nestorian  Church  in  China. 

Our  evidences  are  all  taken  from  the  "  Complete  Works 
of  Lii  Yen  "  spoken  of  above.  In  the  second  volume  of 
the  book,  which  is  devoted  to  "  The  Miracles  of  Master  Lii 
Yen,"  we  read  how  he  changed  the  water  into  wine  so  that 
he  might  give  a  good  drink  to  his  disciples,  and  how  a  dead 
fish  was  revived  by  his  touch.  We  read  also  how  he  healed 
the  sick  and  the  wounded ;  how  a  poor  man  suffering  from 
paralysis  was  cured  by  him,  and  how  the  blind  recovered 
sight  by  his  touch. 

Whence  came  all  these  stories  ?  Are  they  mere  coinci- 
dences ?  If  we  read  the  liturgical  part  of  the  book,  we  are 
compelled  to  doubt  this,  for  there  we  find  a  fragment  of  the 
Chin-tan  Chiao  Liturgy  which  resembles  the  Nestorian 
Liturgy  found  by  Prof.  Paul  Pelliot  at  Sha-chou  in  1908  ; 
whilst  the  Chin-tan  Chiao  has  Diptychs  like  those  of  the 
Syrian  Church. 

We  may  feel  pretty  sure  that  it  was  the  descendants  of 
the  Chinese  Nestorians  who  were  so  pitilessly  massacred  by 
the  Chinese  soldiery  in  1891.  Those  15,000  Chinese  Chin- 
tan  Chiao  believers  who  were  massacred  were  unknown 
brethren  of  the  poor  Armenian  Christians  who  were  cruelly 
massacred  about  the  same  time  in  the  Nearer  East. 

Suppose,  for  a  moment,  that  the  foreign  elements  in  the 
The  Persian  Chinese  language  as  well  as  those  found  in  the 
inStheeAnnaei8  old  nistorical  writings  of  China  were  insufficient 
of  old  Japan,  to  establish  the  fact  of  overland  communication 
between  China  and  the  classical  countries  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean, we  have  knowledge  of  the  visit  of  Persians  to  Japan, 
who  came  by  way  of  Hsi-an-fu,  the  capital  of  China.  In 
the  Ancient  Chronicle  of  Japan  we  find  that  "in  the  year 


62  THE  NESTORJAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

736  A.D.,  in.  the  seventh  month,  an  Imperial  audience  was 
granted  to  the  Japanese  embassy  who  returned  from  T'ang 
{i.e.  China)  together  with  three  Chinese  and  one  Persian." 

Again,  "In  the  eleventh  month,  the  Emperor  granted 
Court  favours  to  those  who  recently  returned  from  T'ang  ; 
Naka-tomi-no-asomi  (tjl  g*  ][$}  g?  ),  the  Envoy  to  the 
Chinese  Court,  was  promoted  two  ranks  from  the  lower  fifth 
grade  of  Court-rank  to  the  lower  fourth  of  the  same,  whilst 
the  two  Chinamen — Huang  P'u  (j|i  ffi)  and  T'ang  Chang 
(Jff  §J|)  as  well  as  the  Persian  called  "Li-mi-i  (^  £g  |§f) 
and  others  were  respectively  granted  Imperial  favours."  (See 
the  "  Imperial  Chronicles  of  Japan  "  written  in  797  A.D.) 

Who  and  what  was  this  Persian  stranger  named  Li-mi-i 
(?}£  $5  |§f)  nobody  knows.  That  the  name  should  be 
41  Milis,  the  physician,"  is  our  humble  surmise.  In  the  first 
place  "  i "  (§f)  in  the  name,  stands  for  "  medicine."  No 
easier  or  more  natural  mistake  would  be  made  by  a  Chinese 
or  Japanese  in  transcribing  u  i$&  2j£  "  (Mili)  than  to  make  it 
"  ^  ^J "  (Li-mi),  for  the  latter  is  the  regular  form  of  a 
Chinese  personal  name,  whilst  the  former  is  not.  So,  left  to 
his  own  discretion,  the  scribe  might  either  carelessly,  or 
tentatively,  transpose  the  Chinese  characters  "§5?J5"  for 
"  Mili  "  into  M  Li-mi  "  (2J£  ^jjft),  which  would  not  be  unnatural 
seeing  that  in  Chinese  there  are  very  many  "Li-mi"  just 
as  there  are  many  "  Milis  "  in  Persian. 

u  Li-mi "  must  have  been  well  off  and  enjoyed  high  rank 
in  the  Chinese  capital  to  be  so  well  received  on  coming  to 
Japan.  Who  knows  whether  this  Persian  "  Li-mi  "  (Mili),  the 
physician,  who  visited  Nara,  the  capital  of  Japan,  in  736  A.D. 
was  not  the  Priest  of  M  Royal  Balkh,"  and  father  of  Yesbuzid, 
the  Chorepiscopos,  who  erected  the  renowned  Nestorian 
Stone  in  781  A.D.  somewhere  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Ch*ang-an  ? 

Moreover,  two  pieces  of  incense-wood  are  exhibited  at  the 
Imperial  Museum,   Uyeno,  Tokyo.     Their   history  may  be 


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SPECIMENS    OF    THE     -HONEYSUCKLE"    PATTERN    FROM 
JAPANESE  (i-6)  AND   CHINESE  (7—12)  BUILDINGS. 

[To  face $.  63. 


INTRODUCTION  63 


older  than  the  eighth  century,  for  we  can  trace  them  as  far 
back  as  781  A.D.  An  official  document  of  Japan  says  that 
"on  the  third  of  the  second  moon,  781  A.D.,  the  weight  of 
these  two  pieces  of  Incense  wood  was  examined  by  the 
Imperial  Order  and  an  account  thereof  kept." 

This  incense-wood,  therefore,  is  at  least  as  old  as  the 
Nestorian  Monument !  And,  strange  to  say,  both  pieces  are 
inscribed  with  a  mysterious  writing,  which  was  long  thought 
to  be  either  Korean  or  some  mystical  script  ;  but  Prof.  A.  H. 
Sayce  and  Dr.  Cowley  of  Oxford  now  pronounce  it  to  be  in 
a  form  of  the  Syriac  alphabet. 

That  the  "honey-suckle"  design  found  in  Japanese 
art  of  the  Nara  period  (687-78$  A.D.)  is  derived  from  Greek, 
or  more  particularly  Syro-Byzantine  art,  has  been  pointed 
out  by  Dr.  Ito,  Professor  of  Architecture  in  the  Imperial 
University  of  Tokyo,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the 
valuable  information  to  prove  this  point. 

Again,  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi  is  a  favourite  scene  in 
Early  Christian  art ;  the  Magi  are  represented  in  Persian 
costume  with  tight  hose  and  "  Phrygian  caps,"  which  are 
pointed  caps  with  their  apex  turned  toward  the  front. 

But "  Phrygian  caps  "  are  seen  in  frescoes  of  the  seventh 
and  eighth  centuries  discovered  recently  by  Sir  Aurel  Stein, 
as  well  as  by  the  Rev.  Z.  Tachibana  in  Central  Asia,  whilst 
common  pictures  we  see  in  Japan  show  that  a  Japanese 
farmer  of  the  eighth  century  had  a  "  Phrygian  cap  "  on. 

"  Even  the  buckle,  with  the  help  of  which  the  pre-historic 
Greek  fastened  his  cloak,"  says  Prof.  Sayce,  "  has  been  shown 
by  a  German  scholar  to  imply  an  arrangement  of  the  dress 
such  as  we  see  represented  on  the  Hittites'  monument  of 
Ibreez"  ("The  Hittites,"  p.  120,  by  Prof.  A.  H.  Sayce). 

Strange  to  say,  this  buckle  is  also  one  of  the  conspicuous 
features  of  Buddhistic  Art  in  the  Middle  Ages  to  be  seen  in 
the  costumes  of  Buddhistic  statues  introduced  into  Japan 
from    China  prior  to  the  eighth   century  A.D.     The  twelve 


64  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

statues  of  Uzumasa,  Kyoto,  are  very  good  examples  which 
illustrate  this  fact.  Indeed,  the  buckle  supplies  us  with  a 
clue  whereby  to  decide  the  age  in  which  an  image  was  made. 
To  speak  more  plainly,  the  buckle  is  not  found  in  Buddhist 
art  later  than  the  ninth  century.  This  fact  clearly  shows 
that  the  buckle  is  a  foreign  object  which  came  to  Japan  from 
China  before  it  came  for  the  second  time  by  way  of  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

Again,  what  Prof.  Sayce  says  about  the  famous  lions  of 
Mykenae  may  well  be  quoted  here  to  prove  that  the  Land- 
bridge  had  existed  long  before  between  Korea,  China,  and 
the  countries  of  the  Mediterranean.     He  says  : 

"Perhaps,  however,  the  most  striking  illustration  of  the 
Westward  migration  of  Hittite  influence,  is  to  be  found  in 
the  famous  lions  which  stand  fronting  each  other,  carved 
on  stone,  above  the  great  gate  of  the  ancient  Peloponnesian 
city.  The  lions  of  Mykenae  have  long  been  known  as  the 
oldest  piece  of  sculpture  in  Europe,  but  the  art  which 
inspired  it  was  of  Hittite  origin.  A  similar  bas-relief  has 
been  discovered  at  Kumbet,  in  Phrygia,  in  the  near  vicinity 
of  Hittite  monuments ;  and  we  have  just  seen  that  the 
heraldic  position  in  which  lions  are  represented  was  a 
peculiar  feature  of  Hittite  art"  ("  The  Hittites,"  p.  120). 

The  lion  itself  was  never  found  in  the  insular  Empire  of 
Japan,  nor  did  it  exist  in  the  Korean  Peninsula,  not  to  speak 
of  China  ;  and  yet  "  the  lions  which  stand  fronting  each  other, 
carved  on  stone  "  are  the  guardians  to  be  seen  everywhere  at 
the  entrance  of  a  shrine  in  Japan.  The  old  Japanese  name 
for  them  is  "  Korean  Dogs  " ;  and  these  Korean  Dogs  guard 
in  the  Throne  in  the  Ancient  Imperial  Palace  of  Kyoto.  But 
in  Korea  these  "  Korean  Dogs "  are  known  as  "  Chinese 
Lions,"  whilst  in  China  itself  they  are  called  "  Persian  Lions." 

These  and  other  facts  prove  that  overland  communication 
did  exist  between  Syria  and  China  sufficiently  to  permit  of  the 
coming  of  the  Nestorian  missionaries  to  China  in  635  A.D.,  and 


INTRODUCTION  65 


it  is  no  wonder  that  they  brought  their  incense-wood  to 
Japan  within  a  century  after  their  arrival  at  the  capital  of 
China. 

According  to  the  book  lately  published  by  the  great 
Prof.  Paul     Chinese   authority,    the   late    Prof.    Lo    Chen-yu 

dlscov'^  at  (H  !S  X)' of  the  Peki"g  University,  Prof.  Pelliot 
the  Tun-        in  A.D.  1908  discovered  over  eleven  different  kinds 
h  Willi 
Library.        of  old  books  and  fragments  of  ancient  documents 

at  the  Tun-huang  Stone  Cave,  i.e.  Library  (^  j)||  ^J  |||), 

Sha-chou  (^  ^|»|),  an  historic  old  town  in  the  Oasis,  about 

one  hundred  miles  off  the  present  main  caravan  road  from 

the  Western  Regions  whose  terminus  is  Hsi-an-fu,  the  ancient 

capital  of  China. 

Besides  several  fragments  of  Buddhist  scriptures,  there 
were  a  few  Mohammedan  and  Manichean  writings.  Above 
all,  some  Nestorian  writings  in  Chinese  were  discovered, 
of  which,  most  fortunately,  two  pieces  are  almost  complete. 
One,  entitled  "  Ching  chiao  San  -  wei  -  m£ng  -  tu  Tsan  " 
(JltfcHgfcH^lt),  is  "The  Nestorian  Baptismal 
Hymn  to  the  Trinity";  the  other  called  " Tsun-ching," 
i.e.  literally,  "  Praise-sutra "  (^T  $££),  may  well  be  named 
"  The  Nestorian  Book  of  Praise,  dedicated  to  the  Living 
and  the  Dead."  In  other  words,  this  "  Tsun-ching  "  of  the 
Chinese  Nestorians  exactly  corresponds  to  the  Nestorian 
Diptychs,  i.e.  "  The  Memento,"  or  list  of  living  benefactors,  as 
well  as  of  the  dead  who  were  commemorated  in  the  Divine 
Liturgy,  and  whose  names  were  inscribed  on  the  two-leaved 
ivory  tablets. 

The  Nestorian  Diptychs  are  well  preserved  in  the  Wei- 
p'ai,  I-hai  in  Japanese  ({&  #£),  or  Ling-p4ai,  Rei-hai  in 
Japanese  (JjJ  f$£),  of  Japanese  Buddhism,  which  give  the 
date  of  death  and  the  soul-name  of  the  departed  (Hotoke 
or  Mitama).  They  were  unknown  in  the  old  Hinayana 
Buddhism  of  India. 

The  following  translation  of  the  Hymn  and  the  Diptychs 


66  THE  NEST0R1AN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

will  enable  the  student  to  judge  for  himself  as  to  the  value  of 
Prof.  Pelliot's  discovery  in  1908.* 

(I)  "Nestorian   Baptismal  Hymn    in   Adoration    of  the 
Trinity." 
"  All  the  angels  in  the  highest  profoundly  adore  Thee ! 

The  whole  earth  rejoices  in  universal  peace  and  good-will. 

In  the  beginning  Man  received  the  true  Divine  nature 

From  the  Three  Powers  (Heaven,  Earth,  and  Man). 

All  the  Saints  adore  Thee,  Most  Merciful  God,  Our  Father ! 

All  the  Enlightened  praise  Thee ! 

All  who  seek  Truth  take  refuge  in  Thee. 

Looking  up  we  receive  The  gracious  light 

And  are  freed  from  evil  spirits  that  we  may  seek  the  lost. 

Oh,  true  Eternal  and  Merciful  Father ! 

O  Glorious  Son  ! 

O  Pure  Spirit ! 

Triune  God ! 

Thou  rulest  over  all  the  Kings  of  earth. 

Thou  art  the  Spiritual  Emperor  among  all  World-honoured 
Ones, 

Dwelling  in  Divine  light  of  boundless  effulgence. 

Visible  only  (to  the  Saints), 

For  no  mortal  eyes  have  seen  Thee, 

Nor  can  any  one  describe  Thy  glorious  Form, 

For  Thy  holiness  is  beyond  description. 

Thy  Divine  Majesty  is  matchless, 

Only  Thou  art  changeless. 

Thou  art  the  Root  of  all  goodness, 

And  Thy  goodness  is  boundless. 

Now  when  I  consider  all  Thy  grace  and  goodness 
Which  gladdens  this  country  with  the  music  (of  the  Gospel), 

*  The  translation  of  this  Hymn  and  that  of  the  Nestorian  Diptychs  given  on 
page  67,  as  well  as  the  identification  of  the  names,  etc.,  are  the  Author's  own 
and  he  himself  is  alone  responsible. 


INTRODUCTION  67 


O  Messiah !     Thou  greatest  and  holiest  of  Beings, 

Who  savest  innumerable  souls  from  the  sorrows  of  life. 

O  Eternal  King ! 

O  merciful  Lamb  of  God  ! 

Who  greatly  pitieth  all  suffering  ones, 

Who  dreadesf  no  Cross. 

We  pray  Thee  remove  the  heavy  sins  of  men  ; 

Let  them  recover  their  true  original  nature  ; 

Let  them  attain  the  perfection  of  the  Son  of  God 

Who  stands  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Father, 

And  whose  Throne  is  above  that  of  the  greatest  Prophets. 

We  pray  Thee  that  all  who  are  on  the  Salvation  Raft  may 
be  saved  from  fire ! 

Great  Pilot,  Thou  art  our  Merciful  Father, 

The  great  Prophet  of  our  Holy  Lord, 

Our  great  King, 

Who  art  able  to  save  all  who  have  gone  astray 

By  Thy  wisdom. 

Steadfastly  we  lift  our  eyes  to  Thee  ! 

Revive  us  by  Celestial  favours  (ashes,  fertilizers,  and 
1  Sweet  dew ') 

And  nourish  our  root  of  goodness. 

O  Thou  most  merciful  and  most  holy  Messiah  ! 

Pity  us,  O  Father,  whose  mercy  is  like  the  Ocean. 

O  Most  Merciful  and  Meek  Son  (Holy  One) 

And  Pure  (Holy)  Spirit  who  is  embodied  in  our  Lord 

Beyond  all  thought" 

(II)  "  The  Nestorian  Diptychs." 

"We  praise   Thee,  Aloha,  God-Father  and   Mysterious 
One ;    and  we   praise   Thee,  Messiah,  the  God -Son  of  the 
Father ;  and  Lu-ho-ning-chu-sha  (*.*.  the  Syriac  '  Ruha-de- 
kudsa,'  the  Holy  Spirit),  the  Spirit  that  beareth  witness. 
"  These  Three  Persons  are  One. 

(Let  us  pray  also  for  the  memorial  of) 


68  THE  XESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

Catholicos  John  (Jj|  ^  Jfg  fe  =£) 

Catholicos  Luke  (jj  $ff\  ^  J) 

Catholicos  Mar  George  (J$  £g  g$  ££  J),* 

Catholicos  Matthew  (^  ^  ^  3£). 

Catholicos  Moses  (^  -^  %fc  J), 

Catholicos  Mahadad  (^  ^  ^  3£), 

Catholicos  Mar  Sergius  (  jp;  j|§  ^  j£), 

Catholicos  Paul  (g  ^ftB 

Catholicos  "  Thousand-eyed  "  (=f-  flj|  $£  £), 

Catholicos  Na-ning-i  (jig  %$&&  £), 

Catholicos  Simeon  (Jg  fg  }g  J), 

Catholicos  Mar  Sergius  ($  j£  $  Jg  ^  £), 

Catholicos  George  (g  ft]  ^  Jg  ^  £), 

Catholicos  Mar  Buchus  (Jg?  ;g£  ^  Jg  $£  3£), 

Catholicos  Ts'en-wSn  (Simeon?)  (^  $jg  fl|  ££  3£), 

Catholicos  "Twenty-four  saints"  (fr  0  §j|  ?£  3£), 

Catholicos  Kennaya  (§£  |£  JflJ  }£  £),  " 

Catholicos  Hosea  (£  |g  J|J  £fe  £), 

Catholicos  Messiah  ($$  &  %  ££  3E)» 

Catholicos  Silas  (§£  ||  ££  £), 

Catholicos  Gur  (fg  ]g  ?£  BE), 

Catholicos  Pao-hsin  (Reward  of  Faith)  (^  >fff  Jg  J). 

(Let  us  pray  also  for  the  Memorial  of  those  who  wrote 
the  books  called)  : 

The  eternal-enlightenment-kingly-pleasure-sutra  (The 
Lamp  of  the  Sanctuary,  etc.)  ($£  ^  £|  ^  fg), 

The  explaining-origin-reaching-the-cause-sutra  (De  causa 
omnium  causarum)  (|e^  7G  jS  ^  laD' 

The-aiming-at-the-origin-happy-pleasure-sutra  (The  Book 
ofJubilees)(g;7C^^ 


*  Some  will  perhaps  prefer  Prof.  Pelliot's  suggestion  of  Mark  (Mo-chii-ssii) 
in  place  of  Mar  George,  and  David  (To-hui)  in  place  of  Mahadad,  and  to  render 
Fa-wang  in  every  case  by  Saint  rather  than  by  Catholicos.  Cf.  Bulletin  de  V Ecol; 
Francaise  d>  Extreme- Orient ^  1908,  p.  519. 


INTRODUCTION  69 


The   Heavenly-treasure-sutra  (The   Book   of  Treasures) 

0i  ft  m  W> 

The  Mahadad-sutra  (The  Book  by  Catholicos  Mahadad) 

<=£  %  m  1  is), 

The  A-ssu-chu-li-yung-sutra  (Athulita)  (a6\rrrt]gt  a  Book 
of  Martyrs  ?)  (|Bf  Jg  ||  *  Ij  <gt  fg), 

On  the  causes  of  the  Universe  (pjE  j£  Jg). 

The  thoroughly-understanding-the-truth-sutra  (Refutation 
of  heretical  opinions  ?)  (y§  jit  jig), 

The  treasure-enlightenment-sutra  (On  the  reason  of  the 
principal  facts  of  the  Church)  (g  tfft  jgg), 

The  Transmission-and-conversion-sutra   (On  Conversion) 

(W  ft  f£). 

The  Book  of  Charity  (||  ^  jg), 

The  Original-Soul-sutra  (A  treatise  on  the  soul)  (JjgJ  J||  jg)f 
The  explained-briefly-sutra  (The  Book  of  Definition  or 
Catechism)  ®$  &&  jg) , 

The  Three-spheres  sutra  (On  Genus,  Species  and  Individu- 

ality)(HIM)> 

The  Signs-marks-sutra  (fjj(  §§  jg)  (Khuthama,  i>.  Con- 
clusion or  sealing), 

Hanan-Ishu  Sutra  (The  Book  by  Catholicos  Hanan-Ishu, 
orTheLifeofHanan-Ishu,  the  Catholicos)  (|^  Jg  jg), 

The  explained-meaning-sutra  (A  Solution  of  Various 
Difficult  Questions)  (J[  |j|  Jg), 

Shih-li-hai  Sutra  (The  Syriac  *  Shlikha  "  means  "Apostle," 
so  this  must  be  Apostles'  Creed)  ($$  f  (J  #|  jg), 

Catholicos  Paul  Sutra  (The  Book   by  Catholicos  Paul) 

m  »  m  i  ft), 

Zacharia-sutra    (The     Book     by    Catholicos     Zacharia) 

(MWIMft 

George-sutra      (The      Book      by     Catholicos     George) 

m  m  n  &  &). 

Ning-yeh-tun-sutra  (A-nidha,  i.e.  a  departed  Christian  ; 
The  Book  of  Burial  Service  ?)  {%  Jffl  )g  jg), 


70  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

I-ts£-lii-sutra  ("  Kash-kul,"  "containing  all  Book,"  i.e. 
Ceremony  and  Rule  Book)  (^  £lj  ^  $£), 

P'i-e-ch'i-sutra  (B&  &  Jgf  $£), 

The  Nestorian  Baptismal  Hymn  on  the  Trinity  (San- 
emad-praise-sutra)  *  San  M  is  the  Chinese  for  "  three,"  whilst 
"emad"  is  the  Syriac  for  "baptism,"  whilst  " praise-sutra  " 
stands  for  the  word  "  hymn."  So  literally  this  means  "  the 
Three-baptismal-hymn  "  ££  Jg£  §f£  Jg£),* 

Catholicos  Moses-sutra  (The  Book  by  Catholicos  Moses) 

(#  lit  m  £  «). 

Elijah-sutra(fp-fiJ^®, 

Ephraim-sutra  (^  #&  tt  ffi). 
Catholicos  Pao-hsin  Sutra  (^  f|f  jg  J  f£), 
The  Messiah,  the  Great   independent  Sovereign  of  the 
Universe — sutra  (On  the  Incarnation  of  the  Messiah,  the  great 
Lord  of  the  Universe)  (3g  M  M  S  #  5C  %  JR). 
The  Four-gates-sutra  (0}  f^  |g), 
The  Revelation  (The  revealed-truth-sutra)  (^p  j||  jgg), 
The   Mar   Sergius   Sutra   (The   Book   by    Mar    Sergius) 

The  Tz'u-li-po  Sutra  ("  Tsuriha  "  stands  for  the  °  Cross  " 
in  Syriac,  so  this  may  be  rendered  "  On  the  Doctrine  of  the 

c^s")  mm  mm)> 

The  Wu-sha-na-sutra  (£  &  £|$  jg) .» 

Fragmentary  as  these  are,  they  are  quite  enough  to  con- 
vince any  one  of  the  fact  that  there  was  a  strong  body  of 
Nestorians  in  China  prior  to  the  fourteenth  century. 

They  had  the  Apostles'  Creed  in  Chinese.  They  had  a 
most  beautiful  baptismal  hymn  in  Chinese.  They  had  a 
book  on  the  Incarnation  of  the  Messiah.  They  had  a  book 
on  the  Doctrine  of  the  Cross.  In  a  word,  they  had  all 
literature  necessary  for  a  living   Church.      Their  ancestors 

*  It  is  fair  to  add  that  Prof.  Pelliot  himself  renders  the  full  title  "  Eloge  des 
trois  Majestes  de  la  Religion  Brillante  du  Ta-ts'in,  par  lesquelies  on  obtient  le 
saint." 


INTRODUCTION 


in  the  eighth  century  were  powerful  enough  to  erect  a 
monument  in  the  vicinity  of  Hsi-an-fu. 

Who  knows  whether  there  were  not  many  other  scriptures 
besides  these  thirty-five  books?  Such  as  they  are,  these 
fragments  agree  with  what  we  read  in  the  Nestorian 
Inscription  :  "  The  Scriptures  were  translated  in  the  Imperial 
library." 

This  discovery  by  Prof.  Pelliot  at  Sha-chou  (^  j\\) 
in  1908  may  be  counted  as  strong  evidence  in  favour  of  the 
genuineness  of  the  stone  against  those  who  hold  the  erroneous 
idea  of  "the  Jesuitical  fabrication"  of  the  Nestorian 
Monument. 

The  external  or  circumstantial  evidences  would  be 
Internal  worthless  unless  supported  by  internal  evidences. 

Evidences.       How   far   we   may  trust   the   externai    evidence 

greatly  depends  on  the  value  of  the  internal  evidence 
we  can  produce  on  the  subject.  But  both  internal  and 
external  evidence  are  alike  useless  to  those  extremely 
sceptical  minds  who  decline  to  see  anything  if  it  militates 
against  their  own  preconceived  ideas.  But  to  honest,  sensible 
and  independent  thinkers  the  following  evidences  will 
certainly  be  convincing. 

The  first  thing  to  note  is  an  article  contributed  by  Dr. 
Junjiro  Takakusu,  Professor  of  Sanskrit  and  Pali  in  the 
Imperial  University  of  Tokyo,  to  "  The  T'oung  Pao  "  ( jj§  ^|) 
in  1896.  What  he  wrote  about  King-tsing  (i.e.  Ching-chirlg) 
( jft  lffi)>  Adam,  the  Persian  priest  who  composed  the 
Nestorian  Inscription,  is  extremely  interesting  and  very 
useful.     He  says  : 

"  Now  the  same  Adam  (King-tsing),  who  composed  the  In- 
scription, is  mentioned  again  in  a  Buddhist  book,  which 
in  a  way  gives  light  on  the  activity  of  the  Nestorian 
missionaries  in  China.  While  I  was  referring  to  the  Buddhist 
canonical  books  of  China  the  other  day,  I  came  across  a 
book    called    the    Cheng-yuan   hsin-ting   Shih-chiao   Mu-lu 


72  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


(M  it  ff  £  M  ffc  H  He),  i-e-  'The  New  Catalogue  of 
(the  books  of)  teaching  of  Shakya  in  the  period  of  Cheng- 
yuan*  (A.D.  785-804),  compiled  by  Yiian-chao  (gj  fjft),  a  priest 
of  the  Hsi-ming  Monastery  ([Jf|  fJJJ  ^Jf).  For  this  book  see 
Bodleian  Library,  Japanese,  6500,  Vol.  VII,  fol.  5vo.  In  this 
I  found  a  passage  relating  to  the  Nestorian  missionary 
which  I  translate  as  follows  : 

"'Prajna,  a  Buddhist  of  Kapisa,  N.  India,  travelled 
through  Central  India,  Ceylon,  and  the  Islands  of  the 
Southern  Sea  (Sumatra,  Java,  etc.)  and  came  to  China,  for 
he  had  heard  that  Manjusri  was  in  China. 

"  *  He  arrived  at  Canton  and  came  to  the  upper  province 
(North)  in  A.D.  782.  He  translated  together  with  King-tsing 
(JPl  ^?)»  Adam,  a  Persian  priest  of  the  monastery  of  Ta- 
ts'in  (Syria),  the  Satparamita-sutra  from  a  Hu  (jjJJ)  text,* 
and  finished  translating  seven  volumes. 

" '  But  because  at  that  time  Prajna  was  not  familiar  with 
the  Hu  language  nor  understood  the  Chinese  language,  and 
as  King-tsing  (Adam)  did  not  know  the  Brahman  language 
(Sanskrit),  nor  was  versed  in  the  teaching  of  Shakya,  so, 
though  they  pretended  to  be  translating  the  text,  yet  they 
could  not,  in  reality,  obtain  a  half  of  its  gem  (i.e.  real 
meaning).  They  were  seeking  vainglory,  privately  and 
wrongly  trying  their  luck. 

" '  They  presented  a  memorial  (to  the  Emperor)  expecting 
to  get  it  propagated. 

"  'The  Emperor  (Te-tsung,  A.D.  780-804),  who  was 
intelligent,  wise  and  accomplished,  who  revered  the  canon  of 
the  Shakya,  examined  what  they  had  translated,  and 
found  that  the  principles  contained  in  it  were  obscure  and 
the  wording  was  diffuse. 

"  ■  Moreover,  the  Sangharama  (monastery)  of  the  Shakya 


*  The  Hu  text  here  mentioned  must  be  the  Uigur  text  into  which  the 
Sanskrit  text  had  been  translated.  The  Rev.  Tachibana's  discovery  confirms 
this  view. 


ns 


INTRODUCTION  73 


and  the  monastery  of  Ta-ts'in  (Syria)  differing  much  in 
their  customs,  and  their  religious  practices  being  entirely 
opposed  to  each  other,  King-tsing  (Adam)  handed  down  the 
teaching  of  Mi-shi-ho  (Messiah)  ($$  J=*  |tj),  while  the 
Shakyaputriya-Sramans  propagated  the  Sutras  of  the 
Buddha.  It  is  to  be  wished  that  the  boundaries  of  the 
doctrines  may  be  kept  distinct,  and  their  followers  may  not 
intermingle.  Orthodoxy  and  heterodoxy  are  different 
things,  just  as  the  rivers  King  and  Wei  have  a  different  course.' 

"  So  much  for  the  extract  from  the  book  of  Yuen-chau. 
As  to  the  identity  of  Adam  with  King-tsing  there  is  no  doubt 
whatever,  as  the  parallel  texts  of  the  Inscription  clearly  show. 

"  It  is  very  interesting  to  have  this  little  contemporary 
notice  of  the  Nestorians  from  a  Buddhist  source. 

"Christianity  in  China,  in  the  seventh  and  thirteenth 
centuries,  as  Gibbon  remarks  in  his  famous  history,  is 
invincibly  proved  by  the  consent  of  Chinese,  Arabian, 
Syriac,  and  Latin  evidences.  In  addition  to  these  we  have 
now  a  reference  made  by  an  eye-witness  in  a  Buddhist 
work.  It  was  under  the  Emperor  Te-tsung  (A.D.  780-804) 
that  King-tsing  (Adam)  had  erected  the  Monument ;  under 
the  same  Emperor,  he  was  recorded  to  have  been  trans- 
lating a  Buddhist  Sutra. 

"  I  have  some  doubt  as  to  whether  the  translation  took 
place  before  the  erection  of  the  Monument*  or  after  it, 
though  from  what  we  read  in  the  above  extract,  the  transla- 
tion seems  to  have  been  made  after  the  Inscription.  Prajna 
came  to  the  upper  province  in  a.d.  782,  while  the  Monument 
was  erected  in  A.D.  781.  But  the  year  in  which  they  were 
translating  the  Buddhist  book  ?3  not  given. 

"  Their  united  work  however  seems  to  have  been  stopped 
by  an  Edict,  no   doubt  as  a  result  of  the  jealousy  of  the 

*  The  Monument  was  erected  by  Yesbuzid,  Chorepiscopos  of  Kumdan. 
Adam,  whose  Chinese  name  was  King-tsing  (or  Ching-ching)  (#j#),  composed 
the  Inscription. 


74  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


Buddhist  priests.  Te-tsung,  the  ruling  Emperor,  was  claimed 
as  a  patron  by  both  Buddhists  and  Nestorians,  and  was 
praised  by  both  parties.  It  might  have  been  so,  as  such  has 
often  been  the  case  in  China  as  well  as  in  India.  If  we 
compare  the  statements  of  both  parties  we  can  easily  under- 
stand the  Emperor's  attitude  toward  the  Religions  of  his  time. 
"Adam,  on  his  part,  seems  to  have  adopted  many 
Buddhist  terms  in  expressing  himself.  In  the  Inscription  we 
find  a  number  of  Buddhistic  expressions.  He  used  the 
Buddhistic  words  or  ideas  for  '  Monastery,'  ■  Priest/  etc.,  as 
Dr.  Edkins  has  already  remarked.  This  fact  can  now  be 
explained  as  the  result  of  King-tsing's  study  of  Buddhism, 
for  we  have  the  evidence  that  he  was  engaged  in  translating 
Buddhist  works. 

"  It  was  most  natural  for  him  to  be  anxious  to  get  a 
knowledge  of  Buddhism  in  order  to  learn  the  right  religious 
terms  for  expressing  himself  to  the  people. 

"  As  to  the  characters  representing  ■  Messiah '  they  are 
exactly  the  same  as  in  the  Inscription. 

"  We  should  like  to  know  what  has  become  of  the  book 
which  Adam  was  translating.  That  sutra  is  indeed  preserved 
in  the  Buddhist  canonical  books,  but  it  is  ascribed  entirely  to 
his  colleague  Prajna  (see  No.  1004  'Nanjio  Catalogue  of 
the  Chinese  Tripitaka '). 

"Whether  or  not  the  translation  is  the  same  as 
that  which  was  made  by  both  together  we  cannot 
tell." 

Short  as  it  is,  what  Dr.  Takakusu  discovered  in  a 
Buddhist  sutra  is  sufficiently  conclusive  against  those  who 
hold  erroneous  opinions  about  our  Monument. 

We  know  for  certain  that  Ching-ching  (Adam),  who 
composed  the  Inscription,  as  well  as  Lu  Hsiu-yen,  who 
wrote  the  Chinese  characters  for  Adam,  were  real,  historical 
personages.  As  for  Ching-ching's  rival  or  colleague,  Prajna. 
it  is  perfectly  well  known  amongst  us  Japanese  that  he  was 


INTRODUCTION  75 


the   very  same   "Kashmir"   monk  whom  our  Kobo-Daishi 

met  in  China  during  his  stay  in  Hsi-an-fu  and  under  whom 

he  studied  Sanskrit  between  A.D.  804-806. 

Those  who  have  observed  the  seventy-five  or  more  names 

Seventy-five    in  the  Inscription,  as  well  as  on  two  sides  of  the 

Names  on         __  r  #•,.«,  ,    , 

the  Stone.       Monument,  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed   by  its 

genuineness. 

If  we  compare  the  Chinese  characters  used  in  representing 
the  Syriac  names  in  the  Diptychs  discovered  by  Prof. 
Pelliot  in  1908  with  those  used  on  the  Monument  to  denote 
the  same  names,  we  immediately  note  a  marked  difference 
between,  the  writings  in  the  point  of  age.  We  cannot  but 
see  that  the  Nestorian  Stone  belongs  to  the  T'ang  Era 
(618-907  A.D.),  whilst  the  newly-discovered  Diptychs  are  of 
a  later  Era — not  earlier,  in  our  opinion,  than  the  fourteenth 
century.  For  instance :  only  the  names  "  Aloha  "  (|&J  jj||  § j|), 
"Messiah"  ($jjj  jjfa  fpf),  "Matthew"  (^  f^),  use  a  com- 
mon system  of  phonetic  representations. 

By  comparing  the  following  characters  any  observant  eye 
will  at  once  perceive  that  the  one  is  far  more  classical  than 
the  other. 

(Names  in  the  Diptychs)  (The  names  identified)       (Names  on  the  Stone) 

(M.  HH)  Lu-chia     ....  Luke      .  .  (^!j  ^)  Li-chien 

(58  $&)  Pa°-lu paul  •     •  •  (%1)  Pao-ling 

CiC  $1  ^  Jg)  I-ho-chi-ssu  George   .  .  (5ffl  ^)  Ho-chi 

(a!  ffl  $0  E-fu-lin  .    .     .  Ephraim  .  ($}  $;)  Fu-lin 

We  think  that  those  mentioned  in  the  Diptychs  as  the 
Catholicos  Matthew  and  the  Catholicos  Mar  Sergius  are  not 
the  same  Matthew  and  the  same  Mar  Sergius  whose  names 
occur  in '  the  Inscription,  although  the  Chinese  characters 
denoting  them  are  the  same. 

Again  Bishop  Chi-lieh  (Jfc  ?%l\)>  who  is  mentioned  in  the 


76  THE  NEST0R1AN  MONUMENT  IN   CHINA 

Inscription  and  possibly  to  be  identified  with  Bishop  Cyriacus, 
is  also  found  in  the  contemporary  Chinese  annals. 

"  In  732  A.D.,  the  King  of  Persia  sent  a  chief  named  P'an- 
na-mi  ($|  fft  $?)  together  with  the  Bishop  Chi-lieh  Qfc  f}\)  ; 
and  this  Bishop  Chi-lieh  was  decorated  with  Imperial 
honours.'* 

Then,  again,  we  find  the  name  "  Fu-lin "  ($[}  $C) 
amongst  the  priests  whose  name  "Ephraim"  is  given  in 
Syriac. 

Now,  most  curiously,  this  gives  the  clue  to  the  Secret 
which  many  great  Sinologists  have  so  far  failed  to  unravel — 
we  mean  the  so-called  "  Fu-lin  Mystery." 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  in  the  Chinese  histories  and 
books  of  travel  we  often  meet  with  "The  Kingdom  of  Fu-lin  " 
as  an  alternative  name  for  "  Ta-t'sin."  In  fact,  the  Kingdom 
of  Ta-ch'in  was  first  known  as  "  Li-kan,"  then  as  "  Ta-ch'in," 
and  then  again  as  "  Fu-lin." 

Concerning  the  so-called  "  Fu-lin  Mystery  "  the  opinions 
of  three  Sinologists  may  be  briefly  cited. 

The  first  is  "  The  Fulin-Polin  theory  "  which,  started  by 
M.  Jaquet,  was  strongly  backed  by  Sir  Henry  Yule  and  M. 
Pauthier,  and  quite  recently  has  found  a  great  supporter  in 
M.  Chavannes  (in  the  T'oung  pao,  May,  1908).  They  all 
agree  in  saying  that  the  Chinese  "Fu-lin"  must  be  the 
corruption  of  the  Greek  word  "  Polin  "  (the  City),  by  which 
Constantinople  was  meant,  for,  because  of  its  splendid 
position  and  beautiful  surroundings,  Constantinople  was 
spoken  of  as  "  The  City  "  par  excellence. 

The  second  is  "The  Fulin-Bethlehem-theory,"  which 
Prof.  Hirth  started  in  his  famous  book  "China  and  the 
Roman  Orient."  He  says:  "The  old  sound  of  the  name 
Fu-lin  may,  therefore,  be  safely  assumed  to  have  been 
But-lim  or  But-lam.  My  interpretation  of  these  words  leads 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  ancient  country  of  Ta-ts'in  called 
Fulin  during  the  Middle  Ages,  was  not  the  Roman  Empire 


INTRODUCTION 


with    Rome  as  capital,  but    merely  its   Oriental   part,  viz. 
Syria,  Egypt,  and  Asia  Minor." 

And  then  he  explains  how  Fu4in  came  to  be  mixed  up  with 
Syria,  saying :  "  Those  messengers  who  came  to  China  most 
naturally  might  have  said,  'We  come  from  the  land  where 
the  Lord  is  born ;  and  the  Lord  is  born  in  Ta-ts'in,'  they 
may  have  also  said :  %  We  come  from  the  land  where  the 
Lord  is  born ;  and  the  Lord  is  born  in  Bethlehem ; '  the 
sound  of  which  name  could  not  be  better  represented  than 
by  the  two  syllables  which  constitute  the  name  Fulin,  then 
pronounced  But-lin.  To  see  the  name  of  the  town  of 
Bethlehem  as  the  birthplace  of  the  Messiah  extended  to  the 
country  to  which  it  belongs,  is  by  no  means  singular  if  wjs 
consider  that  this  was  done  by  religious  enthusiasts  who 
must  have  thought  it  a  great  privilege  to  come  from  the 
Holy  Land.  Moreover,  the  fact  would  be  in  perfect  analogy 
with  the  Buddhistic  usage  according  to  which  the  name 
Magadha  (|§|  'jjjp  |?{?),  originally  the  birthplace  of  Buddha, 
was  applied  to  the  whole  of  India  during  the  T'ang  dynasty." 
("  China  and  the  Roman  Orient,"  pp.  283-286,  by.  Dr.  F? 
Hirth,  Shanghai.) 

The  third  or  "  Fulin-Rome-theory "  was  launched  by  Dr. 
K.  Shiratori,  of  the  Tokyo  Imperial  University,  who  says : 
"Fulin  is  Rome.  The  word  Rome  was  corrupted  into 
Urum  by  the  Huns  and  Tartars,  and  then  Urum  or  Wrum 
was  corrupted  again  into  Butrum  and,  finally,  this  Butrum  was 
corrupted  into  Butlin.  So  Fulin  comes  from  Butlin,  which 
is  from  Butrum,  which  is  again  from  Wrum  of  the  Turkish 

races  for  Rome.      The  people  of  the  Ural-altaic  Family 

especially  Turks,  Mongols,  Manchurians,  Koreans  and 
Japanese,  are  apt  to  help  themselves  in  pronouncing  any 
word  beginning  with  an  '  R  '  sound— Rome,  for  instance, 
becoming  'Urom.'  The  Chinese  obtained  the  sounds  of 
Wrum  from  some  of  the  Ural-altaic  races,  and  they  applied 
the  two  Chinese  characters  'Fu-hV  for  them."     ("On  the 


78  THE  XESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


Question   of  Ta-ts'in  and  Fu-lin,"  by  Dr.  Shiratori  in   The 
Historical  Magazine,  Vol.  XV.,  54.) 

These  theories  show  that  the  Fu-lin  question  is  still  an 
unsolved  mystery  as  it  was  fifty  years  or  more  ago.  It  was  a 
mystery  in  i860,  when  Mr.  Phillips  expressed  his  views  about 
it  saying :  "  Fu-lin  is  a  mystery."  No  further  progress  in 
solving  it  has  been  made  until  now.  In  the  enlightened 
twentieth  century  it  is  as  dark  as  in  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth. 

But  gazing  at  the  stone,  we  notice  some  seventy-five 
names  rendered  in  both  Chinese  and  Syriac,  and  amongst 
them  a  priest's  name  written  "FU-LIN"  (Jfl}  jjyjt),  and  the 
Syriac  given  for  that  Chinese  name  is  "  Ephraim." 

On  iooking  still  more  closely  we  discover  that  there  is 
one  more  name  "  Ephraim  "  for  which  the  Chinese  "  Hsiian- 
te  "  (j£  |§j)f  i.e.  "  Mystery-virtue,"  is  given  as  an  equivalent. 

Judging  from  the  parallel  fact  that  the  name  "  Enoch  " 
was  expressed  in  Chinese  by  Ling-shou  (Wt  SE),  which 
means  "  Spirit-life-eternal,"  and  the  name  Constantine 
(HH  fa)  by  " Stay-in-Faith "  in  our  Inscription,  we  may 
safely  say  that  the  name  Hsiian-te,  "  Mystery-virtue " 
for  "Ephraim,"  must  be  the  translated  name,  the  word 
"  Ephraim  "  being  supposed  to  come  from  the  Hebrew  root 
"  PHARAH,"  "  fruitful."  Thus,  "  (Be  fruitful  of)  Mystery, 
virtue,"  was  the  underlying  idea  in  the  priest's  name  as 
rendered  in  Chinese,  whilst  "  Fu-lin  "  is  simply  the  Chinese 
phonetization  of  the  sound  "  Ephraim."  This  is  quite  plain 
from  the  Chinese  characters  for  "  E-fu-lin  "  (j§^  JjJ|j  j^t)  in 
Prof.  Pelliot's  Diptychs. 

According  to  the  Chinese  History  of  the  T'ang  Era,  the 
name  "  Fu-lin  "  appeared  for  the  first  time  in  the  middle  of 
the  seventh  century  A.D.     The  Chronicles  say : 

"  In  645  A.D.,  King  Po-to-li  of  Fu-lin  sent  an  embassy  " 

Now  in  our  Inscription  (which  was  undoubtedly  written 


INTRODUCTION  79 


in  the  year  780  A.D.)  we  find  the  "  Priest  Fu-lin"  represented 
by  the  same  Chinese  characters. 

It  is  most  natural  for  us,  therefore,  to  conclude  that  if  the 
Priest  "Fu-lin"  in  the  eighth-century  Inscription  is  Priest 
"  Ephraim,"  the  country  indicated  by  the  word  "  Fu-lin "  in 
the  seventh-century  writings  should  be  interpreted  as  "the 
Country  of  Ephraim." 

But  how  we  can  identify  this  "Kingdom  of  Ephraim," 
with  Po-to-li  (which  is  the  Chinese  corruption  for  ""Patriarch") 
at  the  head  of  its  government,  with  the  so-called  "  Syria  "  is 
,quite  another  matter. 

The  Chinese  history  says :  "  To  the  north-west,  this* 
country  of  Persia  ($£  ^Jf  @jj)  borders  on  the  Kingdom  of 
Fu-lin  (Jfl}  ffifl  §}),  which  resembles  the  kingdom  of  Persia 
in  point  of  soil,  manners,  and  customs ;  but  they  differ  in 
point  of  language  and  appearance  of  the  inhabitants.  These 
also  possess  a  good  quantity  of  valuable  gems  and  are  very 
rich. 

"  To  the  south-west  of  Fu-lin,  in  an  island  of  the  sea,  is 
the  kingdom  of  the  western  women ;  here  there  are  women 
only,  with  no  men  ;  they  possess  a  large  quantity  of  gems 
and  precious  stones,  which  they  exchange  in  Fu-lin.  There- 
fore, the  King  of  Fu-lin  sends  certain  men  to  live  with  them 
for  a  time.  If  they  should  have  male  children,  they  are  not 
allowed  to  bring  them  up." 

This  description  of  the  Kingdom  of  Fu-lin  is  from  the 
"Buddhist  Records  of  the  Western  World,"  by  Hsiian- 
tsang,  the  Chinese  Pilgrim,  who  left  Hsi-an-fu  in  628  A.D. 
and  returned  to  China  in  645  A.D.,  having  spent  seventeen 
years  in  India  and  in  travelling  through  the  Central 
Asian  kingdoms  lying  between  China  and  India. 

Evidently  this  Pilgrim-author  did  not  visit  Persia  or 
Fu-lin  personally,  as  he  tells  us  in  his  introductory  remarks 
that  he  himself  visited  no  countries,  but  that  those  other 
28  countries  of  which  he  wrote,  he  described  from  reports 


80  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

r       _ 

§**$  (To   our  regret  these  important  clauses  have  been  generally 

omitted  in  the  European  translation  of  the  book.  Perhaps 
the  translators  could  not  obtain  the  best  text  for  their  transla- 
tions.) 

Thus  none  of  the  writings  of  contemporary  authors  affect 
what  we  have  already  said. 

Again,  among  the  fragments  discovered  by  Prof.  Pelliot 
there  is  a  portion  of  a  book  called  "  Hui-ch'ao's  Visit  to  the 
Five  Indies"  (^  H  f£  £  ^C  **  ■  &),  in  which  the 
following  paragraphs  are  quite  distinct  and  legible  : 

"  From  Takharestan  (|£  j^^||)  going  westward  for 
one  month,  we  arrived  at  Persia.  This  Kingdom  of  Persia 
formerly  ruled  over  Tadjik  (^  ^£).  The  Tadjik  used  to  be 
the  pastoral  people  under  the  Persian  king,  but  afterwards 
they  rebelled  against  the  king,  and  not  only  gained  their 
independence,  but  finally  power  to  rule  over  Persia.  .  .  .  Tadjik 
trade  in  the  Western  Sea  and  their  ships  sailing  southward 
reached  the  island  of  Ceylon.  .  .  .  Again,  going  from  Persia 
northward  for  ten  days  across  the  mountains,  we  reach 
Tadjik,  and  beyond  it  there  is  Little  Fu-lin  (/J>  |j$  IJgf  |g|)# 

■  They  worship  God,  but  do  not  know  Buddhism.  In  their 
Law  they  do  not  practise  kneeling  down. 

'  "  Again,  Greater  Fu-lin  lies  to  the  north-west  of  the  sea 
which  bounds  Little  Fu-lin.  The  king  of  Greater  Fu-lin  has  a 
strong  army  and  is  not  subject  to  any  other  country.  The 
Tadjik  invaded  it  without  success.  The  land  is  wide  enough 
and  full  of  precious  things — mules,  donkeys,  sheep,  and 
horses,  and  mats,  etc.  Their  dress  resembles  that  of  Persia 
and  Tadjik  (^  !jj|),  but  their  language  is  not  the  same." 

The  "Land  of  Ephraim" — what  is  it?  and  where  was 
it  ?  These  questions  must  be  settled  by  specialists,  but  one 
thing  is  clear,  through  the  light  shed  by  the  Priest  EphrainVs 
name  on  the  stone,  that  the  "  Fu-lin  Country  "  is  "  the  Land  of 
Ephraim,"  that  is,  the  land  from  which  the  missionaries  came. 


INTRODUCTION  81 


Thus  the  stone  is  proved  from  Chinese  sources  to  be  both 
When  and        historically   and    calligraphically   genuine.      We 

Ne8torianthe  sha11  now  Proceed  to  consider  when  and  how  it 
Stone  buried?  came  to  be  buried.  Even  the  supposed  causes — 
which  are  probable  enough — may  still  serve  as  indirect 
proofs  of  the  genuineness  of  the  stone. 

Now  the  Nestorian  Monument,  as  we  know  for  certain, 
was  erected  on  the  4th  of  February,  781  A.D.  ;  and.  after 
having  lain  buried  in  the  ground  for  many  centuries,  was 
discovered  in  1623  A.D.,  or,  more  strictly  speaking,  not  later 
than  1625  A.D. 

We  can  only  ascertain  the  time  of  its  burial  indirectly,  for 
prior  to  1623,  or  1625  A.D.,  nobody  knew  anything  about  it. 
The  Inscription  is  not  found  in  any  of  the  "  Stone  and  Metal 
Collections  "  of  the  Sung  or  Ming  Dynasties  ;  that  is  to  say, 
in  works  compiled  as  far  back  as  the  year  1064  A.D.,  when 
books  on  "  Stone  and  Metal  Collections  "  were  first  compiled 
in  China. 

It  is  in  Wang  Ch'ang's  (J  jj^l)  collection  written  in  the 
seventeenth  century  that  our  Nestorian  Inscription  first 
appears.  It  is  clear  that  none  of  the  writers  on  "  Stone  and 
Metal  Collections"  between  the  tenth  and  the  seventeenth 
centuries  were  acquainted  with  it.  Only  the  Ta-ch'in 
monastery  was  referred  to  in  the  book  called  "  Ch'ang-an 
Topography  "    ( jj  £  %)  (20  Vols.),  by  Sung   Min-ch'iu 

(5R  Wt  *$0»  m  l079  AJX>  wno  tnus  describes  it : 

"In  the  north-east  of  the  I-ning  Ward  there  was  the 
Persian  temple.  In  the  twelfth  year  of  Cheng-kuan 
Oft  IS)  (638  A.D.),  the  Emperor  T'ai-tsung  had  it  built  for 
A-lo-ssu  (pij  H  ttfr)  {i.e.  A-lo-pen,  jSf  ||  ;£),  a  foreign 
monk  from  Ta  Ch'in. 

"To  the  east  of  Li-ch'uan  Ward,  the  ancient  Persian 
monastery  stood.  This  was  built  there  in  the  second  year  of 
the  I-feng  (|g  J^)   Period  {677  A.D.),  by  the  three  brothers 


82  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


V 


r   '  of  Firus    (^.  ££>  Sjf),  who  obtained  leave  from  the  Chinese/ 

°<j^)        Emperor  to  build  it.  (         ~ 

"  During  the  Sh£n-lung  ( jjtffr  g|)  Period  (705-707  A.D.)  of 
the  Emperor  Chung-tsung,  Tsung  Ch'u-k'o  (£j*  ^  ^£),  the 
favourite  of  the  Emperor  and  once  Prime-minister,  occupied 
the  Monastery  building  as  his  residence  and  removed  the 
Monastery  to  the  south-west  corner  of  Pu-ch£ng  Ward  and 
to  the  west  of  the  Zoroastrian  temple." 

Now,  why  did  Sung  Min-ch'iu,  with  all  his  learning,  make 
such  a  foolish  mistake  as  to  write  A-lo-ssu  (fBJ  |||  Jff)*  for 
A-lo-p£n  (JSpf  jJH  ^fc)  ?  If  he,  or  his  assistant,  could  have  got 
a  rubbing  of  the  Inscription  or  seen  the  stone  itself,  such  a 
mistake  could  not  have  occurred.  Why  did  he  not  see  the 
rubbing  in  the  early  part  of  the  eleventh  century  ?  Was  it  not 
mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  stone  was  not  then  standing  ? 

We  think  the  monument  must  have  been  removed  long 
before  Sung  Min-ch'iu's  time,  or  else  so  able  a  writer  could 
not  have  made  such  a  slip  of  the  pen. 

As  there  is  no  mention  of  the  Inscription  in  the  books 
upon  "Metal  and  Stone"  compiled  between  the  tenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries,  we  may  justly  conclude  that  the 
monument  must  have  been  buried  some  time  prior  to  the 
eleventh  century,  and  we  must  therefore  try  to  ascertain 
the  most  probable  date  for  its  burial  between  those  years, 
781  A.D.  and  1064  A.D.,  when  the  first  compilation  of  "Metal 
and  Stone  Collections  "  was  made. 

During  these  283  years  there  were  at  least  two  occasions 
on  which  the  Nestorian  Stone  might  have  possibly  been 
buried.  One  is  what  may  correctly  be  called  "  the  Ta-ch'in 
Rebellion  "  of  783-784  A.D.  The  other  is  the  well-known 
great  religious  persecution  by  the  Emperor  Wu-Tsung  of 
Buddhism  and  other  foreign  religions — Nestorian,  Moham- 
medan, and  Zoroastrian — in  845  A.D. 

*  &3cii>  preserved  in  the  Ueno  Library,  Tokyo,  has  Ur  instead  of  ;fc. 


INTRODUCTION  83 


The  general  opinion  amongst  writers  on  the  Nestorian 
Inscription  is  that  the  stone  was  buried  by  some  Nestorians 
to  save  it  from  the  general  destruction  that  followed  the 
persecution  of  845  A.D. 

But  a  new  theory  put  forth  by  us  recently  that  the 
stone  might  have  been  buried  on  the  return  of  the  Emperor 
T£-Tsung  from  Feng-t'ien  to  Ch'ang-an  in  784  A.D.,  when 
the  Ta-ch'in  Rebellion  came  to  an  end  with  the  death  of 
Chu  Tz'u  (^  Jjjj;),  the  ringleader,  and  with  the  execution 
of  all  his  party,  is  not  altogether  groundless. 

We  shall  first  speak  of- the  Ta-ch'in  Rebellion  and  then 
of  Wu-Tsung's  persecution. 

Why  do  we  call  this  rebellion  of  Chu  Tz'ii  in  783  A.D. 
"  the  Ta-ch'in  Rebellion  "  ?  It  is  because  he  called  himself 
u  the  Emperor  of  Ta-ch'in." 

He  used  exactly  the  same  name  and  ideographs  as  are 
used  in  the  Nestorian  Inscription  of  781  A.D.  The  rebellion, 
as  recorded  in  the  authentic  history  of  China,  broke  out  in 
October,  783  A.D.,  but  no  historians,  native  or  foreign,  give 
the  real  causes  of  this  rebellion.  Out  of  the  dry  official 
documents  of  that  time  we  can  only  make  out  how  it  was 
started. 

When  Yao  Ling-yen  (jgjjj  ^  *q),  the  Governor-general  of 
Ching-yuan  (J§f  ]j§),  arrived  in  the  Imperial  City  on  his  way 
to  Chiang-chou  ( j$£  $])  at  the  head  of  5000  soldiers  at  the 
end  of  October,  783  A.D.,  it  was  winter  and  very  cold. 
The  soldiers  expected  some  extra  bounty  and  liberal  gifts 
from  the  Emperor's  own  hand,  as  they  had  fought  so  long 
and  so  well  for  him  in  the  frontier  service.  But,  to  their 
great  disappointment,  nothing  was  given  to  them  in  the  way 
of  recognition  for  their  services,  and  no  words  of  consolation 
even  for  the  toils  of  the  campaign  were  expressed. 

Two  days  afterwards,  when  they  were  about  to  leave  the 
capital  and  some  companies  had  already  marched  a  few  miles 
away  from  Ch'ang-an,  the  Mayor  whose  name  was  Wang  Hung 


THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


(3E  tM)  wanted  to  give  them  consolation,  and  invited  them 
to  a  dinner.  But  all  he  could  give  was  poor,  hard  rice  and 
scanty  vegetables. 

When  they  saw  the  poor  fare  before  them,  they  became  so 
much  enraged  that  they  kicked  the  tables  to  pieces  and  broke 
all  the  dishes  and  cried,  "  To  the  Imperial  Palace ! "  "  To 
the  Palace ! "  "  Let  us  help  ourselves  to  the  treasures  kept 
in  the  Imperial  Warehouse  !  " 

All  at  once  rushed  towards  the  Imperial  Palace.  The 
Emperor  and  all  his  court,  taken  by  surprise,  knew  no  other 
course  than  to  take  to  flight.  So  they  all  ran  away  from 
the  postern  gate  towards  Feng-t'ien  (^  ^C),  i.e.  Ch'ien-chou 
(?£  fH)t  aD0Ut  3°  miles  north  of  Ch'ang-an. 

The  mutinous  soldiers  then  occupied  the  Palace  and  the 
Imperial  Capital.  They  decided  to  have  General  Chu  Tz'u 
0fc  Jjtt)>  who  happened  to  be  in  the  Capital  at  that  very 
time,  as  tlieir  new  Emperor,  and  they  conducted  him  accord- 
ingly to  the  deserted  Imperial  Palace. 

Chu  Tz'u,  apparently  most  unwillingly,  accepted  their 
proposal  and  called  himself  "  Ta-ch'in  Emperor !  " 

He  then  proceeded  to  organize  his  own  Government.  In 
doing  so,  he  relied  chiefly  on  the  support  of  Yuan  Hsiu 
(iS  tfc)'  w^°  was  famous  for  tact ;  Chang  Kuang-cheng 
(5M  ^fe  J|L)>  wno  was  a  man  °f  Chou-chih  and  had  a  repu- 
tation for  sincerity  and  faithfulness  ;  Chiang  Chen  Qf§  ^|), 
who  was  noted  for  his  honesty  and  integrity  ;  and  P'eng  Yen 
(s£  fE)»  wno  was  well  known  for  his  learning ;  and  Ching 
Kang  (^  ffif),  who  was  famous  for  his  bravery  and  sagacity. 
He  afterwards  added  Ch'iao  Lin  (^  J^),  the  Imperial  tutor, 
to  his  Government. 

It  was  at  Chou-chih  that  this  Ch'iao  Lin  deserted  the  cause 
of  the  Emperor  Te-Tsung  on  the  Emperor's  way  to  Feng-t'ien 
in  783  A.D.  He  was  one  of  the  court  party  who  followed 
the  Emperor,  but  only  as  far  as  the  neighbourhood  of  Chou- 
chih,  where  he  hid  himself  in  the  Hsien-yu-ssii  ('ftlj  }$£  nj-f )— 


INTRODUCTION  85 


"Saint-visited  Monastery" — and  declined  to  proceed  any 
farther  on  the  pretence  that  his  health  did  not  permit  him 
to  do  so;  the  next  day,  however,  he  joined  the  Ta-ch'in 
Rebels. 

But  at  last  the  Ta-ch'in  rebels  were  defeated,  and  the 
men  who  supported  the  cause  of  Chu  Tz'ii  were  beheaded  at 
Fan  Hsien,  thirty  miles  north-west  of  Chou-chih,  in  784  A.D., 
and  then  the  Emperor  T£-Tsung  returned  to  Ch'ang-an 
through  Chou-chih,  and  probably  passed  by  the  Hsien-yu-ssu, 
"  Saint-visited  Monastery !  " 

If  this  "  Saint-visited  Monastery "  had  been  a  Nestorian 
one,  and  the  very  spot  where  the  Nestorian  Stone  had  been 
erected  in  781  A.D.,  the  stone  might  have  been  ordered  to 
be  buried  because  it  had  upon  it  the  very  hateful  name 
of  Ta-ch'in. 

If  it  were  not  buried  by  the  Emperor's  order,  then  some, 
we  suppose,  of  the  Nestorians,  anticipating  its  destruction  by 
the  Imperial  order,  might  have  buried  it  in  order  to  save  it 
from  the  hand  of  destroyers. 

This  supposition  of  ours  is  greatly  strengthened  by  the 
fact  that  the  stone  was  actually  dug  out  at  a  place  between 
Chou-chih  and  Hsi-an-fu,  and  by  the  fact  that  none  of  the 
Cheng-yuan  (J|  jfc)  andYiian-ho  (jq  JfQ)  writers— 785  A.D.- 
820  A.D. — Han  Yti,  Liu  Tsung-yiian  and  others,  make  the 
slightest  mention  of  the  stone  in  their  writings.  Han  Yii 
came  to  Ch'ang-an  in  786  A.D.  for  the  first  time  when  he  was 
nineteen  years  old,  whilst  Liu  Tsung-yiian  came  to  the  capital 
in  788  A.D.  Not  the  least  trace  of  the  stone  can  be  seen 
reflected  in  the  prose  or  poetry  of  the  age.  This  mystery  can 
only  be  accounted  for  if  the  stone  was  buried  in  784  A.D. 

If  this  supposition  fails  to  explain  when  and  why  it  was 
buried,  then  we  must  seek  the  time  and  the  circumstances  of 
its  burial  in  845  A.D. 

Already  the  reaction  against  the  Nestorians  and  the 
Buddhists  began  to  appear  as  early  as  797  A.D.,  when  for  the 


86 


THE  NEST0R1AN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


first  time  the  Confucianists  were  allowed  to  join  the  Imperial 
Birthday  Service.  Previous  to  that  time  the  privilege  was 
given  only  to  the  Buddhists,  Taoists,  and  Nestorians. 

Again,  in  819  A.D.,  Han  Yu  (tjjfc  jfa),  "the  Macaulay  of 
China,"  addressed  a  memorial  to  the  Emperor  Hsien-Tsung 
against  the  Emperor's  order  to  bring  a  famous  bone-relic  of 
Buddha  to  the  capital  and  to  deposit  it  within  the  precincts 
of  the  Imperial  Palace.  Han  Yu  said  that  the  relic  should 
be  delivered  to  the  proper  officials  to  be  thrown  into  the 
water,  or  into  the  fire,  to  be  made  an  end  of  for  ever.  He 
concluded  his  famous  memorial  thus  : 

*  If  the  bone  of  Buddha  has  the  efficacy  of  the  living 
Spirit  to  bring  calamity  or  trouble  as  punishment,  let  it  alight 
upon  my  own  person !  High  Heaven  sees  everything,  and 
I  have  nothing  to  fear !  " 

Although  Han  Yu  was  punished  for  his  bold  action, 
public  sympathy  was  with  him ;  and  Taoists  and  Confucianists, 
taking  advantage  of  this  opportunity,  stirred  up  a  reactionary 
movement  against  the  foreign  religions,  which  resulted  in 
the  great  persecution  inaugurated  by  the  Imperial  Edict  of 
Wu-Tsung,  A.D.  845 — the  third  great  persecution  that  occurred 
during  the  whole  eight  hundred  years  since  Mahayana 
Buddhism  first  entered  China  in  Ming-Ti's  (^|  Eft  *JJj)  reign, 
A.D.  67— during  which  time  it  established  itself  as  "  Chinese 
Buddhism." 

Prior  to  the  proclamation  of  Wu-Tsung's  Edict  (according 
to  the  Chinese  contemporary  history),  there  were  over  44,600 
Buddhist  monasteries  with  265,000  monks  and  nuns. 

This  is  not  an  excessive  number  when  compared  with 
the  71,819  Buddhist  temples  with  123,448  priests  we  have 
now  in  Japan,  besides  51,284  shrines  with  74,559  Shinto 
priests. 

The  Edict  was  entitled  "  The  Proclamation  ordering  the 
destruction  of  the  Buddhist  monasteries."     It  runs  thus  : 

"We  learn  that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  Buddhism 


INTRODUCTION  87 


prior  to  the  Three  Dynasties,  ue.  Hsia  (jj),  Yin  (jfgf ),  Chou 

(MY 

"  After  the  dynasties  of  Han  and  Wei,  the  Image-Teaching  • 
gradually  began  to  flourish.  And  once  established,  in  that 
degenerate  age,  this  strange  custom  prevailed  far  and  wide, 
and  now  the  people  are  soaked  to  the  bone  with  it.  Just  now 
the  national  spirit  begins  to  be  spoiled  unconsciously  by  it ; 
and,  leading  the  heart  of  the  people  astray,  it  has  put  the 
public  in  worse  condition  than  ever.  In  the  country — 
throughout  the  Nine  Provinces,  and  among  the  mountains 
and  fields  as  well  as  in  both  the  capitals — the  number  of 
priests  is  daily  increasing  and  the  Buddhist  temples  are 
constantly  winning  support. 

"  Wasting  human  labour  in  building  ;  plundering  the 
people's  purse  by  golden  decorations  ;  ignoring  parents  and 
the  Sovereign  in  contributions ;  neglecting  both  husband 
and  wife  by  their  vigil-keeping  ;  no  teaching  is  more  harmful 
than  this  Buddhism.  In  breaking  the  laws  of  the  country 
and  injuring  the  people,  none  can  surpass  this  Buddhism. 

"  Moreover,  if  a  farmer  neglect  his  field,  many  suffer  the 
pangs  of  starvation  from  his  negligence ;  if  a  woman  neglects 
her  silk-worm  culture,  many  suffer  the  calamity  of  being 
frozen  to  death  through  her  negligence.  Now  there  are  at 
present  so  many  monks  and  nuns  that  to  count  them  is 
almost  impossible.  They  all  depend  on  farming  for  their 
food,  and  upon  silk-worms  for  their  clothing  ! 

"  The  public  monasteries  and  temples,  as  well  as  private 
chapels  and  shrines,  are  innumerable;  and  all  of  them  so 
gigantic  and  imposing  that  they  vie  with  the  Imperial  Palace 
in  splendour !  In  Dynasties  Chin  (^),  265  A.D.-420  A.D., 
Sung  (£(£),  420-476  A.D.,Crrt  ((Slf),  479-501  A.D.,  and  Liang 
(Wc)>  502-556  A.D.,  the  resources  of  this  Empire  were 
exhausted  and  the  country  gradually  declined,  whilst  its 
manners  and  customs  became  flippant  and  insincere,  solely 
because  of  this  Buddhism. 


88  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


"Our  Imperial  ancestor  T'ai-tsung  put  an  end  to  con 
fusion  and  disorder  by  his  arms,  and  built  up  the  glorious 
Middle  Kingdom  and  governed  his  people  by  his  accom- 
plished learning  and  culture.  The  right  of  'the  pen'  (i.e. 
peaceful  rule  or  civic  administration),  and  'the  sword'  (i.e. 
war)  belongs  to  the  State,  and  they  are  the  two  weapons 
wherewith  to  govern  the  Empire.  How  dare  the  insignificant 
Teaching  of  the  Western  Lands  compete  with  ours  ?  During 
the  periods  of  Cheng-kuan  (j=|  ||g)  (627-649  A.D.)  and  K'ai- 
yiian  (^  7C)  (7*3-755  A-D-)»  things  were  bettered  once  for 
all,  but  the  remnants  were  smouldering,  and  poverty  began 
to  grow  bigger  and  wider  and  threatened  to  set  the  country 
ablaze ! 

"  After  closely  examining  the  examples  set  by  our 
Imperial  predecessors,  We  have  finally  decided  to  put  an  end 
to  such  conspicuous  evils.  Do  ye,  Our  subjects,  at  home  and 
abroad,  obey  and  conform  to  Our  sincere  will.  If  ye  send 
in  a  Memorial  suggesting  how  to  exterminate  these  evils 
which  have  beset  Us  for  many  Dynasties,  We  shall  do  all  We 
can  to  carry  out  the  plan.  Know  ye  that  We  yield  to  none 
in  fulfilling  the  laws  of  Our  predecessors  and  in  trying  to  be 
helpful  to  Our  people  and  beneficial  to  the  public. 

"  Those  4600  monasteries  supported  by  Government  shall 
be  confiscated  and,  at  the  same  time,  260,500  nuns  and 
priests  shall  return  to  secular  life  so  that  they  may  be  able 
to  pay  the  taxes.  We  shall  also  confiscate  40,000  private 
temples  and  monasteries  known  by  the  name  of  Aranya, 
together  with  the  fertile  and  good  lands  amounting  to  several 
tens  of  millions  of  acres;  and  emancipate  150,000  slaves  and 
make  them  into  free,  tax-paying  people. 

"  Examining  into  the  teachings  from  the  foreign  lands 
in  the  Empire,  We  have  discovered  that  there  are  over  3000 
monks  from  Ta-ch'in  and  Mu-hu-fu  ;  and  these  monks  also 
shall  return  to  lay  life.  They  shall  not  mingle  and  interfere 
with  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Middle  Kingdom 


: 


INTRODUCTION  89 


"  More  than  a  hundred  thousand  idle,  lazy  people  and  busy- 
bodies  have  been  driven  away,  and  numberless  beautifully 
decorated  useless  temples  have  been  completely  swept 
away.  Hereafter,  purity  of  life  shall  rule  Our  people  and 
simple  and  non-assertive  rules  prevail,  and  the  people  of 
all  quarters  shall  bask  in  the  sunshine  of  Our  Imperial 
Influence.  But  this  is  only  the  beginning  of  the  reforms. 
Let  time  be  given  for  all,  and  let  Our  will  be  made  known 
to  every  one  of  Our  subjects  lest  the  people  misunderstand 
Our  wish." 

This  terrible  blow  to  Chinese  Buddhism  is  known  as 
"  the  Third  Persecution,"  and  was  the  greatest  that  Buddhism 
encountered  since  its  introduction  into  China  in  67  A.D.  Of 
all  the  four  persecutions,  this,  resulting  from  Wu-Tsung's 
Edict,  was  the  worst. 

Again,  in  "  The  Complete  Works  of  Li  Yu "  (^  |g) 
(^  jt  ItS  3C  Jfl)> wno  was  P"me  Minister  to  the  Emperor 
Wu-Tsung  in  that  very  year  845  A.D.,  we  read  his  official  letter 
addressed  to  the  Emperor  congratulating  the  Emperor  on 
his  successful  destruction  of  the  temples  and  monasteries 
(see  Appendix,  No.  VIII.).  In  this  letter  Li  Yu  refers 
to  the  2000*  Nestorians  and  Mohammedans  as  we  have 
already  seen  in  the  Imperial  Edict  above  referred  to,  which 
was  in  reality  written  by  Li  Yu  himself,  for  it  was  the  official 
duty  of  a  Prime  Minister  to  write  the  draught  of  an  Imperial 
decree  for  the  Emperor,  whilst  the  style  and  phraseology  of 
the  letter  and  Edict  are  exactly  the  same  (see  Appendix, 
No.  VIII.). 

These  and  many  other  writings  of  the  time  show  how 
badly  the  Nestorians  suffered  from  the  cruel  hand  of  the 
Persecutor.  It  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  all  the  writers  on 
the  Nestorian  Stone  agree  in  saying  that  it  was  most  likely 
due  to  this  terrible  persecution  that  the  Assyrian  Monument 

*  Instead  of  3000  as  mentioned  above,  2000  is  according  to  the  oldest  copy 
preserved  in  the  Ueno  Library. 


90  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

was  buried  by  Christians  who  wished  to  preserve  the  stone 
from  the  general  destruction  ordered  by  the  Emperor 
Wu-Tsung. 

Although  we  learn  from  foreign  sources  that  there  were 
several  Nestorian  churches  in  China  in  the  eleventh  and 
fifteenth  centuries,*  we  never  read  in  Chinese  books  anything 
about  the  Assyrian  Church  and  its  members  after  this  disaster 
of  845  A.D.  Even  when  Wu-Tsung's  successor  reversed  his 
anti-Buddhist  policy  and  began  to  restore  the  monasteries 
during  several  years,  there  arose  no  emperor  who  remembered 
either  A-lo-pen  and  his  monks  or  their  successors  who  erected 
the  stone. 

*  See  Gibbon's  words  quoted  on  p.  38.  Besides  we  read  the  following 
words  of  Sir  Henry  Yule :  "  No  more  is  known,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  of 
Christianity  in  China  till  the  influx  of  European  travellers  in  the  days  of 
Mongol  supremacy.  We  then  again  find  a  considerable  number  of  Nestorian 
Christians  in  the  country.  It  is  probable  that  a  new  wave  of  conversion  had 
entered  during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  consequent  on  the  Christian- 
ization  of  large  numbers  among  the  Turkish  and  Mongolian  tribes,  of  which 
we  have  many  indications,  and  on  the  influence  exercised  by  those  tribes  upon 
Northern  China,  both  in  the  time  of  Chinghiz  and  his  successors,  and  in  the 
revolutions  which  preceded  the  rise  of  that  dynasty." 

Again  we  read:  "In  the  time  of  Marco  Polo  we  find  Nestorian  Christians 
numerous  not  only  at  Samarkand  but  at  Yarkand,  whilst  there  are  such  also  in 
Chichintalas  (identified  by  Pauthier  with  the  modern  Urumtsi,  north  of  the 
Thian  Shan),  in  Suchau  and  Kanchu,  and  over  all  the  kingdom  of  Tangut,  in 
Tenduc  and  the  cities  east  of  it,  as  well  as  in  Manchuria  and  the  countries 
bordering  on  Corea.  Polo's  contemporary  Hayton  also  testifies  to  the  number 
of  great  and  noble  Tartars  in  the  Uigur  country  who  held  firm  to  the  faith  of 
Christ.  As  regards  the  spread  of  Nestorian  Christianity  in  China  Proper  at 
this  period  we  do  not  find  in  Polo  so  many  definite  statements,  though  various 
general  allusions  which  he  makes  to  Christians  in  the  country  testify  to  their 
existence.  He  also  speaks  of  them  specifically  in  the  remote  province  of 
Yunnan,  and  at  Chinkiang-fu,  where  they  had  two  churches  built  in  the 
traveller's  own  day  by  Mar  Sergius,  a  Christian  officer  who  was  governor 
there.  Their  number  and  influence  in  China  at  the  end  of  the  thirteenth 
century  may  also  be  gathered  from  the  letter  of  John  of  Monte  Corvino 
(pp.  198  seg.)  in  this  volume  ;  and  in  the  first  part  of  the  following  century  from 
the  report  of  the  Archbishop  of  Soltania,  who  describes  them  as  more  than 
thirty  thousand  in  number,  and  passing  rich  people.  Probably  there  was  a 
considerable  increase  in  their  numbers  about  this  time,  for  Odoric,  about  1324, 
found  three  Nestorian  churches  in  the  city  of  Yangchau,  where  Marco  would 
probably  have  mentioned  them  had  they  existed  in  his  time."  (XCVII.-XCIX., 
Vol.  I.,  "  Cathay  and  the  Way  Thither.") 


INTRODUCTION  9* 


This  is  not  surprising,  for  Persia  (the  centre  and  in- 
spirer  of  the  Christian  Church  in  the  Orient)  lost  political 
influence  after  the  Mohammedans  came  into  power  in  Central 
Asia  and  China  in  the  eighth  century,  and  the  Christians 
began  to  be  absorbed  into  the  larger  body  of  Moham- 
medans. 

This,  at  first  sight,  seems  incredible.  But  turning  to  the 
history  of  the  Jacobite  schism  or  Monophysite  heresy  concern- 
ing the  one  nature  of  Christ  in  the  sixth  century,  we  shall 
find  that  "  the  opponents  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon  formed 
themselves  into  dissenting  bodies  absolutely  separated  from 
the  Orthodox  churches  and  provided  with  a  complete  hier- 
archy from  the  Patriarch  of  Antioch  down  to  the  inferior 
orders,  and  that  these  communities  maintained  their  position 
in  spite  of  the  official  Imperial  churches,  and  especially  after 
the  Moslem  invasion,  attained  a  high  degree  of  prosperity." 
(Duchesne's  "  Origines  du  culte  Chretien,"  p.  65.) 

Of  course,  3000  Nestorian  and  Mohammedan  monks  are 
too  insignificant  a  number  to  compare  with  the  260,500 
monks  and  nuns  of  Buddhism. 

But  had  they  been  strengthened  by  the  State  from  the 
ninth  to  the  thirteenth  centuries,  and  had  they  not  been  cut 
off  from  the  main  body  of  the  Church  the  numbers  might 
have  greatly  increased  and  some  portion  of  the  21,500,000 
of  Mohammedans  and  the  ten  millions  of  the  Chin-tan  Chiao 
(^j£  ^J*  !§St)  now  in  China  might  have  been  Christian. 

If  our  first  supposition  be  accepted,  the  result  would  be 
that  the  stone  stood  above  ground  only  a  few  years  and  that 
neither  Han  Yii  and  Liu  Tsung-ytian  of  China  nor  Kobo  Daishi 
of  Japan  could  have  seen  it.  But  if  the  second  supposition 
about  the  date  and  the  reason  for  burying  the  stone  be  correct, 
then  this  Monument  stood  conspicuously  above  ground  for 
only  sixty-four  years,  viz.  from  A.D.  781  to  845,  steadily 
witnessing  to  the  Truth  of  God  in  the  heart  of  China.  Then, 
having  given  its  witness—"  the  Teaching  Stone  "  is  its  name 


92  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

in  the  Inscription — it  was  buried  in  the  earth,  and  there  pre- 
served unhurt  for  some  780  years. 

Whichever  view  we  may  take,  the  student-priest  Gyoga 
(fif  !H)  wno  returned  fr°m  Hsi-an-fu  in  A.D.  784  must  have 
been  the  first  from  Japan  who  ever  saw  the  Nestorian  Stone, 
and  if  we  accept  the  second  supposition,  the  Tendai-shu  priest 
Jigaku  (ffa  f£)  who  returned  from  China  in  A.D.  841  must 
have  been  the  last  Japanese  who  saw  it.  In  other  words, 
according  to  the  second  theory,  the  stone  existed  twenty-two 
years  before  and  forty-four  years  after  our  Kobo-daishi  visited 
Hsi-an-fu  in  804  A.D.,  and  studied  Sanscrit  from  Prajiia,  the 
Kashmir  monk,  who  had  co-operated  with  Ching-ching  (King- 
tsing),  Adam,  the  author  of  our  Inscription,  in  translating 
a  Buddhist  sutra. 

The  genuineness  of  the  Monument  itself  is  one  thing 
Nature  ol  the  wnilst  tne  accuracy  of  the  Inscription  is  another. 

Ch'ang-an       One  cannot  by  any  means  say  that  all  the  state- 
civilization  :  .  .     .  1    « 
Christian         ments  in  this  Inscription  are  correct  simply  because 

-SttaS"  the  stone  itself  is  genuine. 

Japan.  Much  has  already  been  written  about  the  dis- 

crepancy, self-contradictions,  and  ambiguity  of  the  expressions 
used  in  the  Inscription,  whilst  yet  much  remains  to  be  done 
in  the  way  of  textual  criticism. 

This  is  not  surprising.  Things  written  in  the  eighth 
century  with  but  dim  knowledge  of  Heaven  and  Earth  must 
be  tested  by  those  whose  knowledge  has  been  enlightened  by 
scientific  study  and  their  minds  widened  by  travel  and  inter- 
national communication. 

But  one  thing  is  sure,  namely,  that,  by  studying  the 
Inscription,  we  are  more  and  more  convinced  of  its  genuine- 
ness, although  at  the  same  time  we  can  understand  the  ignor- 
ance of  the  Nestorian  pioneers  of  Christianity  in  the  Far  East. 

Their  relations  with  Buddhism,  Taoism,  and  Confucianism 
were  quite  different  from  those  that  Christian  missionaries 
now  enjoy  in  China  and  in  the  Far  East  generally. 


INTRODUCTION  93 


At  present  Christian  missionaries  are  more  advanced  in 
science,  if  not  in  philosophy,  than  the  Chinese  amongst  whom 
they  work.  It  was  not  so  in  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth 
centuries. 

If  we  trust  what  is  written  in  the  Inscription,  at  least  if 
we  assume  that  Christianity  may  have  been  well  known  at 
Ch'ang-an  during  two  out  of  the  three  centuries  of  the  Pang 
Dynasty,  we  cannot  but  recognize  the  fact  that  we  Japanese 
were,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  and  directly  or  indirectly, 
much  influenced  by  the  Nestorians.  Some  of  the  thoughts 
that  our  ancestors  derived  from  China  during  the  seventh, 
eighth,  and  ninth  centuries  were  Christian  thoughts  in  Chinese 
garb,  like  these  words  that  we  once  thought  were  pure  and 
simple  Chinese,  but  which  are  now  proved  by  scholars  to  be 
nothing  else  but  Greek  or  Hebrew. 

If  we  were  to  follow  the  example  set  by  the  late  Prof. 
Max  Muller,  who  was  wont  to  distinguish  between  the 
Christianity  of  the  Church  and  that  of  Christ,  China  and 
the  Chinese  of  the  T'ang  Era  were  far  more  influenced  by 
the  Christianity  of  Christ  than  some  parts  of  European 
Christendom  are  to-day.  For  instance,  Russia  is,  no  doubt, 
a  Christian  country,  but  Christianity — if  not  Ecclesiasticism — 
exercised  much  greater  influence  in  China  during  the  T'ang 
Dynasty  than  in  the  Russia  of  the  Empress  Katherine  the 
Great. 

Those  who  labour  as  missionaries  in  the  Far  East  should 
remember  that  they  are  working  in  a  field  that  has  been 
already,  thinly  as  it  may  be,  sown  with  the  seed  of  Gospel 
Truth.  They  must  realize  that  they  are  treading  on  "  holy 
ground  "  ! 

The  people  to  whom  they  preach  to-day  are  the  spiritual 
descendants  not  only  of  Confucius  or  of  Sakyamuni,  but 
of  the  Early  Christians  themselves,  and  in  rooting  up 
what  appears  to  them  to  be  "tares"  they  should  beware 
lest   they  are  also  destroying  the  "wheat"  which  has  lain 


94  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

buried    for   centuries — unrecognized  for   lack   of  discerning 
eyes ! 

The  Nestorian  Monument  itself  is  a  great  witness  to  this 
fact. 

We  are  convinced  that  the  China  of  the  T'ang  Era  was 
under  Christian  influence  actually,  if  not  in  name. 

Christian  humanity  was  then  well  developed,  and  in  the 
Chinese  literature  of  that  period  we  find  an  account  of  the 
Emancipation  of  slaves  by  Liu  Tsung-yiian  (jjjjp  ^  j£) 
in  his  province,  whilst  the  ideas  of  individuality  and  human 
equality  were  also  highly  developed  in  Chinese  society. 

For  we  read  in  this  Inscription  :  "  The  great  Emperor 
Kao-Tsung  (a.D.  650-683)  most  respectfully  succeeded  to  his 
ancestors  ;  and  giving  The  True  Religion  (i.e.  the  Luminous 
Religion)  the  proper  elegance  and  finish,  he  caused  the 
monasteries  of  the  Luminous  Religion  to  be  founded  in 
every  department.  Accordingly  he  honoured  A-lo-p£n  by 
conferring  on  him  the  office  of  the  Great  Patron  and  Spiritual 
Lord  of  the  Empire.  The  Law  (of  the  Luminous  Religion) 
spread  throughout  the  Ten  Provinces  (of  China),  and  the 
Empire  enjoyed  great  peace  and  concord.  Monasteries  were 
built  in  many  cities,  whilst  every  household  was  filled  with 
the  great  biasings  (of  Salvation)." 

And  that  this  is  no  exaggeration  is  proved  by  the  fact 
that  when  this  Inscription  was  written  "  the  titular  Director- 
ship of  the  Imperial  Bureau  of  Ceremonies,  Music,  Festivals, 
Sacrifices,  and  Worship,"  was  held  by  a  Nestorian  Priest  and 
Archdeacon,  the  head  of  the  Church  of  Kumdan  and  Saragh, 
whose  name  was  Gabriel  (^  ^lj). 

Therefore,  unless  we  can  prove  this  Inscription  to  be 
entirely  false — which  is  impossible — we  may  accept  what 
is  written  therein  with  a  faith  supported  by  historical 
evidences. 

If  we  have  to  call  the  Ch'ang-an  civilization  "a  kind  of 
Christian  civilization,"  then  we  must  necessarily  admit  that 


INTRODUCTION  95 


those  countries  that  received  the  Ch'ang-an  civilization  in  the 

Middle  Ages  were  morally  as  good  as  any  European  countries 

which  profess  the  Roman  Catholic  or  the  Greek  Orthodox 

Faith  in  Christendom,  because  this  Chinese  Christendom  was  a 

daughter  of  the  Assyrian  Church  which  claimed  descent  from 

the  Apostle  Thomas  and  his  immediate  disciples. 

Of  this  effect  we  shall  let  the  student  judge  for  himself 

when  he  has  read  the  actual  words  of  Abbe  Hue, 
What  was  the     ,  .  _   „  „f    .    .     .       .      __  .        ^ 

effect  on  the   author   of  "  Christianity  in  China,  Tartary, 

msmeJy 'rf    and  Tibet"     This  missionary  wrote  :_ 

the  Stone  in  «  One  does  not  know  how  to  count  the  large 

A.D.  1623?  & 

number  of  people  who  came  from   all   parts   to 

view   this   stone,  some   admiring   it   for   its   antiquity,   and 

others   for  the   novelty  of  its   characters  which  seemed  to 

them  to  be  foreign. 

"And  as  the  Light  of  the  Gospel  and  the  knowledge 
of  Our  Religion  is  now  spread  in  all  parts  of  the  Empire, 
a  pagan  *  who  is  a  very  intimate  friend  of  Dr.  Leon  Li  (a 
Christian  mandarin),  having  heard  of  the  Mysteries  hidden 
under  this  writing,  thought  to  oblige  his  friend  by  sending  him 
a  copy  although  they  were  separated  by  a  month  and  a  half's 
journey — the  Christian  mandarin  living  in  the  city  of  Han- 
tcheou-fu  (^yj[  }J»|>|  Jff),  where  our  Fathers  were  quasi-refugees 
because  of  the  last  persecutions. 

"Three  years  later,  in  1628  A.D.,  Semedo  and  other 
Fathers  passed  through  the  province  with  a  Christian  man- 
darin, named  Philip,  who  desired  to  have  them  in  his 
company  during  a  mission  to  this  country. 

"They  were  not  there  long  before  they  built  a  church 
and  a  residence  at  Hsian-fu,  capital  of  the  province ;  because 
God  who  had  brought  to  light  so  rich  a  testimony  of  the 

*  This  must  be  Chang  Keng-yii  who  first  sent  a  rubbing  to  Dr.  Leon  Li  in 
1625.  But  Leon  Li  writes  on  the  12th  of  June,  1625  :  M  Chang  Keng-yii  of 
Ch'i-yang,  the  co-sufferer  in  the  cause."  This  indicates  that  he  was  a  Christian, 
too. 


96  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

possession  which  the  preachers  of  His  Law  had  once  taken 
in  His  Name  of  so  flourishing  an  empire,  would  once  again 
use  it  for  the  confirmation  of  His  subjects  and  re-enter  more 
easily  into  His  ancient  rights." 

The  Abbe*  Hue  continues  : 

"The  discovery  of  the  Monument  of  Hsi-an-fu  made  a 
great  noise  in  all  the  Provinces  of  the  Empire,  and  contri- 
buted not  a  little  to  the  success  of  the  missionaries. 

"  The  Christians,  who  had  been  forced  to  submit  to  such 
outrages  and  humiliations  in  the  last  persecutions,  enjoyed 
the  consideration  of  both  mandarins  and  people,  above 
all  since  that  most  illustrious  of  neophytes,  Doctor  Paul 
(^  3fe  ^P)'  nac*  keen  raised  to  the  rank  of  Prime  Minister. 
This  was  to  Chinese  eyes  a  powerful  argument  to  see  at  the 
head  of  the  Government  a  worshipper  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven. 

"  At  this  epoch,  conversions  were  numerous ;  many  mis- 
sionaries reaped  the  labours  of  the  ancient  Apostles ;  they 
founded  new  churches,  and  notwithstanding  the  troubles 
which  agitated  the  Empire  the  Christianity  of  China  made 
marvellous  strides.  In  1627  A.D.,  13,000  Christians  were 
reckoned  in  seven  different  Provinces,  viz.  Kiang-si,  Che- 
kiang,  Shan-tung,  Shan-si,  and  Pechili. 

"  This  number  grew  so  rapidly  that  ten  years  later  it  had 
risen  to  over  40,000.  This  figure  is  no  doubt  insignificant 
compared  to  the  immense  population  of  China  ;  but  if  one 
considers  that  these  results  were  obtained  in  less  than  forty 
years,  after  the  incredible  difficulties  to  establish  Christianity 
in  the  Interior,  in  the  midst  of  all  kinds  of  contradictions  and 
of  bloody  persecutions ;  if  one  considers,  besides,  that  they 
had  to  evangelize  the  most  anti-religious  people  in  the  world, 
one  is  forced  to  concede  that  the  missionaries'  successes  were 
considerable,  and  that  it  is  possible  by  force  of  zeal  and 
perseverance,  to  fertilize  the  most  barren  soil. 

"Besides  Paul,  the  Prime  Minister  (who  succeeded  the 
terrible  persecutor  of  the  Christians),  and  Dr.  Leon  Li  and 


INTRODUCTION  97 


Dr.  Michel,*  the  distinguished  Doctors  of  Literature — who 
were  mandarins  as  well  as  pillars  of  the  Church  in  China — 
there  were  14  mandarins  of  the  First  Button,  10  Doctors  of 
Literature,  11  Licentiates  and  300  Bachelors,  Christianity 
counted  also  many  proselytes  in  the  Imperial  Family — 
the  missionaries  baptized  over  140  ;  although  these  minor 
Princes  held  no  official  position  in  the  Government,  still, 
by  reason  of  their  birth  and  dignity,  they  had  a  certain 
influence  in  State  affairs. 

"  Forty  of  the  principal  eunuchs  attached  to  the  Emperor's 
service  were  also  converted  to  the  Faith,  and  thirty-eight  of 
the  Court  ladies  in  the  Imperial  Harem  were  baptized  by  the 
eunuchs,  to  whom  special  authority  had  been  given  on  account 
of  the  strict  seclusion  in  which  these  ladies  were  kept.  The 
story  of  their  faith  and  devotion  although  excluded  from 
Christian  worship,  is  very  touching.  The  Chinese  neophytes, 
whether  mandarins,  literati,  princes,  or  people,  were  sincerely 
attached  to  the  Religion,  and  fulfilled  its  duties  faithfully." 
(See  Hue's  "Le  Christianisme  en  Chine,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  319.) 

The  history  of  the  Nestorian  controversy  which  produced 
The  origin  such  far-reaching  results  must  be  interesting 
menUHhT    to  everY  st"dent  of  theology.     But  as  from  the 

Nestorian  or  nature  of  our  work  we  cannot  devote  much  space 
(to  speak  ■ 

more  cor-         to  it,  we  shall  only  refer  to  Nestorius  and  his 

Assyrian16       doctrines    as    a   side-light    to    prove    that    our 

Church.  Monument  belongs  to  "the  Assyrian  Church  of 

the  Messiah  " — that  is  to  say,  Christ. 

Nestorius,   Bishop    of    Antioch,   succeeded    Sisinnius   as 

Patriarch  of   Constantinople    in  A.D.  428.      Brought    up  in 

*  The  wonderful  story  of  Dr.  Leon  and  his  healing  through  the  waters  of 
baptism  and  the  holy  anointing,  wherein  his  body  recovered  strength  and  his  soul 
received  a  supernatural  power  conforming  itself  unrestrainedly  to  the  Law  of  God, 
is  well  worth  reading  in  this  book.  Whilst  a  pagan,  with  his  good  works  and 
honesty  of  heart  in  the  Search  for  Truth  he  drew  towards  him  those  special  gifts 
from  God  which  germinate  the  Faith  in  such  souls.  The  lives  of  utter  devotion  led 
by  these  mandarins  Leon  and  Michael,  and  of  the  Prime  Minister  Paul,  are 
deserving  of  our  profoundest  study. 


98  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

the  cloister,  he  had  imbibed  its  tendencies  to  narrowness, 
partisanship,  impatience,  and  ignorance  of  mankind  which 
are  not  infrequently  found  among  those  who  have  been 
educated  apart  from  their  fellows. 

According  to  Neander,  Nestorius  was  from  Antioch  and 
was  very  eloquent  and  without  guile.  Through  his  austere 
life,  he  had  won  the  admiration  of  many.  His  personality 
may  be  realized  from  the  words  of  his  address  to  the 
Emperor  Theodosius  II,  immediately  after  his  appointment 
to  the  Patriarchate. 

"  Give  me,  O  Prince,  a  country  purged  of  heretics  and  I 
will  give  you  heaven  as  a  recompense.  Assist  me  in  destroy- 
ing heretics  and  I  will  assist  you  in  vanquishing  the  Persians." 

According  to  the  contemporary  historical  writer,  Socrates, 
before  he  had  "  tested  the  waters  of  the  city  "  (i.e.  before  he 
knew  its  condition)  he  flung  himself  headlong  into  acts  of 
violence  and  persecution.  Five  days  after  his  consecration 
he  resolved  to  destroy  the  oratory  in  which  the  Arians 
celebrated  their  worship.  He  did  it  so  thoroughly  that  he 
drove  them  to  desperation  and  lost  the  sympathy  of  the 
thoughtful  in  his  own  communion. 

"Roughly  speaking,  there  were  two  tendencies  in  the 
Theology  of  the  time  which  developed  differently — the  one 
in  Syria  and  the  other  in  Egypt.  The  former  favoured  the 
critical  interpretation  of  Scripture  and  the  application  of  the 
logical  investigation  to  the  facts  and  doctrines  of  Christianity, 
while  the  latter  laid  stress  on  the  Divine,  ue.  its  mysterious  or 
mystical  side. 

"Every  day  these  two  tendencies  approached  nearer  to 
a  collision  which  was  destined  to  become  fiercer  as  the 
personal  jealousies  and  animosities  grew  stronger  and  keener, 
when  Constantinople  was  elevated  to  the  second  place 
among  all  the  Patriarchates  as  the  New  Rome.  Early  in  the 
fifth  century  there  was  nothing  to  hinder,  but  everything 
tended  rather  to  hasten,  the  outbreak  of  hostility. 


INTRODUCTION  99 


"  Already  the  seeds  of  a  breach  had  been  sown  between 
Alexandria  and  Constantinople  in  the  time  of  Theophilus, 
Patriarch  of  Alexandria,  and  John  Chrysostom,  Patriarch  of 
Constantinople,  when  Theophilus  succeeded  in  the  end  of 
the  fourth  and  at -the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  (381-403 
A.D.) ;  but  it  was  the  activity  and  violence  of  Nestorius  and 
his  supporters  that  set  the  smouldering  fire  ablaze ! 

"Even  in  Antioch  there  were  two  precisely  opposite 
tendencies:  one  called  Apollinarianism,  which  sacrificed  to 
the  unity  of  the  person  the  integrity  of  the  natures,  at  least 
of  the  human  nature,  and  which  anticipated  the  Monophysite 
heresy,  whilst  the  other  was  Nestorianism,  which  held  the 
Divine  and  human  in  Christ  so  rigidly  apart  as  to  make  Him 
virtually  a  double  person,  as  taught  by  Diodorus,  Bishop 
of  Tarsus  (394  A.D.),  and  Theodore,  Bishop  of  Mopsuestia 
(393-428  A.D.). 

"  From  this  school  proceeded  Nestorius,  who  is  said  to  be 
one  of  the  strongest  Christological  heretics.  How  far  he 
was  heretical  we  need  not  trouble  ourselves  here.  But  if  his 
doctrine  differed  from  that  of  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia  at  all, 
it  was  because  it  was  less  speculative  and  more  practical, 
and  still  less  solicitous  for  the  unity  of  the  person  of  Christ. 

"  Already  the  very  bold  and  equivocal  expression  (dtoroKog) 
THEOTOKOS,  cthe  Mother  of  God/  had  been  applied  to 
the  Virgin  Mary  by  Origen,  Alexander  of  Alexandria, 
Athanasius,  Basil,  and  others ;  and  after  the  Arian  con- 
troversy and  with  the  growth  of  the  worship  of  Mary,  this 
expression  passed  into  the  devotional  shibboleth  of  the  time. 

"  It  goes  without  saying  that  the  expression  THEO- 
TOKOS did  not  mean  that  the  creature  bore  the  Creator, 
nor  did  it  mean  that  the  Eternal  God-head  took  its  beginning 
from  Mary.  It  was  only  intended  to  denote  the  indissoluble 
union  of  the  Divine  and  human  natures  of  Christ,  and  the 
veritable  incarnation  of  the  Logos,  who,  taking  human  nature 
from  Mary's  body,  came  forth  the  God-man  from  her  womb, 


loo  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


and  as  God-man  suffered  on  the  Cross"  (Dr.  SchafFs  "History 
of  the  Christian  Churches,"  p.  717).  For  Christ  was  born 
as  a  person^  and  suffered  as  a  person ;  and  the  personality 
in  Christ  resided  in  His  divinity,  not  in  His  humanity. 

The  Antiochian  theology,  however,  could  not  conceive 
of  human  nature  without  a  human  personality,  which  it 
strictly  separated  from  the  Divine  Logos. 

"  Already  the  expression,  '  the  Mother  of  God '  had  been 
disputed  by  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia.  *  Mary,'  said  he,  ■  bore 
Jesus,  not  the  Logos,  for  this  Logos  was  and  continues  to  be 
omnipresent,  although  it  dwelt  in  Jesus  in  a  special  manner 
from  the  beginning.  Therefore,  Mary  is  strictly  the  mother 
of  the  Christ,  not  the  mother  of  God.  Only  in  a  figure  of 
speech  can  she  be  called  also  the  mother  of  God,  because 
God  was  in  a  peculiar  sense  in  Christ.  Properly  speaking, 
she  gave  birth  to  a  man-child  in  whom  the  union  with  the 
Lagos  had  begun,  but  still  so  incomplete  that  he  could  not 
yet  (till  after  his  Baptism)  be  called  the  Son  of  God.' 

"  Again  Theodore  said :  *  Not  God,  but  the  temple  in 
which  God  dwelt,  was  born  of  Mary.' 

"  When  Nestorius  became  Patriarch  in  428  A.D.,  he  found 
two  parties  already  existing  in  Constantinople  :  one  of  which 
was  calling  Mary  'Mother  of  God/  the  other,  'the  Mother 
of  Man.' 

"  Nestorius  himself  took  a  middle  course  and  proposed  the 
intermediate  expression,  as  a  compromise,  ■  Mother  of  Christ,' 
— in  Syriac,  Mother  of  Messiah — because  Christ  was  at  the 
same  time  God  and  Man. 

"  He  said  in  his  first  sermon  concerning  this  particular 
point :  '  You  ask  whether  Mary  may  be  called  "  Mother  of 
God  "  ?  Has  God  then  a  mother  ?  If  so,  heathenism  itself  is 
excusable  in  assigning  mothers  to  its  gods  :  but  then  Paul  is 
a  liar,  for  he  said  of  the  deity  of  Christ  that  it  was  without 
father,  without  mother,  and  without  descent.  No,  my  dear 
sirs,  Mary  did   not  bear  God  ;   the   creature    bore   not  the 


INTRODUCTION  ioi 


uncreated  Creator,  but  the  man  who  is  the  mstrument  of  the 
God-head  ;  the  Holy  Ghost  conceived  not  the  Logos,  but 
formed  for  him,  out  of  the  Virgin,  a  temple  which  he  might 
inhabit  (John  ii.  21).  The  Incarnate  God  did  not  die,  but 
quickened  Him  in  whom  He  was  made  flesh.  The  garment, 
which  He  used,  I  honour  on  account  of  the  God  which  'was 
covered  therein  and  inseparable  therefrom  ;  /  separate  the 
Natures  but  I  unite  tJie  worship! 

"  Consider  what  this  must  mean.  He  who  formed  in  the 
womb  of  Mary,  was  not  himself  God,  but  God  assumed  him 
(assumsit,  i.e.  clothed  Himself  with  Humanity),  and  on 
account  of  Him  who  assumed,  he  who  was  assumed  is  also 
called  God  "  (Dr.  Schaffs  "  History  of  the  Christian  Church," 
p.  718). 

From  these  words  of  Nestorius  arose  one  of  the  most  far- 
reaching  controversies  in  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church  ; 
and  the  Antiochian  Christology,  represented  by  Nestorius, 
began  to  provoke  the  bitterest  opposition  of  those,  more 
especially  the  monks,  who  were  in  sympathy  with  the 
Alexandrian  theology.  They  contradicted  Nestorius  from 
the  pulpit  and  insulted  him  in  the  street ;  whilst  he  did  all 
he  could  to  punish  the  monks  who  opposed  him,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  condemning  the  view  of  his  antagonists  at  a  local 
Council  held  in  429  A.D. 

The  first  voice  against  him  was  raised  at  his  own  capital 
by  Proclus,  Bishop  of  Cyzicus,  the  leader  of  his  antagonists. 
Proclus  was  said  to  have  been  an  unsuccessful  rival  of 
Nestorius  for  the  Patriarchate.  But  of  this  we  are  not  sure. 
At  any  rate,  he  carried  the  worship  of  Mary  to  an  excess. 
He  is  said  to  have  preached  the  following  in  honour  of  the 
Virgin  Mary : 

"The  spotless  treasure-house  of  virginity;  the  spiritual 
paradise  of  the  second  Adam ;  the  workshop,  in  which  the 
two  natures  were  annealed  together ;  the  bridal  chamber 
in  which   the  Word   wedded  the  flesh;  the  living  bush  of 


102  THE  XESTORIAX  MONUMENT  IN  CHIXA 

nature,  which  was  unharmed  by  the  fire  of  the  Divine  Birth  ; 
the  light-cloud  which  bore  Him  who  sat  between  the 
Cherubim ;  the  stainless  fleece  in  the  dews  of  Heaven,  with 
which  the  shepherd  clothed  his  sheep  ;  the  handmaid  and 
the  mother,  the  Virgin  and  Heaven." 

Cyril,  the  Patriarch  of  Alexandria,  did  not  lose  this 
chance  of  overthrowing  his  rival,  the  Patriarch  of  Constanti- 
nople, as  his  uncle  and  predecessor  Theophilus  had  cunningly 
overthrown  the  noble  Chrysostom  in  403  A.D.  The  theo- 
logical controversy  was,  therefore,  a  contest  of  the  two 
Patriarchates  and  the  two  capital  cities  for  ascendancy  in 
the  Christian  world ! 

Cyril  used  every  means  to  defeat  his  rival  and  succeeded. 
He  wrote  first  to  Nestorius  ;  then  to  the  Emperor  Theodosius 
and  the  Empress  Eudokia,  as  well  as  to  the  Emperor's  sister, 
and  finally  appealed  to  Pope  Celestine,  who  had  condemned 
the  Nestorian  doctrine  at  a  Council  held  at  Rome  in  430  A.D. 
This  was  due  partly  to  Celestine's  orthodox  instincts,  and 
partly  to  his  anger  with  Nestorius  for  his  action  against  the 
exiled  Pelagians. 

The  controversy  became  so  general  and  so  critical  that 
a  great  Council  was  summoned  by  Theodosius  II.  and 
Valentinius  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  a.d.  431,  to  meet  at 
Ephesus.  This  is  known  in  history  as  "the  Council  of 
Ephesus." 

Nestorius  came  first  to  Ephesus  accompanied  by  sixteen 
bishops  and  an  armed  escort.  He  had  the  Imperial  influence 
on  his  side,  no  doubt,  but  the  majority  of  the  bishops  were 
against  him,  as  the  result  of  the  Council  shows.  The  prevail- 
ing voice  of  the  citizens  was  decidedly  against  him,  since 
Ephesus  itself  was  the  city  where  the  worship  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  had  replaced  the  age-long  worship  of  the  Light  and 
Life  dispensing  Virgin,  "  Diana  of  the  Ephesians  "  (Acts  xix. 
34),  and  the  expression  "  Mother  of  God  "  was  already  firmly 
rooted  there. 


IXTR0DUCT10N  103 


Cyril  appeared  with  fifty  Egyptian  bishops,  besides  monks 
and  slaves,  under  the  banners  of  St.  Mark  and  the  Holy 
Mother  of  God. 

Archbishop  Memnon  of  Ephesus  with  forty  Asiatic  chor- 
episcopi  and  twelve  bishops  from  Pamphylia  were  with  Cyril. 
The  caravan  of  the  Patriarch  John  of  Antioch,  who  was 
a  great  friend  of  Nestorius,  and  who  had  tried  to  act  as 
peacemaker  between  the  two  rivals,  was  detained  on  the  long 
journey  by  floods,  famine,  and  the  riots  resulting  from  these 
two  causes. 

Cyril  refused  to  wait  for  these  forty-two  Syrian  bishops, 
who  supported  Nestorius,  and  in  the  most  treacherous  way 
rushed  matters  through  ;  and  in  consequence  the  decision  of 
the  Council  was  pronounced  illegal  by  the  Emperor. 

The  Council  was  opened  in  the  Basilica  of  St.  Mary  with 
one  hundred  and  sixty  bishops — a  number  increased  to  one 
hundred  and  ninety-eight  on  the  22nd  of  June  when  the 
Council  was  actually  opened.  Sixteen  days  after  Pentecost, 
Nestorius  was  cited  to  appear  ;  but  he  refused  to  come  until 
all  the  bishops  should  be  assembled.  The  Council  then  pro- 
ceeded without  him  and  his  friends,  and  finally  condemned 
him  as  a  heretic.  The  bishops  unanimously  cried  :  "We  all 
anathematize  Nestorius  and  his  followers,  and  his  ungodly 
faith  and  his  ungodly  doctrine,  etc." 

The  following  sentence  of  deposition  was  adopted  at  the 
close  of  the  first  session  which  lasted  till  late  in  the  night  : 
"  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  blasphemed  by  Nestorius, 
determines  through  this  Holy  Council  that  Nestorius  be 
excluded  from  the  episcopal  office,  and  from  all  sacerdotal 
fellowship." 

The  next  morning  the  sentence  of  deposition  was  brought 
to  Nestorius,  but  the  Imperial  Commissioner  declared  the 
decree  to  be  invalid  as  it  was  passed  by  only  a  portion  of 
the  Council. 

Four  days  after  the  Council,  on  the  26th  or  27th  of  June, 


104  THE  NEST0R1AN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

the  Patriarch  John  of  Antioch,  and  the  forty-two  Syrian 
bishops  who  sympathized  with  Nestorius  reached  Ephesus. 
The  famous  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia  was  a  conspicuous 
figure  among  them.  So  Nestorius  held  a  counter-council 
in  his  own  dwelling  under  the  protection  of  the  Imperial 
Commissioner,  and  finally  deposed  Cyril  of  Alexandria  and 
Memnon  of  Ephesus  from  all  priestly  functions  as  heretics 
and  authors  of  the  whole  disorder,  and  declared  the  other 
bishops  who  voted  with  them  to  be  excommunicated  unless 
they  should  anathematize  the  heretical  doctrines  and  pro- 
position of  Cyril. 

Then  followed  all  kinds  of  intrigues  and  Church  politics 
quite  unworthy  of  true  Christianity.  No  sadder  picture  of 
uncharitable  and  unspiritual  Christianity  was  ever  seen.  The 
most  cruel  heathen  Councils  could  not  hold  a  candle  to  this 
Church  Council  at  Ephesus  in  A.D.  431. 

After  long  delay,  the  Emperor,  to  whom  both  parties  had 
appealed  but  who  failed  to  understand  the  question  at  stake, 
finally  resolved  to  confirm  both  the  deposition  of  Nestorius 
and  that  of  Cyril  and  Memnon,  and  sent  John,  one  of  his 
highest  officers,  to  Ephesus  to  publish  the  Imperial 
sentence. 

The  deposed  bishops  were  arrested.  The  Alexandrian 
party  again  appealed  to  the  Emperor  to  release  Cyril  and 
Memnon.  The  Antiochians  did  the  same  and  did  everything 
possible  to  win  the  Emperor  to  their  side.  The  Emperor 
was  compelled  to  summon  eight  spokesmen  from  either 
party  to  his  presence  at  Chalcedon  to  discuss  the  matter 
before  him. 

Meanwhile  Cyril  and  Memnon  were  kept  in  prison  at 
Ephesus,  whilst  Nestorius  was  allowed  to  retire  to  his 
former  cloister  at  Antioch,  and  on  the  25th  of  October, 
431  A.D.,  Maximian  was  nominated  as  his  successor  in  the 
Patriarchate  in  Constantinople.  In  October,  431  A.D.,  the 
Council  of  Ephesus  was  dissolved  ;  Cyril  and  Memnon  were 


INTRODUCTION  105 


set  free  and  the  bishops  of  both  parties  ordered  to  return  to 
their  respective  sees. 

Two  years  later  a  compromise  was  effected  at  the 
expense  of  poor  Nestorius  himself.  That  is  to  say,  in  433 
A.D.,  after  much  consideration  on  both  sides  and  through  the 
Imperial  interference,  union  was  effected  on  the  express 
condition  of  his  condemnation  and  deposition.  The  leaven 
of  bribery  used  by  Cyril  and  his  party  had  done  its 
work. 

In  A.D.  435  laws  were  enacted  ordering  that  the  Nes- 
torians  should  be  called  "Simonians,"  instead  of  "  Chaldeans  " ; 
that  the  writings  of  Nestorius  should  be  burned,  etc. 

The  unhappy  Nestorius  was  dragged  from  his  former 
"convent,  the  Cloister  of  Euprepius  before  the  gates  of 
Antioch."  He  went  first  to  Arabia  and  then  to  Egypt,  and 
is  said  to  have  lived  until  439  A.D.,  but  no  one  knows  where 
and  when  he  died. 

The  famous  theological  school  of  Edessa,  which  was  the 
centre  of  the  Antiochian  theology  and  mission  work  and 
training  ground  of  the  Persian  clergy,  was  finally  dissolved 
by  the  Emperor  Zeno  in  489  A.D.  But  the  rigorous  measures 
of  the  Emperor  against  the  Nestorians  only  proved  in  the 
Divine  Providence  to  be  the  means  of  spreading  Christianity 
to  the  Farthest  East.  The  Theological  School  was  removed 
to  Nisibis  on  the  River  Tigris,  where  was  the  bridge  by 
which  the  caravans  crossed.  By  the  end  of  that  same  fifth 
century,  Nestorian  teachers  from  Syria  and  Babylonia  had 
crossed  the  border  into  Persia,  where  already  pre-Nestorian 
Christianity  was  pretty  strong. 

The  famous  Bar  Somas,  bishop  of  Nisibis  from  435  to  489 
A.D.,  did  much  to  spead  Nestorian  teaching  in  the  East — in 
Central  Asia,  and  then  in  China.  He  founded  a  new 
theological  school  at  Nisibis  and  confirmed  the  Persian 
Christians  in  the  Antiochian,  i.e.  Nestorian,  theology  against 
the   Cyrilian   Council   at   Ephesus.      The  Nestorians   were 


io6  fHE  XESTORIAX  MOXUMEXT  IX  CHIXA 


greatly  favoured  by  the  Persian  kings  from  Firuz  (461-480 
A.D.)  onward. 

This  might  have  been  mainly  due  to  the  Persian  antagonism 
to  Rome  and  Persian  political  hatred  of  the  Eastern  Empire. 

In  498  A.D.  at  the  Council  of  Seleucia  the  Nestorians 
organized  the  Chaldean  or  Assyrian  Church,  and  renounced 
all  connection  with  the  Church  of  the  Roman  Empire.  In 
their  liturgical  language,  they  styled  themselves  Chaldean 
or  Assyrian  Christians — "the  Children  of  the  East,"  but 
their  opponents  continued  to  call  them  "  Nestorians." 

They  had  their  own  Patriarch  who  dwelt  in  the  double 
city  of  Seleucia-Ctesiphon  from  the  year  496  A.D.  until  762 
A.D.  After  that  date  he  lived  in  Baghdad,  which  was  then 
the  capital  of  the  Saracenic  Empire. 

In  the  thirteenth  century  (1257  A.D.)  there  were  no  less 
than  twenty-five  metropolitan  bishops  under  a  Patriarch. 
Before  they  were  all  but  annihilated  by  Timur  in  1370  A.D., 
they  had  even  a  Patriarch  of  Uigur  birth  in  the  person  of 
Yabh-allaha  III.,  who  ruled  the  whole  Nestorian  Church 
between  1281-1317  A.D.  from  Baghdad. 

The  following  list  may   prove  useful   to   those  who  are 
interested  in  Church  history,  for,  although  hardly  mentioned 
in  English  ecclesiastical  literature,  the  names  of  the  Nestorian 
Patriarchs  are  historically  important.* 
1.  Accacius    .     .     .     496 — 499 


2.  Bah  ay 

3.  Silas 

4.  Narses 

5.  Elias 


499—502 
502 — 504 
504—510 
510—515 


*  According  to  the  Nestorian  Liturgy  the  following  twelve  names  seem  to 
occupy  the  period  of  68  years  between  428  A.D.,  in  which  Nestorius  was  made 
Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  and  496  A.D.,  in  which  Accacius  was  made 
Patriarch : — 

(1)  Papa.  (5)  Achad  Abhay.  (9)  Isaac. 

(2)  Abhris.  (6)  Tumarka.  (10)  Achi. 

(3)  Abraham.  (7)  Shakhlupha.  (11)  Yabh-allaha  I. 

(4)  James.  (8)  Kayuma.  (12)  Dad-ishu. 


INTRODUCTION                                          107 

6.  Paul.     .     .    . 

.    515 — 535 

7.  Mar  Abha  I.  . 

.    536—552 

8.  Joseph  .     .     . 

552—567 

9.  Ezekiel       .     . 

.     569—580 

10.  Isho-yabh  I.  . 

581—595 

11.  Sabhr-Isho     .    . 

595—604 

12.  Gregory     .    . 

i    605—607 

(During  the  desp 

otic  rule  of  King  Khasure,  there  was  no 

Patriarch  for  about  twenty  years.) 

13.  Isho-yabh  II.     . 

628—644 

(The  first  Nestorian  mis- 
sion reached  China  in 
635  A.D.) 

14.  Mar  Emmih  .     . 

644—647 

15.  Isho-yabh  III.    . 

648—660 

16.  George  .... 

661—680 

17.  John  Mar  Math. 

681—682 

18.  John      .... 

683—685 

19.  Hanan-isho  I.     . 

686—701 

20.  Selibha-zeka  .     . 

703—730 

21.  Python       .    .     . 

731—740 

22.  Abha    .... 

741-750 

23.  Jacob    .... 

754—773 

(The  throne  of  the  Patriarch 
was  moved  to  Baghdad 
under  this  Jacob  in  762 
A.D.) 

24.  Hanan-isho  II.  . 

774—780 

(This  name  was  written  on 
the  Nestorian  Stone  as 
the  reigning  Patriarch.) 

25.  Timothy  I.     .     . 

780    (or  781,  May)— 824  (or  825). 

26.  Isho  Bar  Non     . 

824  (825)- 

-827 

27.  George  II.      .     . 

827—832 

28.  Sabhr-isho     .     . 

832—836 

29.  Mar  Abraham    . 

837—850 

30.  Theodosius    .     . 

852—860 

31.  Sergius  .... 

860—872 

32.  Enos      .... 

872—880 

io8 


THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


33.  John      .... 

880—890  (?) 

34.  John      .... 

890—900  (?) 

35.  John  Bar  Highir 

900 — 905 

36.  Abraham  .     .     . 

905—937 

37.  Immanuel.    .    . 

937—945 

38.  Israel    .     .     .     , 

945—963 

39.  Abhd-isho     .    . 

963-987 

40.  Mari-bar-Tobe   . 

987—1001 

41.  John      .    .     .     . 

1001 — 1017 

42.  Isho-yabh.     .     . 

1020 — 1025 

43.  Elijah  I.    .     .     . 

1028  (?>— 1049 

44.  John      .     .     .     . 

1049 — I055 

45.  Sabhr-isho     .     . 

1055— 1079 

46.  Abhd-isho      .     . 

1079— 1095 

47.  Makhikha  I.  .     . 

1095 — 1 127 

48.  Elijah  II.  .     .     . 

1 128 — 1 140 

49.  Bar  Soma  .     .    . 

1 140— 1 163 

50.  Abhd-isho.     .     . 

1163— 1165  (?) 

51.  Isho-yabh .     .     . 

1 165  (?)— 1 175 

52.  Elijah  III..     .     . 

1 176— 1 190 

53.  Yabh-allaha  II.  . 

1190 — 1222 

54.  Sabhr-isho  IV.   . 

1222 — 1226 

55.  Sabhr-isho  V. 

1226 — 1256 

56.  Makhikha  II. 

1257 — 1265  (The  Abbasside  Khaliph- 

ate  ended  in  1258  A.D.) 

57.  Dench   .    .     . 

.   1265 — 1281  (Marco  Polo  came  to  China, 

May,  1275.) 

58.  Yabh-allaha  III. 

1281 — 1317 

59.  Timothy  II.  . 

.  1318— 1328 

60.  Dench  II.  .     . 

.  1328— 1349 

61.  Elijah  IV.  .     . 

.  1349— 1369 

62.  Simon   .     .    . 

.  1369— 1380  (This  Patriarch  fell  a  victim 

to  the  arms  of  Tamerlane 

before    he     vanquished 

Sultan  Bajazet  in  1402 

A.D.) 

■ 


INTRODUCTION  109 

When  Baghdad  was  taken  in  A.D.  1258  by  Hulaku  Khan, 
grandson  of  Genghis  Khan,  the  Nestorian  Patriarch  Makhikha 
II.  was  the  object  of  the  conqueror's  protecting  care  whilst 
the  last  of  the  Khaliphs,  Mostasin,  was  dragged  through  the 
streets  and  put  to  death. 

Through  the  influence  of  the  Christian  Tartar  princes, 
the  Nestorian  mission  made  great  progress,  and  in  1281  A.D. 
Yabh-allaha,  a  Uigur  tribesman,  was  actually  elected  Patriarch 
of  the  whole  Assyrian  Church. 

But  with  the  rise  of  Timur  (Tamerlane)  in  1358  (his  birth 
was  in  1336),  the  Nestorians  were  doomed.  From  1369 
A.D.,  when  Timur  was  enthroned  at  Samarkand,  till  his  death 
in  A.D.  1405  the  Nestorians  were  cruelly  persecuted  and 
almost  annihilated,  the  majority  being  forced  to  accept 
Islam. 

But  some  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  Nestorian  communion 
subject  to  the  Patriarch  at  Baghdad  in  the  end  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  may  be  formed  from  the  annexed  list 
of  their  Metropolitan  Sees,  each  having  charge  of  several 
bishoprics : 

1.  Elamites,  whose  Metropolitan  resided  at  Jandishapur 
or  Soba  in  Mesopotamia  (Khuzistan). 

2.  Nisibis. 

3.  Perath-Mesene  (Bassorah). 

4.  Assyria  and  Adiabene  (Mosul  and  Arbela). 

5.  Beth  Garma  or  Beth  Seleucia  and  Carcha  in  Assyria. 

6.  Halavan    or    Halaha  (Zohal)    on    the    confines    of 
Media. 

7.  Persia  (Urumiah,^Salmasa  and  Van). 

8.  Marw,  i.e.  Merv  (Khorasan)  (Sarakh). 

9.  Hara  (Heliumites,  i.e.  Herat). 

10.  Razichitis  (Arabia  and  Cortoba). 

11.  Sinae  (i.e.  China). 

12.  India. 

13.  Armenia. 


no  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


14.  Syria  or  Damascus. 

15.  Adherbijan  (Bards  or  Aderbejan). 

16.  Rai  and  Tabaristan  (Rai  near  Teheran  on  the  Caspian 
Sea). 

17.  Dailam  (south  of  the  Caspian  or  Hyrcanian  Sea). 

18.  Samarkand  and  Maravalnabar. 

19.  Kashgar  and  Turkistan. 

20.  Balkh  and  Tacharistan. 

21.  Segastan  (Seistan). 

22.  Hamadan. 

23.  Khambling  (Peking). 

24.  Tanchet  (Tangut),  N.W.  of  China,  a  country  called 
"  Great  Tartary  "  and  sometimes  "  Little  Bokhara." 

25.  Chasern  Garah  and  Nuachet. 

The  Metropolitan  of  China  was  an  old  institution. 
Already  Arnobius  wrote,  about  A.D.  300  :  "  Enumerari  enim 
possunt,  atque  in  usum  computationis  veniri,  ea  quae  in  India 
gesta  sunt,  apud  Seres,  Persas  et  Medos  "  ;  and  if  this  hardly 
amounts  to  reckoning  the  Seres  (i.e.  Chinese)  as  Christians  we 
read  in  the  Chaldean  breviary  of  the  Malabar  Church,  in  the 
Office  of  St.  Thomas :  "  By  St.  Thomas  hath  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven  taken  unto  itself  wings  and  passed  even  unto 
the  Chinese  (cf.  Yule's  "  Cathay  and  the  Way  Thither,"  p. 
lxxxix.,  vol.  I.) ;  whilst  we  read  in  Assemani  as  quoted  by 
Sir  Henry  Yule:  "The  Hindus  and  the  Chinese  and  the 
Persians,  and  all  the  people  of  Isles  of  the  Sea,  and  they 
who  dwell  in  Syria  and  Armenia,  in  Javan  and  Rou- 
mania  call  Thomas  to  remembrance  and  adore  Thy  Name, 
O  Thou  our  Redeemer "  ;  and  again  a  Metropolitan  was 
consecrated  for  China  in  A.D.  411,  by  Isaac,  Patriarch  of 
Seleucia. 

In  "The  Book  of  Governors"  we  read:  "Mar  Eliya, 
whose  history  we  are  about  to  write,  was  elected  Bishop  of 
Mukan,  David  was  elected  to  be  Metropolitan  of  Beth  Sinaye 
(i.e.  China)— now  I  have  learned  concerning  this  man  from 


INTRODUCTION  m 


the  Epistles  of  Mar  Timothy  (781-825  A.D.) — together  with 
Peter  his  disciple,  who  was  alive  and  held  the  office  of  Bishop 
of  the  country  of  Yaman  and  San'a  when  I  was  secretary  to 
Mar  Abraham  (837-850)." 

Mar  Timothy  was  Patriarch  between  781  and  825  A.D.,  so 
this  David  who  was  Metropolitan  of  China  must  have 
been  the  contemporary  of  Adam,  who  composed  our  Nestorian 
Inscription,  and,  if  he  went  to  China  in  the  beginning  of  the 
ninth  century,  he  may  have  seen  this  very  monument.  It 
is  our  conjecture  that  this  David  may  have  succeeded  Adam, 
if  Adam  was  the  Metropolitan  of  China. 

What  different  opinions  were  held  by  the  leaders  of 
Character-  religious  thought  about  Nestorius  himself  may 
Nestorianism.  be  seen  from  the  following  variety  of  views. 

For  his  sad  fate  and  his  upright  character,  Nestorius  and 
his  long-condemned  doctrine  found  much  sympathy,  whilst 
his  antagonist  Cyril  was  censured  for  his  violent  and  most 
un-Christian  conduct. 

Giesler,  Neander,  and  Bethune-Baker  champion  Nestorius 
against  Cyril  and  consider  that  he  was  unjustly  condemned. 
Among  English  writers,  Dean  Milman  expressed  his  sympathy 
when  he  said:  "I  would  rather  meet  the  judgment  of  the 
Divine  Redeemer  loaded  with  the  errors  of  Nestorius  than 
with  the  barbarities  of  Cyril "  ("  History  of  Latin  Christi- 
anity," Vol.  I.,  p.  210).  Monsignor  Duchesne,  the  greatest 
iiving  Church  historian  (whose  writings  were  lately  con- 
demned at  Rome  as  "  too  historical "),  after  describing 
Cyril's  abominable  conduct  and  how  Jow  he  stooped  in  using 
bribery  and  other  similar  mean  tricks,  concludes  with 
pointing  out  the  illegality  of  the  Council  of  Ephesus  and 
saying  : 

u  Papal  legates  were  also  absent,  being  still  en  route,  and 
the  news  of  St.  Augustine's  death  (whose  presence  had  been 
especially  convened)  had  not  yet  reached  Ephesus  ;  whilst, 
owing  to  the  conditions  in  Africa,  the  Bishop  of  Carthage 


112  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

could  not  attend.  Therefore,  the  Emperor  himself  pro- 
nounced the  Council's  decision  to  be  illegal."  (Translated 
from  Duchesne's  "  Histoire  de  l'ancienne  Eglise,"  tome  3,  ch. 
10,  "Trag£die  de  Nestorius,"  published  191 1,  Paris.) 

On  the  other  hand,  some  authorities  vindicate  Cyril 
against  Nestorius  in  regard  to  the  special  problem  which 
divided  the  Church  of  Christ  in  the  fifth  century,  that  is  to 
say,  the  question  of  the  Unity  of  Christ  rather  than  His 
twofold  Nature.  We  have  already  said  that  whilst  the 
Alexandrian  Patriarch  laid  stress  on  the  mystical  and 
speculative  side  of  Christology,  the  Patriarch  of  Antioch 
emphasized  its  ethical  and  practical  side. 

But,  however  erroneous  some  of  their  theology  might  be,  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  the  Nestorians  did  excellent  service  in 
enlightening  the  darkness  of  Central  Asia  from  the  sixth  to 
the  fourteenth  century  when,  through  maritime  discoveries,  the 
Light  began  to  reach  the  Eastern  part  of  Asia  by  the  sea-routes. 

The  more  we  study  the  characteristics  of  the  Assyrian 
Church,  the  more  we  sympathize  with  her  and  feel  how  pitiful 
it  was  that  the  Council  of  Ephesus  in  431  A.D.  could  not  have 
been  controlled,  and  such  conduct  as  Cyril's  (which  was  the 
reverse  of  Christian  morality)  suppressed. 

Whether  the  Nestorian  missionaries  were  heterodox  or 
orthodox,  it  is  certain  that  their  ethical  and  practical 
theology  and  their  medical  knowledge  were  the  true  sources 
of  their  success  in  China. 

The  following  points  characterize  their  Teachings,  which, 
with  the  exception  of  the  first,  no  enlightened  Christians  of 
the  twentieth  century  would  condemn  as  heterodox  ! 

(1)  They  repudiate  the  worship  of  Mary  as  "  the  Mother 

of  God  "  ;  this  is  the  first  point  on  which  they  differ  from  the 

Greek  and  Roman  Catholic  Churches.* 

*  Far  be  it  from  the  author  to  try  to  elucidate  the  Nestorian  heresy.  All  he 
wants  to  express  is  the  points  on  which  the  heresy  differs  from  the  Western 
Church.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  term  "  Theotokos"  is  not  to  be  objected 
to  at  all  if  properly  understood  (see  p.  99,  sufra). 


INTROD  UCTION  1 1 3 


(2)  They  repudiate  the  use  of  images  in  general,  although 
they  retain  the  Sign  of  the  Cross  ;  this  is  the  second  point 
of  divergence  between  them  and  the  Greek  and  Roman 
Churches.  But  this  point  cannot  be  insisted  upon  because 
the  Nestorians  used  images  {i.e.  pictures)  in  635  A.D.,  when 
they  came  to  China  with  A-lo-pen.  The  Inscription  says  that 
they  "brought  Scriptures  and  images." 

(3)  They  are  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  Purgatory,  but 
they  pray  for  the  dead  and  emphasize  an  idea  of  Ancestor- 
worship,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  Diptychs  on  which  are 
written,  the  names  of  the  departed.  The  Inscription  says : 
"  Seven  times  a  day  they  perform  worship  and  praise  God  and 
pray  for  the  great  protection  of  the  living  and  for  the  dead." 
The  daily  services  in  the  Church  were  seven  in  number,  and 
the  monks  were  careful  to  imitate  the  Psalmist,  who  said  : 

"  Seven  times  a  day  do  I  praise  Thee, 
Because  of  Thy  righteous  judgments  "  (Psalm  cxix.  164). 

(4)  Although  opposed  to  the  theory  of  Transubstantiation, 
they  hold  the  Real  Presence  of  Christ  in  the  Eucharist. 

(5)  The  Nestorian  with  the  rest  of  the  Catholic  Church 
has  always  been  episcopal.  They  have  eight  orders  of  clergy, 
which,  according  to  the  Nomo-canon  of  Abdh-isho,  arch- 
deacon (1318  A.D.),  are  as  follows  : 

{(1)  Catholicos  or  Patriarch. 
(2)  Metropolitan. 
(3)  Bishop. 

II.ThePresbyteratej^^f6''- 

( (5)  Archdeacon. 

r(6)  Deacon. 

III.  The  Diaconate     U7)  Sub-deacon. 

1(8)  Reader. 

(6)  In  the  five  lower  orders — viz.,  priest,  archdeacon, 
deacon,   sub-deacon,  and  reader — they   may   marry,  and    in 


114  THE  NESTOR  IAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

former  times  Bishops,  Metropolitans  and  Patriarchs  were 
allowed  to  marry.  This  was  mainly  due  to  their  association 
with  the  Zoroastrians  in  Persia.  The  fact  that  the  country 
bishops  and  priests  had  lawful  wives  is  shewn  in  the  following 
sentences  on  the  stone  : 

"  Adam,  deacon,  the  son  of  the  chorepiscopos  Yesbuzid," 
or  "  Mar  Yesbuzid,  chorepiscopos,  the  son  of  the  late  priest 
Milis." 

We  are  surprised  to  find  no  mention  of  their  married  life 
in  Hsi-an-fu  by  the  contemporary  Buddhist  or  Confucianist 
writers,  who  must  have  considered  it  strange  that  some  of 
the  Nestorian  priests  should  be  married. 

The  Western  Church  borrowed  Monasticism  from  the 
Orientals.  Celibacy  originated  in  Egypt,  and  consequently 
it  must  have  influenced  the  Alexandrian  school  first.  It  was 
further  encouraged  by  the  pessimistic  views  of  the  Buddhists 
in  India  and  in  the  plains  of  Mesopotamia,  where  Christianity 
very  early  came  into  contact  with  Buddhism. 

But  when  the  Nestorians  reached  Persia  they  could  not 
escape  the  influence  of  the  Zoroastrians,  to  whom  the  possi- 
bility of  celibacy  was  inconceivable  ! 

(7)  The  Nestorian  fasts  are  numerous  and  strict.  "  They 
fast  to  subdue  desire,  and  to  become  perfect."  The  seasons 
for  these  fasts  are  : 

1.  Lent. 

2.  The  fast  of  the  Apostles :  from  the  first  Monday  after 
Pentecost,  till  the  first  of  "the  Sundays"  of  Summer. 

3.  The  fast  of  the  Migration  of  the  Virgin  (in  the  month 
of  August). 

4.  The  fast  of  Elijah. 

5.  The  fast  of  the  Annunciation. 

6.  The  fast  of  the  Ninevites. 

7.  The  fast  of  the  Virgin. 

(8)  They  are  vegetarians :  the  Patriarch  eats  no  meat. 
This  looks  like  a  Buddhist  influence  ;  but  we  are  told  by 


INTRODUCTION  115 


Clement  of  Alexandria  that  St.  Matthew,  the  Evangelist,  was 
also  a  vegetarian,  and  so  were  all  the  great  monks  of  the  West. 

(9)  The  Patriarch  was  chosen  from  the  same  family  after 
1557  A.D.,  but  there  was  no  such  custom  before  the  end  of 
the  sixteenth  century.  He  was  ordained  by  the  Patriarch 
in  Antioch  as  Bishop  of  Seleucia  (the  then  Metropolitan),  but 
after  the  sixteenth  century  he  was  consecrated  by  three 
Metropolitans. 

(10)  Most  of  the  ecclesiastical  books  are  written  in  the 
Syriac  language,  but  they  do  not  prohibit  the  use  of  the  verna- 
cular or  that  of  Greek  and  Latin.  Before  the  Italians  took 
possession  of  North  Africa  the  language  of  the  Christian 
Church  was  Latin.  After  that  date,  the  Latin  Church  in 
Europe  and  the  whole  West  used  Latin  exclusively,  whilst 
the  Greek  Church  enforced  the  Greek  language.  The  fact 
that  the  Nestorians  in  China  used  the  Liturgy  in  the  Chinese 
vernacular  may  now  be  inferred  from  the  fragment  discovered 
by  Prof.  Pelliot  in  1908  (see  the  "Nestorian  Baptismal 
Hymn,"  p.  66,  supra). 

However  "  heterodox  "  or  "  heretical  "  the  Nestorians  may 

have  been,  it  is  certain  that  they  were  the  first 

torians  as  the  to  introduce  Greek  culture  and  Roman  civiliza- 

oVwcstcrn8      tion   into  the  East   beyond   the  Roman  Orient, 
civilization      What  Alexander  von  Humboldt  says  in  his  book 

"Cosmos"  (Vol.  II.,  pp.  57S-580),  may  well  be 
quoted  here  to  illustrate  what  the  Nestorians  accomplished  : 

"  In  the  more  highly-gifted  race  of  the  Arabs,  natural 
adaptability  or  mental  cultivation,  the  geographical  relations 
we  have  already  indicated,  and  ancient  commercial  inter- 
course of  the  littoral  districts  with  the  highly  civilized  neigh- 
bouring states,  all  combine  to  explain  how  the  irruption  into 
Syria  and  Persia,  and  the  subsequent  possession  of  Egypt, 
were  so  speedily  able  to  awaken  in  the  conquerors  a  love 
for  science  and  a  tendency  to  the  pursuit  of  independent 
observation. 


1 6  THE  NESTOR  IAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


"  It  was  ordained  in  the  wonderful  Decrees  by  which  the 
course  of  events  is  regulated,  that  the  Christian  sect  of 
Nestorians  which  exercised  a  very  marked  influence  on  the 
geographical  diffusion  of  knowledge,  should  prove  of  use  to 
the  Arabs  even  before  they  advanced  to  the  erudite  and 
contentious  city  of  Alexandria,  and  that,  protected  by  the 
armed  followers  of  the  Creed  of  Islam,  these  Nestorian  doctrines 
of  Christianity  were  enabled  to  penetrate  far  into  Eastern 
Asia.  The  Arabs  were  first  made  acquainted  with  Greek 
literature  through  the  Syrians,  a  kindred  Semitic  race,  who 
had  themselves  acquired  a  knowledge  of  it  only  about  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years  earlier  through  the  heretical 
Nestorians.  Physicians,  who  had  been  educated  in  the 
scholastic  establishments  of  the  Greeks,  and  in  the  celebrated 
school  of  medicine  founded  by  the  Nestorian  Christians  at 
Edessa  in  Mesopotamia,  were  settled  at  Mecca  as  early  as 
Mohammed's  time,  and  there  lived  on  a  footing  of  friendly 
intercourse  with  the  Prophet  and  Abu-Becker. 

"  The  school  of  Edessa,  a  prototype  of  the  Benedictine 
schools  of  Monte  Cassino  and  Salerno,  gave  the  first  impulse 
to  a  scientific  investigation  of  remedial  agents  yielded  from 
the  mineral  and  vegetable  kingdoms.  When  these  establish- 
ments were  dissolved  by  Christian  fanaticism,  under  Zeno 
the  Isaurian,  the  Nestorians  were  scattered  over  Persia, 
wtiere  they  soon  attained  to  political  importance,  and  founded 
at  Dschondisapur,  in  Khurdistan,  a  medical  school,  which 
was  afterwards  much  frequented.  They  succeeded  towards 
the  middle  of  the  seventh  century,  in  extending  their  know- 
ledge and  their  doctrines  as  far  as  China,  under  the  T'ang 
Dynasty — 572  years  after  Buddhism  had  penetrated  thither 
from  India  in  67  A.D. 

"The  seed  of  Western  civilization,  which  had  been 
scattered  over  Persia  by  learned  monks  and  by  the  philo- 
sophers of  the  Neo-Platonist  school  at  Athens  persecuted 
by  Justinian,   had   exercised   a  beneficial   influence   on   the 


I  NT  ROD  UCTION  1 1 7 


Arabs  during  their  first  Asiatic  campaigns.  However  faint 
the  sparks  of  knowledge  diffused  by  the  Nestorian  monks 
might  have  been,  their  peculiar  tendency  to  the  investi- 
gation of  medical  pharmacy,  could  not  fail  to  influence 
a  race  which  had  so  long  lived  in  the  enjoyment  of  a 
free  communion  with  nature,  and  which  preserved  a 
more  vivid  feeling  for  every  kind  of  natural  investigation, 
than  the  Greek  and  Italian  inhabitants  of  cities.  The 
cosmical  importance  attached  to  the  age  of  the  Arabs 
depends,  in  a  great  measure,  on  the  national  characteristics, 
which  we  are  considering  here.  The  Arabs,  I  would  again 
remark,  are  to  be  regarded  as  the  actual  founders  of 
physical  science  considered  in  the  sense  which  we  now 
apply  to  the  words. 

"  It  is,  no  doubt,  extremely  difficult  to  associate  any 
absolute  beginning  with  any  definite  epoch  of  time  in  the 
mental  history  of  the  world,  and  of  the  intimately  connected 
elements  of  Thought. 

"  Individual  luminous  points  of  knowledge,  and  the  pro- 
cesses by  which  knowledge  was  gradually  attained,  may  be 
traced,  scattered  though  they  are  through  very  early  periods 
of  time.  How  great  is  the  gulf  that  separated  Dioscorides, 
who  distilled  mercury  from  cinnabar,  from  the  Arabian 
chemist,  Dsiheber;  how  widely  is  Ptolemy,  as  an  optician, 
removed  from  Alhazen  ;  but  we  must,  nevertheless,  date  the 
foundation  of  the  physical  and  even  natural  sciences,  from 
the  point  where  new  paths  were  first  struck  out  by  many 
different  investigations,  although  with  unequal  success." 

These  words  from  Humboldt,  the  great  German  scholar 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  suffice  to  explain  indirectly  the 
existence  of  Greek  or  Byzantine  elements  in  Chinese 
civilization. 

The  Nestorians  who  struggled  for  ten  centuries  (i.e.  from 
the  end  of  the  fifth  to  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century) 
in  diffusing  Graeco-Roman  civilization  and  propagating  their 


u8  THE   NESTOR  I  AX  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


own  Faith,  succeeded  in  scattering  the  seeds  of  what,  in  the 
strictest  sense,  we  may  call  "  Western  civilization,"  in  Central 
Asia  and  the  Far  East.  They  had  no  small  share  in  the  creation 
of  that  Golden  Age  of  China  which  during  the  seventh,  eighth 
and  ninth  centuries  most  influenced  Japan,  and  indirectly 
though  it  be,  we  are  indebted  to  the  Nestorians  for  some  of 
the  Western  influences  received  about  a  thousand  years  ago. 

We  have  now  reached  the  most  difficult  part  of  our  study. 
The  relation-  Much  has  been  written  about  the  possible  relation- 
torfanisnTto  ship  between  Northern  Buddhism  and  Christianity. 
Buddhism.  But  as  our  purpose  is  the  study  of  the  Nestorian 
Monument  in  China,  we  shall  not  enter  the  jungle  of  this 
great  discussion. 

How  far  the  Nestorians  in  China  influenced  Chinese 
Buddhism,  or  vice  versd,  is  the  question  which  concerns  us. 

Of  course,  to  answer  this  we  are  obliged  to  speak  of  the 
possible  relationship  of  the  two  creeds  in  Central  Asia,  or  in 
North-West  India  before  either  of  them  came  to  China, 
but  for  this  and  other  related  matters  we  must  refer  our 
readers  to  the  valuable  works  by  Dr.  Timothy  Richard  of 
Shanghai,  Dr.  M.  Anesaki,  professor  of  Comparative  Religion 
in  the  Imperial  University  of  Tokyo,  the  late  Rev.  Arthur 
Lloyd,  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Gordon,  Dr.  M.  Matsumoto,  professor 
of  Philosophy  in  the  Imperial  University  of  Kyoto,  and 
others. 

Still  a  slight  sketch  of  Buddhism  may  not  be  unhelpful. 

To  begin  with,  Buddhism  is  professed  by  450  millions  of 
people  in  Ceylon,  Siam,  Burma,  Nepal,  Tibet,  China,  Korea, 
and  Japan. 

The  Buddhism  embraced  by  the  three  former  countries 
is  generally  known  as  "  Southern  Buddhism,"  whilst  that 
professed  by  the  three  latter  is  called  u  Northern  Buddhism." 

This  appellation  is  based  on  the  distinctive  differences 
between  the  two  great  divisions  of  Indian  Buddhism,  which 
originated  from  the  philosophical  and  ethical    teachings   of 


H 


INTRODUCTION  119 


Siddhartha  Gautama,  the  eldest  son  of  Suddhodana,  who 
was  King  of  KapilavasU  and  Chief  of  the  Sakyas,  an  Aryan 
clan,  during  the  fifth  century  B.C.,  on  the  banks  of  Kohana, 
about  100  miles  north  of  Benares  and  50  miles  south  of  the 
foot  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains. 

Even  China  and  Japan  possess  over  5600  volumes  of  the 
Buddhist  scriptures  translated  into  Chinese,  and  in  the  old 
Korean  temples  there  are  innumerable  sutras  which  are 
absolutely  unknown  in  Japan,  and  which  the  present  Governor- 
general,  Count  Terauchi,  is  doing  his  best  to  preserve  by 
having  them  copied  and  photographed  by  experts. 

Ever  since  its  introduction  into  Japan  in  the  sixth  century 
(552  A.D.  or  522  A.D.),  the  Mahayana  or  Northern  Buddhism 
has  been  divided  into  many  branches,  besides  many  more 
sects  and  several  minor  sects  and  divisions  in  each  branch,  so 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  compare  Buddhism  as  a  whole 
with  Christianity,  both  having  been  divided  into  so  many 
sects  and  sub-sects. 

Even  to  compare  any  of  the  Buddhist  writings  with  those 
of  Christianity  is  not  at  all  an  easy  matter.  The  innumerable 
legions  of  Christian  writings  are  overpowered  by  the  still 
more  numerous  army  of  the  Buddhist  writings ! 

It  is  rather  dangerous  to  say  "such  and  such  works  of 
Buddhism  resemble  such  and  such  works  of  Christian 
writers,"  unless  we  first  get  a  clear  idea  of  the  dates,  author- 
ship, and  place  of  both  the  writings  which  we  propose  to 
compare. 

We  must  first  classify  them  according  to  their  chrono- 
logical order  and  then  separate  all  that  belongs  to  the 
Hinayana,  the  old  "  Small  Vehicle,"  of  original  or  Southern 
Buddhism,  as  that  is  greatly  different  from  the  Mahayana, 
the  New  or  Higher  Buddhism  of  the  north,  which,  like 
Christianity — the  Neo-Judaism — teaches  the  doctrine  of 
Salvation  through  faith  in  a  personal  Saviour.  In  other 
words,     the     Hinayana,    which     is     commonly    known     as 

1 


120  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


"Southern  or  Self-salvation-Buddhism,"  differs  very  much 
from  Mahayana,  the  "  Northern,  or  Salvation-through-Faith- 
Buddhism." 

Hinayana  (literally  "the  Small  Conveyance,"  i.e.  the 
simplest  method  of  salvation),  is  the  primitive  form  of 
Buddhist  dogma,  being  the  first  stage  of  the  three  phases 
of  development  through  which  the  Buddhist  System  passed, 
viz.  Hinayana,  Mahayana  and  Madhyimayana  (the  Middle 
Conveyance). 

The  characteristics  of  the  Hinayana  school  are  the  pre- 
ponderance of  active  moral  asceticism  and  the  absence  of 
metaphysical   speculation   and   mysticism.     What   they  call 
their  Goal  of  Salvation,  Nimokcha  (literally,  "  the  liberation 
or  conception  of  liberty")  is  attained  through  observing  the 
strictest  and  most  rigid  rules— 250  of  which  are  recorded 
in   the  Prati-mokcha-sutra.     In   other  words,  they  strive  to 
attain  "  Arhatship  by  living  the  most  strictly  ascetic  life  like 
Gautama  Buddha's  personal  disciples,  or  the  Hermits  who 
are  striving  to  attain  to  Buddhaship  or  Enlightenment." 

This  Hinayana  school  has  little  in  common  with  Christi- 
anity—although some  Christian  writers  borrowed  certain 
materials  from  Indian  sources  as  is  shown  by  Albert  J. 
Edmunds  in  his  book,  "  Buddhist  and  Christian  Gospels." 
This  point  is  readily  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  Hinayana 
which  preceded  the  rise  of  Christianity  by  some  five  centuries, 
relies  on  self-negation  and  strict  asceticism,  whilst  Christi- 
anity teaches  salvation  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  whc 
is  "  the  Son  of  man  that  came  eating  and  drinking  "—salvation 
without  merit,  but  by  faith  alone. 

Now  Mahayana,  "  the  Great  Chariot,  or  Ship  of  Salvation," 
is  the  school  founded  by  Ashvaghosha  and  Nagardjuna, 
which  flourished  chiefly  in  Gandara,  but  which  afterwards 
influenced  more  or  less  the  whole  Buddhist  Church  in  Upper 

Asia. 

"The    characteristics   of  this   school   are   an   excess    of 


INTRODUCTION  121 


transcendental  speculation  tending  to  abstract  nihilism  and 
the  substitution  of  fanciful  degrees  of  meditation  for  the 
practical  asceticism  of  the  Hinayana  school." 

Because  this,  the  latest  form  of  Buddhism,  developed 
in  North-West  India  and  spread  northwards  to  Central  Asia 
and  beyond,  it  is  called  "  Northern  Buddhism." 

It  teaches  that  "Nirvana"  is  simply  Exemption  from 
Transmigration— the  state  of  soul  freed  from  either  life  or 
death  and  yet  not  far  from  either ;  that  both  the  pains  and 
sorrows  of  this  life  are  things  that  lead  us  gradually  to 
Bodhisattva  itself— only  a  step  from  human  life  to  Buddha- 
hood  !  The  cares  of  this  life  are  nothing  but  the  Voice  from 
on  High  bidding  us  u  Children  !  come  home  "  ;  that  absolute 
is  relative  and  relative  is  absolute  ;  that  things  are  not  what 
they  seem;  that  equality  is  inequality  and  inequality  is 
equality ;  therefore,  those  who  hold  the  Mahayana  view  of 
life  will  not  be  discouraged  by  the  difference  and  inequality 
of  the  present,  actual  world,  and  thus  they  develop  insight 
into  Life's  mysteries  and  attain  "Enlightened  Knowledge" 
in  order  to  attain  to  absolutely  complete  morality  and 
purity. 

The  1 2th  Buddhist  Patriarch,  Ashvagosha,  a  native  of 
Benares,  who  converted  King  Kanishka,  was  formerly  said 
to  have  lived  405  B.C.,  but  modern  scholars  have  proved  the 
date  to  be  in  the  first  century  a.d.  (his  death  having  occurred 
about  the  year  A.D.  100).  Nagardjuna,  a  native  of  Western 
India,  became  the  fourteenth  Buddhist  Patriarch,  and  together 
with  Ashvagosha  is  acknowledged  to  be  the  Founder  of  the 
Mahayana  School.  Nagardjuna  was  the  first  teacher  of  the 
Amitabha  Doctrine,  but  is  said  to  have  founded  the  Mad- 
hyamika  School,  a  System  of  sophistic  nihilism,  which 
dissolves  every  proposition  into  a  thesis  and  its  antithesis 
and  denies  both. 

As  to   the  meaning  of  the  Amitabha  doctrine   and  its 
history  and  position  in  Japanese  Buddhism,  though  much  has 


122  THE  NEST0R1AN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

been  lately  discovered  by  far-sighted  writers,  foreign  and 
native,  much  still  remains  to  be  studfed. 

The  Sanskrit  word  "Amitabha"  means  boundless  or 
immeasurable  Light  or  Life,  and  is  rendered  in  the  Chinese 
text, "  Infinite  Light,"  or  "  Immeasurable  Life,"  or  "  Sovereign 
Teacher  of  the  Western  Heaven,"  or  "  Guide  to  the  West," 
and  sometimes  as  "Great  Mercy  and  Great  Sympathy,"  or 
"  Embodiment  of  the  Realm  of  Law." 

Originally,  Amitabha  was  thought  of  as  impersonal,  and 
the  ideal  of  Infinite  Light ;  but  gradually  this  abstract  ideal 
became  materialized  and  after  being  amalgamated  with  Sun- 
worship  in  the  cold  regions  of  the  north  began  to  be  a 
Personal  expression  of  the  First  Cause \  Amitabha  in  short 
became  a  person. 

This  doctrine  reached  Lo-yang  on  the  Yellow  River,  the 
then  capital  of  China,  from  Tokhara  in  Central  Asia  in  A.D. 
147.  The  first  Amitabha  Sutra  is  said  to  have  been  translated 
by  An-shih-kao  (t£  }£  jtj),  the  heir  to  the  Throne  of 
Parthia,  who  became  a  monk  in  order  that  he  might  preach 
the  Mahayana  Gospel,  and  begged  his  way  to  Lo-yang. 

This  An-shih-kao  was  no  less  a  personage  than  Prince 
Arsakes  of  the  Arsacidae  (see  p.  45,  supra).  But  unfortu- 
nately his  translation  was  already  lost  when  the  well-known 
catalogue  of  Buddhist  works  translated  into  Chinese  called 

K'ai-yuan-mu-lu  (^  7C  @  £§c)  was  comP^e^  m  73°  A»D- 

Owing  to  the  lack  of  authentic  information  as  to  its 
origin,  and  to  the  fact  that  Southern  Buddhism  (i.e.  Hinayana) 
knows  nothing  of  Amitabha,  and  that  there  are  no  traces 
whatever  of  the  Vedic  origin  of  the  latter,  many  theories 
have  been  started  and  all  sorts  of  conjectures  hazarded, 
which  have  made  the  subject  all  the  more  intricate  to 
study. 

Moreover,  the  Buddhist  traditions  were  so  confused  about 
the  original  form  of  Amitabha  that  almost  any  theory 
became  possible. 


INTRO D  UCTION  1 23 


One  tradition  describes  Amitabha  as  an  incarnation  of 
the  Ninth  Son  of  Mahabidjna  Djnanabhibhu  (which  means 
literally  "Conqueror  of  All-pervading  Wisdom")  who  by 
means  of  meditation  had  sixteen  sons.  Another  legend  says 
that  Amitabha  was  the  second  son  of  a  Chakravarti  of  the 
Lunar  race. 

These  ideas  are  all  fabulous,  but  there  is  one  theory 
which  sounds  more  reasonable  than  the  rest.  It  is  that 
Amitabha,  converted  by  a  Buddha  called  Sahesvaradja 
(Free-existing-king),  embraced  the  religious  life  and,  having 
taken  certain  vows,  was  re-born  as  a  Buddha  in  Sukhavati, 
the  Paradise  of  the  West,  where  Avalokiteshvara  (Kuan-yin) 
and  Mahasthanaprapta  (Dai  Seishi  in  Japanese)  joined 
him. 

In  other  words,  Amitabha  is  the  chief  of  the  Three 
Avalokiteshvaras  (§|  g  ;£),  (lit  "  On-looking  (avalokita), 
sovereign  (ishvara),"  (Free  manipulations),  known  as  Ju-lai 
(Tathagata)  (jjfl]  ife),  namely,  Kuan-yin,  Ta-shih-chih  (Dai 
Seishi  in  Japanese)  and  Amitabha. 

Kuan-yin  is  the  reflexion  of  Amitabha  who,  although  not 
incarnating  Himself,  divides  His  body  (^  4j*)  an(*  mani- 
fests Himself  in  visible  form.  He  is  generally  known  as  the 
Saviour  of  the  faithful  (IE  H£  U  ;fc  #  S§)— the  Sovereign 
(Isvara)  who  looks  on  and  listens  to  (avalokita)  the  voices  or 
prayers  (svara)  of  the  world. 

Mahasthanaprapta  (Mahasthama),  who  is  known  as  Ta- 
shih-chih-Bodhisattva  (Dai  Seishi  Bosatsu  in  Japanese),  is 
the  embodiment  of  Amitabha's  "  strength,"  or  "  might,"  and 
joined  Amitabha  and  Kuan-yin  in  the  Paradise  of  the  West. 

Amitabha,  the  Father,  Kuan-yin,  the  Saviour  of  the 
world,     and     Mahasthanaparapta     (Dai     Seishi     Bosatsu) 

(^C  §*  3i  #  i$|)»  the  SPirit  of  M»ght,  actually  form  the 
Buddhist  Trinity. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  there  is  no  Trinity  in 
Hinayana,  i.e.  Southern  Buddhism. 


124  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

The  Trinity  was  a  very  old  doctrine.  It  is  said  that 
Theophilus,  Bishop  of  Antioch,  who  flourished  in  the  second 
century,  was  the  first  who  used  the  word  "  Trinity  "  to  express 
the  Sacred  Persons  in  the  God-head,  and  the  doctrine  it 
expresses  has  been  generally  received  amongst  Christians, 
and  was  utilized  by  the  early  Fathers  of  the  Church,  in 
especial  by  St.  Athanasius,  who  was  the  Primate  of 
Egypt. 

But  here  is  another  Trinity.  Now  the  question  arises, 
which  is  the  original  one  ?  Which  is  the  older — the  Buddhist 
or  Christian  Trinity?  Can  there  be  no  relation  at  all 
between  these  ideas  ?  Are  they  "  mere  coincidences,"  as  is 
often  said  ?     These  are  the  burning  questions  of  to-day. 

But  all-important  as  they  are,  they  belong  to  the  pre- 
Nestorian  age,  and  therefore  lie  beyond  our  present  sphere 
of  research,  which  is  concerned  with  the  Nestorians  and  their 
Stone  Monument  in  China. 

The  Maha  Vairochana  Sutra,  or  Ta-jih  Ching,  ^  0  $g 

TheNes-         (lit.  "The  Great   Sun   Scripture"),  is  the   chief 

™«I!l!!i       sutra  of  one  sect  of  the  Chinese  Buddhists. 
China  and 

Vairochana.  Now    "Vairochana"    is    one    of   the    three 

bodies  in  the  Three-fold  Embodiment  of  Buddha  known  as 
"  Trikaya." 

There  are  three  interpretation  of  this  word  "Trikaya." 
It  may  mean  (i)  the  three  representations  of  Buddha,  namely, 
his  statue,*  his  teaching,  and  his  stupa  {Tower  or  relic- 
shrine)  ;  or  it  may  mean  (2)  the  historical  Buddha  as 
uniting  in  himself  three  bodily  qualities,  viz.  Dharmakaya 
(the  spiritual  body),  Sambhogokaya  (the  body  of  compensation 

*  Compare  with  this  the  Tower  used  in  the  Divine  Liturgy  of  the  Gallican 
Church.— (See  Duchesne's  "  Origines  du  Culte  Chretien,"  pp.  206-288,  publ. 
1908,  Paris.  English  trans,  of  French  3rd  edition,  London,  S.P.C.K.,  1910. 
The  Emperor  Constantine  gave  a  paten  of  gold  to  the  Santhran  Basilica.  On 
it  was  a  Tower  of  purest  gold,  surmounted  by  a  richly  jewelled  Dove,  the 
whole  weighing  30  lbs.— (W.  Lowrie,  "Christian  Archeology  and  Art,"  p.  347i 
pub.  1906. 


INTRODUCTION  125 


reflected  spiritually,  corresponding  to  his  merits),  and  Nir- 
manakaya,  a  body  capable  of  transformation,  i.e.  possess- 
ing the  power  of  assuming  any  form  or  appearance  in  order 
to  propagate  the  Gospel  of  Buddha  ;  or  (3)  it  may  mean 
Buddha,  as  having  passed  through,  and  yet  still  existing  in 
three  forms  or  persons,  viz.  (A)  Shaky amuni,  the  earthly  or 
historical  Buddha,  who  is  endowed  with  the  Nirmanakaya  ; 
(B)  Lochana,  who  is  the  heavenly  Dhyana  Budhisattra 
endowed  with  the  Sambhogakaya  of  absolute  completeness 
in  Dhyana ;  (C)  Vairochana,  who  is  Dhyani  Buddha, 
endowed  with  the  Dharmakaya  of  absolute  purity. 

The  name. of  Vairochana  appears  in  the  last  of  the  three 
interpretations  about  "Trikaya."  If  we  take  the  third  inter- 
pretation^ Vairochana  of  the  third  theory  corresponds  to  "  His 
teaching  "  of  the  first  theory  and  to  the  "  Dharmakaya  "  of  the 
second  theory,  whilst  Sakyamuni  answers  to  historical  Buddha 
and  Lochana  to  Sambhogakaya.  So  we  may  safely  say  that 
Vairochana  corresponds  to  Dharmakaya  (the  Law  Body)  and 
that  Sakyamuni  corresponds  to  Buddha,  and  Lochana  to 
Samgha — the  Church — i.e.  the  cloistered  monks  and  nuns. 

Corresponding  thus  to  Dharma  (the  Law),  the  spiritual 
and  material  principles  of  the  universe,  Vairochana  is  there- 
fore an  unchangeable  or  everlasting  spiritual  body,  without 
beginning  or  end. 

Comparing  this  meaning  with  that  of  Amitabha, "  Infinite 
Light,"  "  Infinite  Life/'  or  "the  Embodiment  of  the  Law,"  we 
can  easily  see  that  Vairochana  and  Amitabha  are  identical, 
whilst  we  can  understand  how  readily  those  who  intro- 
duced this  Vairochana  Religion,  Ta-jih  Chiao  (^  £J  ^), 
into  Japan — first  in  the  seventh  and  then  again  in  the 
beginning  of  the  ninth  century — could  avail  themselves  of 
Shinto,*  the  national  cult  of  the  Land  of  the  Rising  Sun, 

•  According  to  Aston  (Shinto,  "The  Way  of  the  Gods,"  p.  316),  "The 
Emperor  Shomu  of  Japan  dispatched  Gyogi  Bosatsu  to  Ise  with  a  relic  of  Buddha 
as  an  offering  to  the  Sun-Goddess.   Gyogi  spent  seven  days  and  nights  in  prayer 


126  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

which  was  based  on  the  worship  of  the  Sun-Goddess, 
Amaterasu  Omikami — the  God  who  is  the  Author  and 
Dispenser  of  Light,  and  the  Incarnation  of  Love. 

When  the  Nestorian  missionaries  arrived  at  the  capital  of 
China  in  636  A.D.,  there  were  already  several  Buddhist  sects 
there  ;  at  least  twelve  had  been  in  existence  in  China,  before 
the  end  of  the  seventh  century. 

Classifying  the  Buddhist  sects  in  China  by  their  date 
with  reference  to  the  coming  of  the  Nestorians  to  China  we 
find  that  the  sect  (1)  (jg  §g  £g)  Nieh-p'an  (Nirvana)  (386 
**)  J  W  (Jfc  %  ^)  Ch'eng-shih  (401  A.D.)  i  (3)  (^  g) 
Lu  (Vinaya)  (405  a.d.)  ;  (4)  (B£  f&  $3*)  Shih-lun  (508  a.d.)  ; 
(5)  (H  g)  Ch'an  (Dhyana)  (527  A.D.);  (6)  (H  ffc  ^) 
San-lun  (589  A.D.);  (7)  (lg  jg|  *g)  Hua-yen  (557  A.D.)  ; 
(8)  (>£t3  >k)  T'ien-t'ai  (551  a.d.),  precede  the  arrival  of 
the  Nestorians  ;  whilst  (1)  (ffc  ^g  £j2)  Fa-hsiang  (640  A.D.) ; 
(2)  (^  ±  ^)  Ching-t'u  (641  A.D.) ;  (3)  and  (ft  "g  ^) 
Chen-yen  (716  A.D.)  are,  so  to  speak,  post-Nestorian  Buddhist 
sects. 

And  by  the  time  the  Nestorians  arrived  at  Hsi-an-fu,  the 
T'ien-t'ai  sect  had  grown  very  strong  through  amalgamating 
the  comparatively  small  sects  of  the  Nirvana,  Ch'eng-shih, 
Hua-yen,  and  Shih-lun. 

Through  the  influence  of  this  T'ien-t'ai  sect,  the  Chinese 
had  been  already  familiarized  with  the  name  of  Vairochana 
when  the  Nestorian  monks  began  their  mission,  and  when 
they  erected  their  Commemorative  Monument  in  781  A.D., 
the  Vairochana  Religion  (as  we  know  both  from  Kobo 
Daishi  who  was  at  Hsi-an-fu  in  804-806  and  Dengyo  Daishi 
who  was  at  Mount  T'ien-t'ai  (^  j^J  jlj)  in  804-805  A.D.) 
was  very   flourishing  through  the  efforts  of  the  three  great 

under  a  tree  close  to  the  gate  of  the  Shrine,  and  was  then  vouchsafed  an  oracle  in 
the  form  of  Chinese  verse,  couched  in  purely  Buddhistic  phraseology.  It  spoke 
of  the  Sun  of  Truth  enlightening  the  long  night  of  Life  and  Death,  and  of  the 
Moon  of  Eternal  Reality  dispersing  the  clouds  of  Sin  and  Ignorances." 


INTRODUCTION  127 


monks,  S'ubhak'arasimha  (^§p  |R§  J3I),  Amogha  Vadjra 
Pfi  Q  ±  IH)r Vadjra  Bodhi  (±  jU  %g)9  and  others; 
and  by  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century  the  Ta-jih  Chiao 

(^C  B  ^t)  was  a11  ln  a11  to  the  Buddhist  in  China. 

Bearing  these  facts  in  mind,  let  us  proceed  to  examine 
the  Chinese  appellation  of  Assyrian  Christianity  which  is 
commonly  called  "  Nestorianism."  The  Chinese  name  for 
this  form  of  Christianity  is  "  Ching  Chiao  "  or  "  King  Kiao." 
("Ching"  is  the  Pekingese  or  Northern  Mandarin  pronuncia- 
tion.) The  word  "  Ching  "  means  "  Luminous  "  or  "  Bright 
Light,"  and  the  word  "  Chiao  "  means  u  Teaching"  or  "Re- 
ligion." The  Inscription  says  :  "  This  true  and  eternal  system 
of  doctrine  is  wonderful,  and  difficult  to  describe.  But  its 
merits  and  use  are  manifest  and  brilliant ;  and  so  we  make 
an  effort  and  give  it  the  name  of  *  Ching  Chiao '  (Luminous 
Religion)." 

We  said  that  the  Vairochana  Religion  was  known  in 
China  and  Japan  at  that  time  as  the  Dai  Nichi  Kyo,  or 
Ta-jih  Chiao  (^  Q  |£),  which  means  "The  Great-Sun- 
Religion." 

From  the  similarity  of  the  characters  used  to  represent 
them,  the  "  Ching  Chiao  "  or  Assyrian  Christianity,  and  the 
"Ta-jih  Chiao,"  the  Vairochana  Religion,  are  likely  to  be 
confused.  To  the  educated  Chinese  who  could  read  and 
write  the  different  Chinese  characters  the  two  names  must 
have  been  far  more  perplexing  than  to  the  illiterate  classes 
for  the  following  reasons  : 

Great  scholars  like  Dr.  Legge,  Mr/  Wylie,  and  others  are 
all  agreed  in  translating  the  Chinese  word  "ching"  (jjf;), 
by  "  illustrious  "— "  Ching  Chiao,"  the  "  Illustrious  Religion." 
This  rendering  is  partly  correct,  because  "Ching"  (jp;) 
corresponds,  in  its  secondary  meaning,  to  the  English  word 
"brilliant."  But  we  must  remember  that  the  original  and 
chief  meaning  of  the  word  "Ching"  (j|£)  is  "great,"  and  not 
"  illustrious." 


128  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

This  point  is  important.  This  can  clearly  be  seen  from 
the  fact  that  the  Chinese  character  "Ching"  (Jj^)  was  not 
given  for  the  English  word  "illustrious"  in  "The  English 
and  Chinese  Dictionary "  ( j^  gp  ^  jgL),  edited  by  the 
famous  scholar,  Lobscheid,  some  sixty  years  ago.  He 
correctly  gave  the  Chinese  character  "Ching"  (Jj£)  for  the 
English  word  "great." 

Again,  in  the  Book  of  Shih-ching  (f^f  j|j£),  the  Chinese 
Book  of  Songs,  we  frequently  meet  with  the  phrase  "Ching-fu  " 
(JS  )S§)'  wmch  means,  literally,  "the  great  happiness,"  or 
"great  blessing,"  "ching"  standing  for  "great"  and  "fu" 
for  "  happiness  "  or  "  blessing." 

So  "Ching  Chiao"  at  first  sight  may  mean  "Great 
Religion,"  but  to  understand  the  true  meaning  of  the  term  as 
used  by  the  author  of  the  Inscription,  we  must  go  deeper,  and 
dissect  or  analyze  the  Chinese  character  itself  and  examine 
its  component  parts,  which  are,  in  this  case,  two  independent 
characters,  viz.  the  character  "Jih"  (Q),  "Sun"  and  the 
character  "  ching  "  (  j£), "  great."  This  "  ching  "  ( jji)  being 
the  root,  so  to  speak,  of  the  other  "ching"  (jg;),  its  sound 
predominates  even  after  "  Sun  "  and  "  Ching  "  composed  one 
word— the  other  and  newer  word  "Ching"  (jg;)  being  the 
name  used  for  the  Assyrian  Church  in  China. 

From  these  facts,  it  may  be  surmised  that  "Ching  Chiao" 
(the  name  for  the  Assyrian  Christianity)  not  only  meant 
"Great-Religion,"  but  also  " The  Sun-Great-Religion ! "  which 
appellation  is  practically  the  same  as  the  Chinese  name  given 
to  the  Vairochana  Religion,  "  The  Great-Sun-Religion !  " 

That  the  Chinese  character  "  Ching "  (j^)  contains  the 
two  characters,  "jih"  (  0)  and  "  ching  "  (^),  there  is  no  doubt. 
But  a  few  words  may  be  needed  to  prove  that  "ching"  (j^)f 
the  root  of  the  other  "  ching  "  ( jg;),  which  is  a  component  part 
of  the  Chinese  character  used  to  represent  Assyrian  Christi- 
anity (^  f^r),  truly  and  honestly  means  "great"  as  we  insist, 
because  some  may  consider  our  explanation  too  far-fetched. 


INTRODUCTION 


All  that  can  be  said  on  this  point  is  clearly  set  forth  in 
the  famous  "  K'ang-hsi  Dictionary »  (J§|  $$  ^  Jgl),  which 
states:   "The  character   (^)    is    pronounced   'ching'   and 

means  'great'  (#.  ^  M  ±  &)" 

Again,  in  one  of  the  writings  by  the  famous  scholar  Yang 
Hsiung  (^  $f|)  in  the  second  century  A.D.  we  read  :  "  In  the 
North  of  Yen  (3^)  and  in  the  country  of  Ch'u  (|£),  a  great 
man  is  called  *  ching '  (j£),  t£, '  ching'  means  a  great  man  in 
Yen  and  Ch'u.  And  again,  the  Royal  city  or  Capital  where 
an  emperor  or  a  king  resides  is  called  '  Ching-shih  *  (j|?  gj|j) 
in  Chinese.  In  this  case,  'ching'  stands  for  'great*  and 
1  shih '  for  '  population '  or  ■  crowd.'  And  finally,  the  greatest 
possible  numerical  name  in  Chinese  is  '  ching '  ( jjT)  ;  ten 
million  is  'ching'  ($r  £.  +  ffi  %  %.  +  %  %  £), 
but  one  million  is  '  chao *  (^)  .  whilst  two  Chinese  characters, 
'fish'    and    'great/    make    up    the     character    of    'whale' 

(IK).  '•'•  <&  fish'  ^  great)." 

These  quotations  from  reliable  authorities  suffice  to  prove 
that  "ching"  (^),  part  of  the  character  "Ching"  (jj), 
which  is  used  to  represent  the  Assyrian  Church,  truly  and 
honestly  means  "great,"  and  that  what  we  say  about  the 
name  of  "  Ching  Chiao,"  is  not,  perhaps,  too  far-fetched. 

To  return  to  our  former  question,  "  Which  is  the  older, 
the  Ching  Chiao  or  the  Tah-jih  Chiao?"  The  name  Ta-jih 
Chiao  is  older  than  the  term  "Ching  Chiao"  by  twenty  years 
at  least,  for  the  word  "  Ching  Chiao "  was  certainly  not  in 
use  until  A.D.  745,  whilst,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained  from 
the  Chinese  writings,  "  Ta-jih  Chiao  "  was  used  in  the  trans- 
lation of  the  Vairochana  Sutra  as  early  as  A.D.  724. 

To  call  one  foreign  religion  "Ching  Chiao,"  and  the  other 
"  Ta-jih  Chiao"  made  no  difference  to  a  Chinaman  in  Hsi-an- 
fu,  who  would  perceive  no  more  difference  between  the 
Buddhist  and  Christian  religions  than  did  the  European 
Friars  and  travellers  in  the  Middle  Ages  who  (as  Sir  Henry 


130  THE  NESTORJAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

Yule  tells  us  in  his  book,  "Cathay  and  the  Way  thither") 
constantly  made  the  same  confusion  owing  to  the  great 
similarity  between  Buddhism  and  Christianity  in  Central  Asia! 

It  seems  to  us  that  the  Nestorians  in  China,  in  adopting 
the  title  "Ching  Chiao  "— "  Sun-Great-Religion  "  *— availed 
themselves  of  the  existing  influence  of  the  Vairochana 
Religion  which  was  then  extremely  strong  in  Hsi-an-fu. 

The  Nestorian  Church,  commonly  known  in  China  as 
"  the  Persian  Religion,"  or  "  the  Messiah- Religion,"  was  first 
called  "  the  Persian  Ching  Chiao  " — "  the  Sun-Great-Religion 
of  Persia  " — in  the  Imperial  Rescript  of  the  Emperor  Hsiian- 
Tsung  in  A.D.  745. 

In  short,  Vairochana  Teaching  was  introduced  into 
China  as  early  as  575  A.D.  When  Chih-k'ai  developed  the 
Pien-t'ai  sect,  he  based  his  teaching  on  the  Saddharma- 
pundarika  Sutra  (££=§1  $£)  (Japanese  Hokekyo)  whose 
supreme  Buddha  is  Vairochana,  but  the  Chinese  name  "  Ta- 
jih  Chiao  "  (^  £J  ^)  for  Vairochana  did  not  come  into  use 
until  725  A.D. 

It  is  said  that  this  Vairochana  transmitted  his  teaching 
to  Sakyamuni,  who  again  transmitted  the  same  to  Maitreya, 
the  Buddhist  Messiah ;  whilst  Maitreya  taught  Asamgha, 
a  monk  of  Gandara,  who  was  miraculously  transported  to 
the  Heaven  of  Joy  where  Maitreya  dwelt ;  and  through 
Asamgha's  lecture-hall  this  teaching  of  Vairochana  became 
known  to  the  world,  so  the  Buddhist  authorities  say.  The 
date  of  Asamgha,  as  being  the  last  half  of  the  fourth  century, 
is  important. 

*  Luminous  religion.  A  penny  of  Ecgfrith,  King  of  Northumbria,  a.d.  670- 
685,  bears  a  radiated  cross,  and  the  one  word  "LUX"  or  Light,  thus  pointing 
very  expressively  to  the  recent  introduction  of  the  light  of  Christianity  into  the 
north  of  England  by  Paulinus,  in  the  time  of  King  Edwin,  and  sweetly  suggesting 
the  declaration  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  "lam  the  Light  of  the  World  :  he  that 
believeth  in  Me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  Light  of  Life." 
(From  p.  22  of  a  most  suggestive  handbook  published  by  the  S.P.C.K.,  191 1, 
entitled  "Christian  Teaching  of  Coin  Mottoes,"  by  Dr.  Win.  Allan  and  Prof. 
J.  Zimmermann.) 


INTRODUCTION  131 


The  T'ien-t'ai  sect  (^  j§J  ^)  maintains  these  points 
about  Vairochana  as  against  the  Chen-yen  sect,  which 
declares  that  the  revelation  was  made  to  Nagarjuna  * 
through  the  prison  or  cage  in  the  "  Iron  Tower  in  Southern 
India."  f 

Whether  the  T'ien-t'ai  or  the  Chen-yen  claim  is  correct 
does  not  concern  us  very  much.  But  it  is  certain  that  the 
Nestorian  claim  in  China  does  not  go  further  back  than 
635  A.D.  So  it  is  safer  to  conclude  that  the  Nestorian 
missionaries  adopted  the  name  "  Ching  Chiao  "  long  after  the 
Vairochana  Religion  had  become  "  Ta-jih  Chiao." 

We  presume  that  one  of  the  many  difficult  problems 
which  faced  the  pioneer  missionaries  of  the  Assyrian  Church 
in  China,  twelve  hundred  years  ago,  was  to  find  a  suitable 
name  by  which  to  describe  their  teaching  to  the  Chinese. 
"  The  name  of  a  thing,"  as  the  Chinese  sage  taught  his 
disciples,  "  is  the  guide  to  the  thing  itself."  To  find  a  suit- 
able name  is  a  good  beginning;  and  a  good  beginning 
means  the  work  half  done. 

At  least  three  rules  might  have  guided  us  in  a  similar 
position:  (1)  To  find  a  suitable  name  to  describe  the 
Religion  of  Jesus  Christ  who  is  the  "  Light  of  the  World," 
and  "  the  Sun  of  Righteousness." 

We  note  this  feeling  expressed  in  the  Inscription :  "  Its 
merits  and  use  are  manifest  and  brilliant "  ;  "He  hung  up 
the  Bright  (great)  Sun  and  broke  open  the  abodes  of  Dark- 
ness." Any  name  which  does  not  express  this  truth  is  not 
a  good  one. 

(2)  The  Nestorian  monks  must  have  considered  how  best 


*  It  is  important  to  note  that  some  authorities  affirm  that  it  was  not  in  Southern 
India  but  at  the  Great  College  at  Khotan  on  the  Central  Asian  route  that  Nagar- 
juna obtained  his  Mahayana  teachings. 

t  For  full  details  refer  to  "The  New  Testament  of  Higher  Buddhism,"  by 
Rev.  Timothy  Richard,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  pub.  Edinburgh,  and  to  "The  Messiah, 
the  Desire  of  all  Nations,"  and  to  "  World-Healers,  or  the  Lotus  Gospel  and  its 
Bodhisattvas,"  by  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Gordon,  pub.  Tokyo,  1913. 


132  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

to  preserve  the  sound  of  "  K,"  the  first  sound  of  the  word — 
"  Christ "  or  "  Christian,"  for  it  was  at  Antioch,  the  capital 
of  Syria  (and  the  Christian  metropolis  after  the  Fall  of 
Jerusalem),  that  our  Lord's  disciples — "  the  Men  and  Women 
of  the  Way  " — were  called  "  Christians." 

"  Antioch,"  says  Prof.  A  Harnack,  "  was  a  great  city  for 
giving  nicknames.  Here  Christ  was  called  l  Chi'  whilst 
Constantine  the  Great  was  nicknamed  •  Kappa.' " 

For  these  monks  then  who  came  from  Syria,  it  was  most 
natural  that  they  should  try  to  preserve  the  "k"  sound  in 
the  title  of  their  religion.  "  Ching  Chiao  "  was  the  right  name 
for  Christianity  according  to  its  sound,  because  "  Ching  "  was 
pronounced  "  King "  in  the  eighth  century  as  all  students 
know  ;  and  even  now  the  sound  of  "  King"  is  preserved  for 
the  same  character  in  Southern  China. 

(3)  The  monks  must  have  pondered  how  best  to  fortify 
their  position  against  the  Confucianism,  Taoism,  and 
Buddhism,  then  so  very  strong  and  firmly  rooted  in  the 
field.  Humanly  speaking,  the  success  or  failure  of  a  Mission 
in  a  foreign  field  largely  depends  on  the  name  by  which  the 
new  Religion  is  known.  By  adopting  the  name  of  "  Ching 
Chiao"  (with  the  old  sound  "King-kiao"  (jj|  fg£),  " Sun- 
Great-Religion,"  the  Nestorian  missionaries  could  at  once 
fulfil  all  these  three  conditions. 

Moreover,  the  Syriac  monks  adopted  ordinary  Buddhist 
terms  to  represent  "  Catholicos "  (J£  ^j£),  "Episcopos" 
CJCf8)»  "Monk"  (fg"),  "Archimandrite  or  Archdeacon" 
(^pi  ),  "Monastery"  (^),  "Scriptures"  (f&),  "Image" 
(^^),  etc.  Dean  Stanley,  in  his  "Eastern  Church," 
points  out  that  all  these  ideas  came  to  Europe  from  the 
East. 

Even  the  epithet  commonly  used  for  Sakyamuni  ("f|h  ^T), 
i.e.  "  Honoured  by  the  Universe,"  or  "  World-Honoured  One," 
was  employed  by  the  Syrian  missionaries  to  describe  our 
Lord. 


INTRODUCTION  133 

Again,  the  three  Chinese  characters  used  for  "  Eloha  "  in 
the  Inscription  (ppj  jj||  ffjlf )  are,  no  doubt,  taken  from 
the  Buddhist  Scriptures  in  which  "Arhat"  or  "Arhan," 
"  the  Fruit  of  Buddha,"  is  represented  as  "  A-lo-han." 

In  the  Chinese  translation  of  the  Amitayur  Dhyana  Sutra 
we  find  exactly  the  same  words  as  are  used  on  the  Nestorian 

stone.  <£  ft  t-ifr*  &  m  m  &  ffi  g  pb  mm 

which  may  be  translated  : 

"  Therefore,  meditate  ye  with  all  your  heart  and  vividly 
realize  ye  that  BuddJia,  who  is  known  as  Tathagata  (the  Coming 
One,  i.e.  j£p  ?jfc),  or  as  Arhat>  the  One  who  deserves  worship 

(IK  ft)'  or  as  Samyak  sambuddha  (HiHi  P&)> the 
One  who  has  perfect  and  universal  knowledge/'    (See  p.  188, 

note  8.) 

Through  these  and  other  facts,  we  perceive  how  keen  and 
zealous  the  pioneer  missionaries  of  the  Assyrian  Church  were 
in  trying  to  win  souls  for  Christ.  Surely,  in  coming  to  China, 
braving  the  dangers  of  the  Great  Desert  and  travelling  so  far, 
they  followed  the  example  set  by  that  great  Apostle  to  the 
Gentiles,  who  said  :  "That  I  may  by  all  means  win  some,  to 
the  Jews  I  became  a  Jew,  and  to  the  Greeks,  a  Greek." 
Hence  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  Nestorian  missionaries  in 
China  succeeded  so  well  twelve  hundred  years  ago. 

From  A.D.  67  when  Buddhism  was  introduced  into  China 
The  Ancestor,  after  King  Kanishka's  great  Council  at  Gandara 
worship  of  t     A  D   IOq7  when  the  famous  Ou-yang  Hsiu 

Chinese  r  v  ~     /•     .  *    1 

Buddhism,       (gjr  g|  A|c),  one  of  the  greatest  Confucian  scholars, 

fluence  exer-  is  said  to  have  been  converted  to  Buddhism,  there 
cised  thereon  was  a  perj0(}  Gf  over  a  thousand  years,  during  which 
Christianity.  Buddhism  in  China  suffered  four  serious  perse- 
cutions known  in  Chinese  history  as  "The  Persecutions  of 
Three  Wu  emperors  and  OneTsuog  "  (}jj£  ^  — •  ^  ^1  Hfl)' 
who  respectively  in  the  years  446  A.D.,  547  A.D.,  845  A.D., 
955  A.D.  severely  persecuted  the  Buddhists. 


134  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

Buddhism  was  hated  by  Confucian  scholars,  and  despised 
by  the  Taoists.  With  such  extreme  vicissitudes,  the  fate 
of  Mahayana  Buddhism  was  far  from  promising.  Indeed  it  was 
extremely  doubtful  whether  it  would  ever  establish  itself  at  all. 

The  grounds  for  the  anti-Buddhist  movements  in  China 
were  fairly  numerous.  But  one  thing  is  clear,  viz.  that 
both  Confucian  scholars  and  Taoists  made  very  good  use 
of  Ancestor- worship  to  inflame  the  popular  prejudice  against 
Buddhism. 

It  may  be  readily  understood  how  the  feeling  towards 
Ancestor- worship,  which  is  ingrained  in  the  hearts  of  the 
Chinese,  was  antagonistic  to  the  pessimistic  and  ascetic  ideas 
of  the  original  Hinayana  Buddhism. 

Certain  scholars  (Dr.  S.  Murakami,  for  instance)  attribute 
the  four  above-mentioned  great  persecutions  to  the  Taoists 
only ;  but  to  the' writer,  it  seems  that  the  Taoists  simply  took 
advantage  of  the  anti-Buddhist  sentiment  of  the  populace 
and  utilized  the  dominant  feeling  concerning  the  national 
cult  to  serve  their  own  ends.  Without  this  antagonistic 
feeling,  the  Taoists  could  scarcely  have  been  so  successful 
in  ousting  the  Buddhists. 

The  chief  hindrance  to  the  propagation  of  Buddhism  in 
China  was  its  attitude  towards  Ancestor-worship,  which  by 
no  means  satisfied  the  Chinese.  The  Buddhist  teaching 
about  the  After-death  was  abhorrent  to  the  Chinese,  e.g.  the 
Buddhist  mode  of  treating  the  dead,  cremation  being  the 
most  unwelcome  of  things  in  China.  Chinese  scholars  often 
express  their  horror  of  it. 

Buddhist  influence,  however,  was  in  the  ascendant  ever 
since  the  second  persecution  in  547  A.D.,  as  the  Emperors  both 
of  the  Sui  Dynasty  and  of  the  early  T'ang  favoured  it ;  and 
from  the  close  of  the  seventh  to  the  opening  of  the  ninth 
century  Buddhism  carried  all  before  it — the  Buddhists 
eclipsing  both  the  Confucians  and  Taoists  in  Imperial,  as 
as  well  as  in  popular,  favour. 


INTRODUCTION  135 


This  is  incidentally  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  many  of 
the  Chinese  classical  writings  have  obtained  the  Imperial 
sanction  to  be  called  by  the  title  of  Canonical  Works. 

For  example,  Wen-chung's  writings  (^SC^f*"?)  were 
named  "The  True  Sutra  of  the  Enlightened  Mystery" 
(^fi  j£  M  15)  >  Lieh-tzu's  writings  (^|J  ^),  were  entitled 
"The  True  Canon  of  Ascension  into  the  Void"  (Jljl  jf||  S  jjft?)  ; 
those  of  Chuang-tzii  (jjj* -f),  "The  Canon  of  Nan-hua " 
(||J  |p  lit  j^),  whilst  Han-shan-tzu's  collection  of  Poetry 
(S|:  ill  "F"  ^)  found  its  way  into  the  Chinese  Collection 
of  the  Tripitaka,  the  Buddhist  Canon  !  This  proves  how 
everything  was  tinged  with  Buddhist  colouring  during  the 
seventh  and  eighth  centuries,  and  how  strong  the  influence 
of  Buddhism  was  in  those  days  ! 

Meanwhile,  a  great  number  of  Buddhist  Sutras  were 
brought  into  China  by  the  efforts  of  Hsiian-tsang  (^  S*:) 
(633  A.D.),  Vajra  Bodhi  (<£  $]|J  |«)  (719  a.d.),  Subhaka- 
rasima  (||  ^  g)(7i6  A.D.),Amogha-Vajra(^  2*3  ^  |g|J) 
(719  A.D.),  Prajna  (^  ^)  (782  a.d.)  and  others  who  trans- 
lated and  wrote  commentaries  on  some  of  them. 

Never  in  the  history  of  Missions  do  we  find  a  more  active 
man  than  Amogha  was  in  using  his  pen  in  translating  or  in 
copying  the  sutras.  Nor  was  there  ever  a  better  field  than 
the  capital  of  the  Great  T'ang  for  the  appreciation  of  foreign 
literatures. 

There  were  numerous  reasons  for  this  growing  influence, 
such  as  the  personal  character  of  the  Buddhist  leaders,  and 
the  amount  of  foreign  intercourse  at  the  time  which  disposed 
the  minds  of  the  Chinese  to  listen  to  the  foreign  teachers  of 
Religion.  But  over  and  beyond  these  minor,  indirect,  causes, 
the  increased  popularity  of  Buddhism  was  (we  think)  mainly 
due  to  a  compromise  effected  by  the  Buddhist  leaders  who, 
desiring  to  harmonize  their  religion  with  the  old  Chinese  cult 
of  Ancestor-worship,  succeeded  in  overcoming  the  anti- 
Buddhist   feeling    (so  long  a  stumbling-block  in  their  way) 

K 


136  THE  NESTOR  JAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


by  adopting  and  adapting  Ancestor-worship  in  such  a  way 
as  to  meet  the  Chinese  sentiment.* 

Making  a  new  departure  from  their  original  custom, 
Buddhists  led  the  way  in  harmonizing  the  ancient  Chinese 
Ancestor-worship  with  Buddhism,  and  thus  brought  Ullam- 
bana  (-f  ^j§  j§£)>  the  "  Festival  of  departed  Souls,"  and  the 
worship  of  Vairochana  into  kinship  with  the  old  national 
cult,  and  with  that  of  the  Sun,  Moon,  and  Stars,  the 
"  Heaven  "  of  the  Chinese.f 

This  fact  can  be  better  appreciated  through  comparing 
the  similar  harmonization  effected  between  Shinto  and 
Buddhism  by  those  Japanese  monks — Gyogi  Bosatsu,  Kobo 
Daishi,  and  others — who  had  studied  passing  events  in  China. 
The  Honchi  Sui  Jaku  (;£.  ^  |||  j^£),  "  Re-incarnation  of 
the  same  Sage  in  different  lands,"  or  *  The  theory  that  a  Sage 
has  no  fixed  name,"  and  the  Ryobu  Shinto,  "the  harmoni- 
zation of  Buddhism  with  Shinto  by  compromise,"  were  in- 
troduced into  Japan  as  the  result  of  the  concordat  between 
Buddhism  and  the  old  Chinese  cults  in  China  and  Japan. 

With  regard  to  the  introduction  of  Vairochana  worship, 
we  may  mention  Dharmaraksha  and  Kumarajiva  who  respec- 
tively translated  the  Saddharmapundarika  Sutra  in  286  a.d. 
and  406  A.D.,  and  Jnanagupta  and  Dharmagupta  who  respec- 
tively translated  the  same  Sutra  between  561-592  and  590- 
616  A.D.,  and  those  who  translated  the  Commentaries  on  the 
Saddharmapundarika  Sutra — Bodhiruchi  and  others  between 
486-534  A.D. ;  Ratnamati  and  his  monks  in  508  A.D.,  whilst 
Amogha-Vajra  stands  above  all  others  in  popularizing  u  the 
Festival  of  departed  Souls,"  and  in  harmonizing  Indian 
Buddhism  with  the  Chinese  ancestral  worship,  t 

*  It  was  for  the  express  purpose  of  endeavouring  to  harmonize  Religion  that 
the  Japanese  emperor  Kammu  sent  the  young  scholar  monks  Kobo  Daishi  and 
Dengyo  Daishi  to  China. 

t  Cf.  the  statement  in  the  great  T'ang  emperor's  Edict  concerning  A-lo-pen 
and  his  monks  A.D.  638. 

X  "  Compare  this  with  the  celebration  of  All  Saints  which  was  extended  to 


INTRODUCTION  137 


Amogha-Vajra,  u  the  Vajra  which  is  not  hollow  "  (known 
in  China  as  Pu-k'ung  Chin-kang,  and  Japan  as  Fuku  Kongo 
(yf*  |g  ^s  pj|!j)  ),  was  a  Sramana  (monk)  from  North  India, 
who  followed  the  mystic  teachings  attributed  to  Sumantab- 
hadra  (^  j^),  and  accompanied  his  teacher  Vajra  Bodhi 
(^  p5)|J  ^)  to  China  in  719  A.D.,  where  in  752  A.D.  he  suc- 
ceeded him  as  Patriarch  of  the  Yogacharya  school. 

As  the  Chinese  Emperor  desired  to  have  some  more 
new  Buddhist  scriptures — many  having  been  lost  on  the 
voyage  when  Vajra  Bodhi  and  Amogha  came  to  China — 
Amogha  travelled  for  five  years  (741-746)  through  India 
and  Ceylon  and  brought  back  to  Ch'ang-an  (i.e.  Hsi-an-fu) 
over  five  hundred  Sutras  and  Sastras  previously  unknown 
to  the  Chinese  Buddhists.  He  published  108  works  from 
his  own  pen,  including  translations  and  originals. 

Amogha  had  spent  fifty  years  or  more  in  China  before 
he  decided  to  establish  "  the  Feast  of  departed  Souls."  He 
served  three  emperors,  viz.  Hsiian-Tsung  (713-756  A.D.), 
Su-Tsung  (756-^763  A.D.)  and  Tai-Tsung  (763-7 79  A.D.). 

It  was  Hsiian-Tsung  who  would  not  permit  Amogha-Vajra 
to  return  to  India  in  749  A.D.,  while  it  was  Su-Tsung  who 
gave  him  the  title  of  Tripitaka  Bhadanta  (^  ]§r  ^f?  H>  Wti 
in  760  A.D. ;  and  it  was  Tai-Tsung  who  conferred  on  him 
the  rank  of  a  Minister  of  State  ( p]  2*5),  and  the  highest 
posthumous  title  when  Amogha  died  in  772  A.D. 

These  three  emperors  all  received  Murddhabhichikta  from 
him.  This  Murddhabhichikta,  according  to  Dr.  Eitel, 
literally  means  "  the  washing  of  the  head  "  (^  t§),  and  is 
done  by  sprinkling  water  on  the  crown.  This  is  u  a  ceremony 
common  in  Tibet  in  the  form  of  infant  Baptism  "  as  practised 

the  Frankish  Empire  in  825,  after  having  been  observed  in  Rome  for  two 
centuries,  and  its  celebration  fixed  for  the  1st  November,  the  verse  *gentem 
auferte  perfidam  credentium  de  finibus '  was  added  to  the  hymn  with  reference  to 
the  Normans  and  Saracens,  who  were  laying  waste  both  the  north-west  of  Gaul 
and  the  south  of  Italy." — "  The  Roman  Breviary,  its  Sources  and  History,"  pp.  68, 
240,  251,  by  Dom  Jules  Bandot,  pub.  1909. 


138  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

in  Christian  churches,  but  administered  in  China  and  Japan  at 
the  investiture  of  distinguished  patfons  of  the  Shingon  sect. 
The  relation  between  Kechien-Kwanjo,  i.e.  "to-make-relation- 
ship-with-Buddha-baptism  "  of  the  Shingon-shu  or  Chen-yen 
sect — which  may  be  received  by  any  one  and  which  resembles 
Infant  Baptism — and  Christian  baptism  offers  a  most  sug- 
gestive subject  for  study.  A  chapter  in  the  Hon.  Mrs. 
Gordon's  book,  "World-healers,"  entitled  "The  Mystery  of 
Illumination,"  is  devoted  to  it. 

Like  all  the  great  Pioneer  Monks  of  the  West,  Amogha 
Vajra  was  a  friend  of  the  Court  as  well  as  of  the  peasantry. 
From  his  long  experience  in  China  and  intimate  study  of 
Chinese  thought  and  literature,  he  perceived  quite  clearly 
that  it  was  impossible  to  win  the  Chinese  masses  to  Buddhism 
unless  he  could  discover  some  means  of  winning  their 
sympathies  by  utilizing  the  national  cult — in  particular 
Ancestor-worship,  on  which  all  their  moral  systems  (whether 
Confucian  or  Taoist)  hang — and  harmonizing  it  with  the 
teachings  of  Buddhism  ;  he  therefore  resolved  to  revive  the 
Ullambana  festival  of  departed  Souls. 

This  feast  is  now  kept  annually  in  July  (the  seventh 
month  of  the  Old  Style)  in  both  Buddhist  and  Taoist  temples. 
No  other  religious  festival  is  so  popular,  and  the  reason  is 
not  far  to  seek  ;  it  appeals  to  the  tenderest  feelings  in  the 
human  heart. 

The  Ullambana  Sutra  (first  translated  by  Dharmarakcha, 
a  native  of  Tokhara,  between  265-316  a.d.),  gives  to  the  whole 
ceremonial  the  so-called  authority  of  Sakyamuni  and  supports 
it"  by  the  alleged  experiences  of  his  chief  disciple  Ananda, 
who  was  said  to  have  appeased  pretas  (^  j^),  the  unrestful 
departed  souls,  by  food  offerings  presented  to  Buddha  and 
Samgha  (the  cloistered  monks).  It  was  by  this  means  that 
Maudgalyayana  (g  ^jj  J^)  brought  back  his  mother  to 
earth,  who  had  been  reborn  in  Hell  as  a  Preta.  (See  Dr. 
Kitel's  Hand-book  of  "Chinese  Buddhism,"  pp.  185-186.) 


INTRODUCTION  139 


But  prior  to  the  end  of  the  seventh  century,  its  growth 
was  slow  and  tedious.  It  was  popularized  mainly  through 
the  far-sighted  and  deeply-instructed  Buddhist  leaders,  such 
as  Amogha  Vajra  and  others  who  succeeded  in  reviving  and 
giving  the  institution  a  special  impetus,  whilst  the  popularity 
of  the  influential  Yogacharya  School  helped  Amogha  and 
his  missionary  friends  greatly  in  carrying  out  his  plan. 

But  it  must  be  remembered  that  all  authorities  agree  that 
the  whole  theory  of  Ullambana  with  its  ideas  of  intercessory 
prayers,  priestly  liturgies,  requiems,  and  Ancestor- worship 
is  entirely  foreign  to  the  ancient  Hinayana,  or  Southern 
Buddhism,  and  is  peculiar  to  the  Mahayana. 

Thus  Amogha  proved  negatively  to  the  Chinese  mind, 
that  although  Buddhism  approves  of  cremation,  it  does  not 
neglect  the  dead.  Again,  he  proved  positively  that  the 
Buddhists  do  honour  the  dead  more  than  the  Confucians 
or  the  Taoists  who  can  do  nothing  for  their  parents  after 
death,  or  in  the  life  beyond  the  grave  when  their  parents 
are  in  Purgatory,  by  proving  that  in  "  the  Festival  of  departed 
Souls  "  the  Buddhists  fulfilled  the  ideal  of  Ancestral  worship 
far  better  than  either  Confucianists  or  Taoists  could  do  ;  and 
hence  he  succeeded  in  establishing  what  is  now  known  as 
"  Chinese  Buddhism  "  apart  from  Indian  Buddhism. 

Hsiian-tsang  (^  ij*:),  the  Chinese  Pilgrim,  successfully 
introduced  Indian  Buddhism  into  China,  while  an  Indian 
monk,  Amogha  Vadjra,  succeeded  in  grafting  Chinese  Budd- 
hism upon  the  Chinese  cult ! 

If    we     compare     Hsiian  -  tsang   with     Gyogi     Bosatsu 

(It  35?  i§r  iH)> or  with  Kob° Daism*  (5£  2£  ^c  %\  who 

so  successfully  introduced  Chinese  Buddhism  into  Japan,  we 
may  also  compare  the  work  accomplished  by  Amogha 
Vadjra  with  that  of  Shinran  and  Nichiren  Shonin  who 
succeeded  in  making  Japanese  Buddhism  a  thing  apart  from 
either  Chinese  or  Indian  Buddhism. 

When  Amogha  Vadjra  arrived  in  China,  it  was  the  period 


MO  THE  NEST0R1AN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


in  which  almost  all  the  elements  of  culture  were  being  intro- 
duced into  Japan  from  China.  Ever  since  A.D.  607  when  the 
first  Japanese  envoy,  Ono-no-imoko  (/]>  |Pf  ££  ^)  and  his 
party  were  sent  to  China,  numbers  of  young  Japanese  had 
been  sent  there  by  the  Japanese  Government  to  study 
until  894  A.D.,  when  the  famous  Sugawara-no-michizane 
(^  M  ill  |ft)»  having  been  appointed  as  Envoy  to  Ch'ang- 
an,  was  prevented  from  going  by  the  great  war  in  China. 

When  Kobo  Daishi  and  Dengyo  Daishi  went  to  China — 
thirty  years  after  Amogha's  death — "  the  Festival  of  departed 
Souls  "  was  at  the  height  of  its  popularity.  No  wonder  then 
that  this  Ullambana — O-Bon-Matsuri — was  at  once  popu- 
larized in  Japan  by  these  monks  on  their  return  from  China, 
and  that  thereby  the  propagation  of  Buddhism  was  greatly 
facilitated  among  the  Japanese  who  had  been  repelled  by  the 
anti-ancestral  attitude  of  Buddhism.  The  majority  of  the 
Japanese  could  not  tolerate  the  idea  of  cremating  one's  father 
or  mother.  Neither  could  they  conceive  how  their  beloved 
parents  could  be  in  Purgatory.* 

But  the  Feast  of  departed  Souls  was  the  very  weapon  that 
the  Buddhist  missionaries  required  to  overcome  this  opposi- 
tion. That  Buddhism,  taking  Chinese  colour  and  adopting 
the  national  cult  of  Ancestor-worship,  took  a  leaf  from  the 
Assyrian  Christians'  book  may  be  fairly  conjectured  from  the 
fact  of  their  mutual  friendliness  ;  the  Buddhist  teachers  would 
naturally  observe  that  the  Assyrian  Christians  offered  prayers 
both  for  the  living  and  for  the  dead  seven  times  a  day,  as 
mentioned  in  the  Nestorian  Inscription  by  Adam  ( jj^  ^jf), 
who  composed  it  and  also  co-operated  with  Prajna,  the 
Kashmir  monk,  in  Hsi-an-fu,  in  translating  a  Buddhist  Sutra 
as  already  described. 

The  Inscription  on  the  stone  tells  us  how  the  Emperor 
Hsiian-Tsung,  who  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Amogha  and 

*  St.  Francis  Xavier  found  the  same  feelings  when  he  came  to  Yamaguchi  in 
Japan  in  A.D.  1552. 


INTRODUCTION  141 


had  received  the  Buddhist  Baptism  from  him,  was  a  generous 
patron  of  the  Nestorian  Convent. 

It  also  describes  how  Su-Tsung  rebuilt  the  Nestorian 
temples,  and  how  Tai-Tsung  (who  gave  Amogha  a  very 
high  posthumous  honour)  was  so  amiable  as  to  invite  the 
Nestorians  or  "  Luminous  People "  to  his  birthday  party. 
These  are  convincing  proofs  of  the  Imperial  friendliness  to 
both  religions — Nestorian  Christianity  and  Buddhism. 

The  Inscription  says :  "  Hsiian-Tsung  (713-755  A.D.),  the 
1  Emperor  of  the  Perfect  Way '  ordered  Prince  Ning-kuo 
(38J  |5j  ^)  and  four  other  Imperial  Princes  to  go  to  the 
Blessed  Building  (i.e.  Church)  and  rebuild  the  altars. 

"  The  consecrated  beams  which  had  been  torn  away  from 
their  places  were  thus  again  set  up,  and  the  Sacred  stones 
which  had  been  thrown  down  were  replaced.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Period  T'ien-pao  (742-755  A.D.),  orders  were 
given  to  the  Great-General  Kao  Li-shih  (J^  j]  J^),  to  send 
faithful  portraits  of  the  five  Emperors  and  have  them  placed 
securely  in  the  monastery  with  a  gift  of  a  hundred  pieces  of 
silk. 

"And  again,  in  the  third  year  of  the  same  period  (744 
A.D.),  in  the  Kingdom  of  Ta-ch'in  there  was  a  monk  called 
Wagis  (i.e.  George)  (jfQ  ^ ),  who  came  to  pay  homage  to 
the  Emperor.  An  Imperial  proclamation  was  issued  for  the 
priests  Abraham  (jg|  ^ ),  Ephraim  (^  |jgj)  and  others— 
seventeen  in  all,  along  with  the  Bishop  George  to  perform  a 
service  of  merit  (i.e.  thanksgiving  and  prayer)  in  •  the  Hsing- 
ch'ing   Palace'  (f|  |g  ^f). 

"  The  Accomplished  and  Intelligent  Emperor  Su-Tsung 
(756-762  a.d.)  rebuilt  the  Convents  of  the  Luminous 
Religion  in  the  five  districts  of  Ling-wu  ( J||  ^)  and  else- 
where. 

"The  Emperor  Tai-Tsung  (763-779  A.D.),  accomplished 
and  martial,  gradually  signalized  his  ascension  to  the  throne, 
and  conducted  his  affairs  without  difficulty.     Always  when 


142 


THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


his  birthday  recurred  he  presented  celestial  incense  wherewith 
to  announce  to  Heaven  the  meritorious  deeds  accomplished 
by  him,  and  sent  provisions  from  his  own  table  to  gladden 
(or  do  honour  to)  the  congregation  of  the  Luminous  Religion." 

These  quotations  from  the  Inscription  show  how  much 
the  Chinese  Emperors  favoured  the  Assyrian  Christians,  and 
may  suggest  that  u  the  Imperial  Birthday  Festival " — "  pray- 
ing for  the  living" — which  was  instituted  in  A.D.  729,  was  of 
Nestorian  origin,  and  that  what  is  written  in  Nien  Ch'ang's 
11  Biographical  History  of  Buddhism  "  about  the  Emperor 
Tai-Tsung's  having  had  a  service  performed  likewise  by  a  large 
company  of  Buddhist  monks  on  his  birthday,  means  that  the 
Buddhists  were  admitted  to  the  ceremony  for  the  first  time 
in  765  A.D.  whilst,  according  to  the  Chinese  Annals,  a  number 
of  Confucian  scholars  were  for  the  first  time  admitted  to 
this  ceremony  in  797  A.D. 

We  in  Japan  had  very  much  the  same  Festival  instituted 
in  775  A.D.  for  the  first  time,  i.e,  forty-six  years  after  it  had 
been  started  in  China,  and  twenty-nine  years  after  the  visit  of  a 
Persian  physician  whom  we  have  identified  with  Priest  Milis 
of  the  Nestorian  Inscription.  Besides,  we  have  another 
ceremony  of  public  prayer,  which  was  introduced  by  Kobo 
Daishi,  and  continues  to  this  day.  This  prayer  service  is 
held  at  the  Imperial  Palace  in  behalf  of  the  Emperor's  long 
life.  Formerly  this  special  prayer  was  offered  on  His  Majesty's 
birthday,  but  the  celebration  now  takes  place  at  the  New 
Year,  usually  in  the  second  week  of  January ;  the  privilege 
of  conducting  the  service  given  to  Kobo  Daishi  was  confirmed 
to  his  successors,  the  monks  of  the  Shingon  shu,  in  whose 
hands  it  still  remains. 

All  the  testimonies  from  China  and  Japan  agree  that 
Assyrian  Christians  and  Buddhists  were  on  exceedingly  good 
terms  in  China,  and  that  they  learned  and  imitated  one 
another's  good  points  even  if  they  were  not  actually  one  and 
the  same  in  Faith,  as  some  scholars  have  supposed. 


INTRODUCTION  143 


Both  being  foreign  religions  which  sometimes  enjoyed  the 
same  Imperial  patronage,  and  at  others  suffered  the  same 
persecutions,  they  were,  as  a  rule,  sympathetic  to  each  other. 
We  may  venture  to  say  that  the  Assyrian  Christian  mis- 
sionaries throve  under  the  wings  of  Buddhism,  whilst  the 
Buddhists,  under  the  leadership  of  so  great  and  broad-minded 
a  teacher  as  Amogha,  availed  themselves  of  some  Nestorian 
usages. 

Prayers  for  the  dead  and  the  use  of  "  I-hai  "  (^  f$)  or 
"Rei-hai"  (|||  J}^),  that  is  to  say  diptychs,  may  have  been 
learned  by  the  Buddhists  from  their  Nestorian  friends,  for  this 
grayer  for  the  dead,  like  their  "  prayer  for  the  living,"  was  one 
of  the  characteristics  of  the  Assyrian  Church  as  well  as  a 
Jewish  custom  which  is  continued  in  the  synagogues  to 
this  day.  Nay,  more,  it  was  the  established  custom  in  the 
whole  Catholic  Church  until  it  was  ignored  by  the  Protestant 
Reformation  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  Inscription  says  :  "  Seven  times  a  day  they  meet  for 
worship  and  praise  for  the  great  protection  of  the  living  and 
the  dead"  "  Those  who  are  living  flourish  ;  and  those  who 
are  dead  have  joy."  "  The  dead  are  buried  and  laid  to  rest 
in  their  graves."  "  To  save  both  the  quick  and  the  dead,  the 
Ship  of  Great  Mercy  was  launched."  "Both  the  quick  and 
the  dead  safely  sailed  over  to  the  other  side  "  (of  the  River,  i.e. 
of  Death,  or  what  the  Buddhists  term  "  crossing  over  the 
Ocean  of  Sin  and  Sorrow  to  the  Further  "). 

Such  passages  prove  that  the  Assyrian  Church  in  China 
found  no  necessity  to  attack  either  Confucianists  or  Taoists 
about  their  Ancestral  worship  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  met  on 
common  ground !  The  Nestorian  prayers  for  the  dead  and 
the  Ancestral  worship  of  Confucianists  and  Taoists  were 
strong  enough  to  influence  any  such  far-sighted  leaders  as 
the  Buddhist  Subhakarashima,  Vajra  Bodhi,  Amogha  Vajra, 
and  others  to  popularize  the  "  Feast  of  departed  Souls." 

It   is   impossible   to   imagine   that   Amogha   Vajra,    the 


144  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


favourite  of  three  Chinese  Emperors,  was  so  inhuman  as  to 
be  unmoved  by  the  prevalent  feeling.  Nay,  it  was  essential 
for  him,  or  any  other  Buddhist  leader,  to  defend  Buddhism 
against  the  attacks  from  outsiders  who  said  that  "  Buddhism 
does  not  teach  respect  for  Ancestors,  as  they  even  cremate 
the  dead." 

The  Feast  of  departed  Souls  and  the  influence  of  the  Great- 
Sun- Worship  of  Vairochana,  as  the  Light  and  Saviour  of  the 
World,  were  extremely  flourishing  and  popular  during  the 
eighth  century  in  China,  and  even  at  the  time  when  our 
Kobo  Daishi  went  to  Ch'ang-an  at  the  beginning  of  the 
ninth  century. 

This  Feast  of  departed  Souls,  the  chief  characteristic  of 
Chinese  and  Japanese  Buddhism,  is  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  indirect  results  produced  by  the  presence  of  the 
Assyrian  Christians  in  China,  and  is  an  equally  prominent 
usage  amongst  the  descendants  of  the  ancient  Celtic  Church 
in  Brittany  as  well  as  in  Italy,  and  other  Roman  Catholic 
countries  down  to  the  present  day. 

The  Festival  must  have  seemed  a  strange  innovation  to 
the  Southern  Buddhists  who  clearly  and  distinctly  professed 
that  "  No  man  can  be  saved  by  another ;  he  must  save  him- 
self." "Buddhism  teaches  the  highest  goodness  without  a 
god ;  a  continued  existence  without  what  goes  by  the  name 
of  soul ;  a  happiness  without  an  objective  Heaven  ;  a  method 
of  Salvation  without  a  vicarious  Saviour  ;  a  Self-redemption, 
without  rites,  prayers,  penances,  priests,  or  intercessory  saints  ; 
and  a  summum  bonum  attainable  in  this  life  and  in  this 
world."     ("  Buddhist  Catechism,"  by  Col.  Alcott,  pp.  25,  33.) 

Evidently  "  the  Feast  of  departed  Souls  "  is  entirely  un- 
known to  the  Orthodox  Canon  of  Southern  Buddhism  !  But 
how  this  Mahayana  Festival  of  departed  Souls  and  prayer  for 
the  dead  and  the  dying,  which  are  thoroughly  Catholic  teach- 
ings, came  from  contact  with  the  Assyrian  Christians  in 
China  is  a  most  important  problem,  and  as  yet  unsolved. 


INTRODUCTION  145 


Monsignor  Duchesne  says  that  "the  most  characteristic 
trait  in  all  Liturgies  of  Nestorian  origin,  is  the  place  assigned 
to  the  great  Intercession  or  Memento ;  instead  of  following 
the  epiclesis  as  in  the  Syriac  liturgy,  it  is  placed  before  and 
attached  immediately  to  the  Commemoration  of  the  Christ 
or  Anamnesis'"  ("Origines  du  Culte  Chretien,"  p.  70,  pub. 
Paris,  1908  ;  English  ed.,  S.P.C.K.,  1910,  p.  70). 

So  much  for  the  relation  between  the  Nestorians  in  China 

and  Chinese  Buddhism.     During  the  eighth  and 
Possible  re-        .     ,  ,  7  , 

lation  of  the    ninth  centuries,  there  was  scarcely  anything  good 

Influence  in     in  Hsi-an-fu,  the  great  Tang  capital,  that  was  not 

China  to  the    introduced  into  Japan  or  copied  by  the  Japanese 
marriage  of      .      ,    .  .    ,       f.  f  r 

priests  in         in  their  capital  at  Nara  sooner  or  later. 

Japan.  If  the  Court  buildings  in  Hsi-an-fu  were  painted 

red,  so  were  those   at   Nara.     If  a   temple   was   built   and 

supported  by  the  Chinese  Government  in  each  province,  so 

must  it  be  in  Japan.    If  the  birthday  of  the  Chinese  Emperor 

was  observed  as  a  National  Holiday  in  China,  so  was  it  here. 

If  the  nobles  and  upper  class  in  the  Chinese  capital  played 

football,  it  was  soon  imitated  by  the  Japanese  aristocracy  in 

Nara,  and  Asuka-oka. 

Strange  as  it  may  sound  to  a  foreigner,  and  still  more  so 
to  our  own  Japanese  people,  it  is  not  altogether  unreasonable  to 
suppose  the  old  Japan  prior  to  the  thirteenth  century  as  if  she 
were  a  part  of  China  so  far  as  her  culture  and  civilization 
were  concerned ! 

We  can  trace  it  all  back  to  the  Chinese  origin  of  Japanese 
Buddhism.  It  was  after  Kublai  Khan's  invasion  (1268- 
128 1  A.D.)  that  Japan  began  to  realize  her  spiritual  as  well  as 
material  independence.  By  her  great  victory  over  Kublai, 
Japan  shook  off  the  spiritual  yoke,  so  to  speak,  of  Chinese 
civilization,  and  a  strong  national  consciousness  arose. 
Before  the  thirteenth  century,  Buddhism  never  took  the  form 
of  a  Japanese  Buddhism.  This  fact  in  Japan's  religious 
history  corresponds  to  other  facts  in  her  national   history. 


146  THE  NEST0K1AN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


Art  and  literature  began  to  take  a  Japanese  form  about  the 
same  time. 

But  the  influence  of  China  was  so  strong  that  after  the 
long  space  of  nine  hundred  and  fifty  years  those  Japanese 
who  studied  Buddhism  only  through  Chinese  translations 
at  last  began  to  think  that  for  the  study  of  Buddhism  the 
Chinese  texts  and  Chinese  commentaries  were  enough. 
They  did  not  see  any  land  beyond  China. 

In  the  thirteenth  century  the  study  of  Sanskrit  was  quite 
neglected  by  Japanese  Buddhists.  When  the  great  Shinran 
and  Nichiren  created  Japanese  Buddhism  out  of  Chinese 
Buddhism,  it  was  a  time  when  Japan  was  least  influenced  by 
things  Chinese. 

It  was  after  the  glorious  Japanese  victory  over  Kublai 
and  his  Tartar  hosts  in  1281  A.D.,  that  Japan  became  the 
true  preserver  of  the  Cha'ng-an  civilization. 

We  find  many  things  in  Japan  which  have  long  been  lost 
in  China.  For  example,  there  are  several  ancient  Chinese 
books  which  are  preserved  only  in  Japan ;  some  musical 
instruments,  like  the  biwa,  which  have  almost  obsolete  forms 
in  China,  although  well  preserved  in  Japan  ever  since  Fujiwara 
Sadatoshi  (^  Jjgf  J=|  |jj[)  introduced  them  into  the  country' 
in  893  A.D. 

Similarly  in  Religion.  Some  of  the  Buddhist  sects  lost 
in  China  developed  here  in  Japan  on  different  lines.  The 
strongest  sects  in  Japanese  Buddhism  all  belong  to  the 
Mahayana  school  whose  central  points  are  diametrically 
opposed  to  those  of  Southern  or  Hinayana  Buddhism,  whether 
found  in  China  or  in  India.* 

Among  the  Buddhist  sects  in  Japan  the  Shin-shu  (i.e. 
True  religion,  jf!  ^)  canonically  allows  its  priests,  or  ordained 
men,  to  marry.  This  sect  was  founded  by  Shinran  in  1224 
A.D.     But  his  teacher  Genku,  better  known  as  Honen  Shonin 

*  Shingon  shu  has  17,538,859;  Shin  shu,  13,325,619;  Sodo  shu,  9,681,612; 
Jodo  shu,  3,913,051  ;  Rinsai,  2,268,222  ;  Tendai,  2,078,424  ;  Nichiren,  2,163,809 
(The  Government  Report  for  1912). 


INTRODUCTION  147 


(1 133-1208  A.D.),  who  introduced  the  Jodo-Shu  (Sukhavati, 
i.e.  "  the  Paradise-of-the-West,"  sect)  into  Japan  had  already 
permitted  Shinran  to  marry.  This  was  not  the  Ordination 
of  the  married  man,  but  the  marriage  of  the  ordained  man. 

The  historians  of  this  sect  agree  in  saying  that  Shinran 
had  two  teachers  in  Japan,  three  predecessors  in  China,  and 
two  Boddhisattvas  in  India.  The  two  Japanese  teachers  of 
Shinran  were  Genku  (*^J  2Jj?)  and  Genshin  (|Jgi  fg),  and  his 
three  Chinese  predecessors  were  Yiin-luan  (J|  Jj^),  Tao-ch'o 
(IH  |£),  and  Shan-tao  (M&  Sgi),  whilst  the  'two  Boddhi- 
sattvas were  Vasubandha  (jjjr  |p£),  a  disciple  of  Nagarjuna, 
and  Nagarjuna  (j|j|  ^J)  himself — the  great  teacher  of  the 
Amitabha  doctrine. 

Nagarjuna  having  died  about  the  middle  of  the  second 
century  A.D.,  the  Japanese  Buddhists  trace  back  to 
Sakyamuni  and  thus  lay  claim  to  their  own  "Apostolic 
succession." 

Sakyamuni  (450  B.C.). 

Ashvaghosha  (died  100  A.D.,  but  is  traditionally  claimed 
to  have  died  in  405  B.C.). 

Nagarjuna  (died  194  A.D.,  some  say  that  he  died  in  120 
A.D.,  while  others  1 50  A.D.). 

Vasubandha  (345  A.D.,  some  say  that  he  died  in  445  A.D.). 

Bodhiruchi  (508  A.D.,  he  died  in  Lo-yang,  China). 

Bodhidharma  (520  A.D.,  he  came  to  China,  where  he  died 
in  529  A.D.). 

Yiin-luan  (Donran)  (§  $§)  (502  A.D.-549  A.D.). 

Tao-ch'o  (Doshaku)  (^  jj^i)  (died  in  646  A.D.,  eleven  years 
after  the  Nestorians  arrived). 

Shan-tao  (Zendo)  (^p  |||)  (died  in  681  A.D.,  forty-six 
years  after  the  Nestorians  arrived). 

Genshin  ($j|  jff )  (941-1017  A.D.). 

Genku  ($g  §g)  (1 133-1208  A.D.). 

Shinran  (^  $g)  (1 173-1263  A.D.). 


148  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


The  chief  authorities  agree  in  saying  that  Shinran  and  his 
teacher  Honen  Shonin  (Genku)  improved  upon  the  teachings 
of  their  predecessor  Shan-tao,  the  Chinese  Buddhist,  who 
taught  Salvation  by  faith  in  Amitabha  and  the  doctrine  of 
a  Trinity — "  when  he  preached,  the  Three  Buddhas  appeared 
in  his  breath ! " 

How  Shan-tao  got  the  idea  of  A  Vicarious  Saviour  of 
Unlimited  Light  or  that  of  "Eternal  Life"  by  Faith  in 
Amitabha  is  the  most  important  point.  The  mere  fact  that 
Shan-tao  lived  at  the  time  when  the  Nestorian  Mission 
flourished  in  China,  and  that  both  Buddhists  and  Nestorians 
were  on  sympathetic  terms ;  that  they  often  met  at  the 
Imperial  Court  of  the  T'ang  Emperors ;  that  about  one 
hundred  years  after  Shan-tao,  Prajrla  from  Kapisa  was  trans- 
lating Buddhist  scriptures  with  Adam,  the  Nestorian  priest,  in 
the  ancient  capital  of  China,  are  all  sufficient  proofs  to 
convince  any  reasonable  mind ;  whilst  what  the  Rev.  Z. 
Tachibana  and  Sir  Aurel  Stein  have  so  lately  discovered  in 
the  Khotan  region  shows  that  Amitabha  Buddhism  was  very 
strong  in  the  locality  where  Assyrian  Christianity  was  strongest. 

But  if  we  trace  back  to  the  root  of  Shinran's  teaching,  it 
is  summed  up  in  a  few  words  :  "  Man  has  no  power  to  save 
himself."  "  Man  cannot  be  saved  by  his  own  effort ;  it  is 
by  the  grace  and  merit  of  Amitabha  that  man  is  saved  : 
Nama  Amitabha  (We  trust  in  Thee,  O  Amitabha !)  is  all  we 
need  to  say  to  be  saved  and  no  more ! " 

This  is  just  the  opposite  to  the  Hinayana  creed  of  Southern 
Buddhism,  which  declares :  u  No  one  can  be  saved  by 
another ;  he  must  save  himself ;  he  must  save  himself  with- 
out a  vicarious  Saviour." 

We  are  told  by  certain  Buddhists  that  the  Buddhist  idea 
of  salvation  by  faith  in  Amitabha  is  the  result  of  Evolution  ; 
that  the  process  was  gradual  and  imperceptible.  The  doctrine 
of  the  Hinayana — "one  must  save  oneself" — was  changed  in 
the  course  of  many  centuries  into  the  doctrine,  "  one  must 


INTRODUCTION  149 


save  oneself  by  the  merit  of  reciting  the  prayer — Nama 
Amitabha ! "  The  salvation  of  man  depended,  not  on  the 
work,  but  on  the  merit  of  repeated  prayer.  This  second 
stage,  we  are  told,  was  again  changed  into  the  doctrine,  "  one 
can  be  saved,  not  by  the  work  nor  by  the  merit  of  repeating 
the  prayer,  but  by  the  grace  of  Amitabha.  We  trust  in 
Him,  instead  of  trusting  to  our  own  effort,  or  merit,  or  offer- 
ing the  prayer." 

We  do  not  know  how  far  this  explanation  given  by  a 
Buddhist  can  be  confirmed  by  the  canonical  scriptures  of 
Buddhism.  But  as  to  the  Origin  of  the  Amitabha  doctrine, 
the  following  points  are  clear : 

(1)  It  is  quite  foreign  to  Orthodox  or  Indian  Buddhism 
— the  Southern  Church  knows  nothing  whatever  of  it. 
Evidently  the  Theological  Evolution  did  not  take  place  in 
the  South. 

(2)  In  Northern  Buddhism,  i.e.  the  Mahayana  school, 
the  doctrine  is  found  only  in  the  Larger  Suk/iavati  Vyufia,  the 
Smaller  Sukhavati  Vyuha,  and  the  Amitayur-dhyana  Stitras. 
The  first  book  was  translated  by  Lokarakcha  in  147  A.D.,  and 
An-shih-kao  (Ashiki,  Arsakes)  in  148  A.D.  But  the  translation 
now  in  use  was  made  by  Samghapala  or  Samghavarman 
(Ilf  fft^  f&)  m  252  A-D-  It:  is  called  Fo-shuo  wu-liang-shou 
ching  ("Bussetsu  Muryojukyo")  (f&  fft  ^  jg;  lg  $£),  U. 
"  The  Eternal-Life-Sutra  preached  by  Buddha." 

In  402  A.D.,  Kumarajiva's  translation  appeared  as  Fo-shuo 
A-mi-t'o     ching    (Bussetsu    Amida    Kyo)    (ffi  f^  ppf  §jg 

Pfe  |§9>  and  in  65°  ^^  Hsuan-tsang's  (i.  3^)  translation 
as  Ch'eng-tsan  ching-t'u  Fo  nieh-shou  ching  (Shosan  Jodo 

Butsu  Setsuju  Kyo)  (f§  ff^  ±  ^  »  ^  ^)- 

According  to  Dr.  Nanjio,  "  This  sutra  gives  a  history  of 
the  Tathagatha  Amitabha,  from  the  first  spiritual  impulses 
which  led  Him  to  the  attainment  of  Buddhahood  in  remote 
Kalpas  down  to  the  present  time  when  He  dwells  in  the 
Western  World  called  Sukhavati,  where  He  receives  all  living 


150  THE  NESTOR  TAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

beings  from  every  quarter,  helping  them  to  turn  away  from 
Confusion  and  become  enlightened." 

The  book  is  full  of  many  strange  personal  names  of 
disciples  of  Buddha  ;  and  its  allegorical  tone  renders  it  very 
difficult  for  the  reader  to  grasp  its  true  meaning.  Yet  it  has 
the  following  words*  about  the  birth  of  Gautama  Buddha, 
which  must  sound  very  familiar  to  the  Western  Christian. 

"  Resigning  His  existence  in  the  Heavenly  Palace,  the 
Spirit  of  God  was  incarnated  in  the  womb  of  a  mother." 

"  He  cried  out,  *  I  shall  be  peerless  in  the  world  ! ' " 

"  When  He  was  born,  all  the  gods  waited  upon  Him. 
All  the  angels  adored  Him." 

"  He  had  all  Sciences  and  Arts  at  His  fingers'  end." 

Again,  about  His  temptation  and  victory  over  the  Devils, 
it  has  the  following  words  : 

"  Radiating  the  Great  Luminous  Light,  He  informed  the 
Devil  of  the  fulness  of  His  time.  Then  came  the  Devil  with 
all  his  kindred  and  tempted  Him.  His  wisdom  and  power 
were  more  than  theirs  all  combined,  so  that  they  were  all 
conquered  by  Him." 

Then  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world  the  following  is  said  of 
Buddha : 

"  He  is  a  true  Friend  to  all  that  are  heavily  burdened 
before  they  ask  for  His  help." 

Again,  about  His  glory  : 

"When  He  spake  these  words,  His  body  became  pure 
and  His  face  transfigured  as  the  Sun  and  His  raiment  as 
the  pure  Mirror." 

About  how  to  lead  a  Spiritual  Life  the  book  says : 

"  He  said,  *  Why  do  ye  not  give  up  worldly  cares  and 
seek  the  moral  before  everything?'  Ye  have  the  eternal 
life  and  ye  have  the  endless  enjoyment  of  pleasure  of  life." 

"  If  ye  have  a  field,  ye  take  too  much  thought  of  the  field. 
If  ye  have  a  house,  ye  take  too  much  thought  of  the  house." 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  III.  and  No.  IV. 


n 


INTRODUCTION  151 


"  He  that  has  one  thing  shall  need  for  another." 

m  '  Why  do  ye  not  seek  the  eternal  life  in  earnest  ?  Why 
do  ye  not  seek  the  Truth  ?     Why  do  ye  stand  idle  '  ? " 

"If  we  sow  good  seed  we  shall  reap  good  fruit.  If  we 
walk  in  the  true  Way  we  cannot  but  fulfil  the  true  Way." 

"  Conquer  ye  evil  with  goodness  ;  not  evil  with  evil." 

"If  ye  recognize  your  old  sins  and  do  earnestly  repent 
and  sincerely  desire  to  separate  from  them,  ye  can  do  so  only 
by  asking  Him  for  His  help.     Ask  and  ye  shall  be  saved." 

The  second  book  was  translated  by  Hsiian-tsang  in 
650  A.D.  In  this  it  is  taught  that  if  a  man  keeps  in  memory 
the  name  of  Buddha  Amitabha  one  day  or  seven  days,  the 
Buddha  together  with  the  Bodhisattvas  will  come  and  meet 
him  at  the  moment  of  death  so  that  he  may  be  re-born  in  the 
Pure-land,  Sukhavati  (g§  ^f  ^  ±t). 

About  Salvation  by  Faith,  this  book  has  these  sayings  : 

"  O  ye  good  men  and  women !  If  ye  only  have  Faith, 
re-birth  in  the  Pure-land,  Sukhavati,  shall  be  given  to  you  ! " 

"  If  any  one  already  began  to  ask  Him  in  the  past  or  is 
willing  to  ask  Him  in  the  present  or  shall  ask  Him  in  the 
future  to  grant  the  re-birth  in  the  Pure-land  of  Amitabha,  He 
will  grant  it  to  any  one  freely  at  the  very  moment  of 
asking." 

The  third  book  was  translated  into  Chinese  in  442  A.D.  by 
Kalayashas  (g  J^  Jfg  ^).  In  this  book  (as  we  are  told 
by  Dr.  Nanjio)  "  Queen  Vaidachi,  wearied  of  this  wicked 
world,  is  comforted  by  Sakyamuni,  who  teaches  her  how  to 
be  born  in  the  Pure-land  and  instructs  her  in  the  three  kinds 
of  Goodness.  These  are  :  (1)  worldly  goodness — filial  piety, 
loyalty,  respect  for  parents,  etc.  ;  (2)  morality  of  that  inward 
and  unworldly  kind  which  is  the  first  foundation  of  the 
religious  life  ;  and  (3)  the  goodness  of  practice,  which 
includes  the  practical  application  to  life  of  the  four  great 
truths  and  the  six  Paramitas  or  cardinal  virtues.  A  good 
seed  produces  good  fruit  in  abundance.     If  we  sow  the  seed 

L 


152  THE   NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


of  the  Three  Goodnesses,  we  shall  reap  as  a  fruit  the  manifold 
bliss  of  the  Pure-land." 

The  book  says : 

"  Vaidachi  said  unto  the  Lord  :  '  Lord,  by  reason  of  what 
old  sins  must  I  suffer  from  the  hand  of  my  own  wicked  son  ? 
Lord,  if  Thou  hast  mercy  upon  me,  preach  Thy  Salvation  for 
my  sake.  I  am  tired  of  this  wicked  world  of  sins.  I  do 
earnestly  repent  of  my  sins  !  O  Thou,  the  Sun  of  Buddha, 
shine  forth  Thy  glory  and  show  me  the  Way  of  Pure  Life 
(Li.  redeemed  life) ' ! " 

"  The  Lord  said  unto  Vaidachi  *  Knowest  thou  that 
Amitabha  is  not  far  from  thee  ?  Meditate  thou  with  all  thy 
heart  and  at  all  time  upon  Him ' !  " 

"  The  Mind  of  Buddha  is  the  mind  of  the  great  love  and 
Mercy  which  freely  saves  the  souls  of  all  mankind." 

"  Amitabha  radiates  great  shining  Light  from  His  own 
person.  His  glory  shineth  forth  the  Way  (to  walk  in)  for  the 
believers  in  Him." 

"  He  and  all  His  Bodhisattvas  welcome  the  believers  at 
the  Gate  of  Paradise  giving  them  their  hands  !  " 

The  relation  of  Amitabha  to  Christianity  is  too  great  a 
problem  for  us  to  discuss  and  is  altogether  beyond  our 
present  purpose.  But  it  is  clear  that  the  Assyrian  Christians 
were  not  opposed  to  this  Amitabha  doctrine,  and  that  its 
development  in  China  furnished  a  common  meeting-ground 
and  lever  for  them  and  their  friendly  collaborators,  the 
Buddhish  monks. 

Chronologically  speaking,  we  cannot  escape  the  conclu- 
sion that  Shan-tao  must  have  been  on  sympathetic  terms 
with  the  Nestorians  in  China.  And  so  long  as  the  Japanese 
Buddhist  historians  claim  "  The  Transmission,"  or  "  Apostolic 
Succession  "  of  Shinran  Shonin  through  Shan-tao  and  Tao-ch'o 
they  cannot  deny  that  Shinran  Shonin  was,  indirectly  and 
unconsciously  (it  may  be  even  to  himself),  related  to  the 
Assyrian  Church  of  the  Messiah  in  China. 


INTRODUCTION  153 

Kao-Tsung  (650-683  A.D.),  who  was  a  great  friend  of 
Shan-tao,  was  the  very  Emperor  who  most  helped  the 
Assyrian  Church  in  China !     Our  Inscription  says  : 

"  The  great  Emperor  Kao-Tsung  reverently  succeeded  his 
ancestors.  Embellishing  and  completing  the  True  Religion 
(M  5§?)  (this  is  the  verv  name  bv  which  the  Japanese  sect 
of  Shinran  is  known  !).  He  caused  a  Luminous  monastery  to 
be  built  in  every  province  and  extended  his  favour  to  A-lo-p6n, 
and  raised  him  to  be  the  Patron  Saint  and  Spiritual  Lord 
over  the  Empire.  The  Religion  had  free  course  throughout 
the  Ten  Provinces.  The  State  enjoyed  great  peace,  and  a 
monastery  was  founded  in  every  city,  and  family  life  flourished 
in  the  Luminous  happiness." 

Under  these  circumstances  it  is  impossible  to  imagine 
that  Shan-tao  was  ignorant  of  the  Nestorian  doctrines. 

It  was  in  the  year  1200  A.D.  that  Shinran  Shonin  was 
allowed  by  his  teacher  Genku  (Honen  Shonin)  to  marry. 
This  was  a  new  departure  in  Buddhism  whether  in  China 
or  in  India.  Even  in  the  history  of  Buddhism  in  Japan  it 
is  unprecedented.  But  when  we  know  that  the  Nestorian 
priests  in  the  time  of  Shan-tao  were  canonically  allowed 
to  marry,  it  need  not  surprise  us  to  see  the  spiritual 
descendants  of  Shan-tao  in  Japan  some  five  hundred  years 
later  permitting  marriage. 

Although  we  have  as  yet  no  direct  evidence  to  prove 
that  the  legitimatizing  of  a  Buddhist  priest's  marriage  was 
copied  from  the  Nestorian  example  in  China,  we  are  con- 
vinced that  Genktf  (Honen  Shonin)—  Shinran's  Master— did 
take  a  leaf  out  of  the  Nestorian  book. 

It  was  in  the  year  499  a.d.  that  the  Nestorian  bishops 
held  a  Synod  at  Seleucia-Ctesiphon  and  formally  repudiated 
clerical  celibacy.  This  decision  might  have  been  due  to  Per- 
sian influence,  as  celibacy  was  so  repugnant  to  Persian  preju- 
dices. If  this  be  so,  then  Persian  influence  would  have  been 
very  powerful  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries  amongst 


154 


THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


the  Nestorians  in  China,  so  that  it  is  not  surprising  that  we 
should  read  in  the  Inscription:  "Deacon  Adam,  the  son  of 
chorepiscopos  Yesbuzid.  Mar  Yesbuzid,  chorepiscopos  of 
Kutndan,  the  Royal  City,  the  son  of  the  late  priest  Milis. 

The  Prime  Minister  Fujiwara  Kanesane  asked  Genku  to 
find  a  suitable  young  man  who  could  set  a  good  example 
to  the  world  by  showing  that  married  life  is  no  hindrance 

to  salvation.  , 

Genku  (Honen  Shonin)  (who  was  evidently  in  favour  of 
priestly  marriage)  having  obtained  his  disciple's  consent, 
recommended  Shinran  to  the  Prime  Minister.  Thus  the 
marriage  of  priests  was  introduced  into  Japanese  Buddhism 
at  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century. 

If  we  compare  Shinran  with  Luther  in  this  respect,  we 
see  that  whilst  the  Japanese  reformer  simply  bore  witness 
to  the  world  that  the  religious  life  with  a  legitimate  wife 
according  to  his  own  Buddhist  faith  is  not  impossible,  the 
German  reformer-monk  protested  his  right  to  marry  a  nun 
against  the   Papal  rule.     One  was  a  fighter   but  the  other 

was  not.  , 

«  A  great  licentiousness  treads  on  the  heels  of  a  reformer. 
How  many  times  in  the  history  of  the  world  has  the  Luther 
of  the  day  had  cause  to  lament  the  decay  of  piety  in  his 
own  household!  'Doctor/  said  his  wife  one  day  to  Martin 
Luther,  'how  is  it  that  whilst  subject  to  the  Papacy,  we 
prayed  so  often  and  with  such  fervour,  whilst  now  we  pray 
with  the  utmost  coldness  and  very  seldom  ?'»  This  could 
not  be  said  of  Shinran ! 

We  do  not  know  how  far  these  words  of  Emerson  s  hold 
good  in  the  Reformation  History  of  Japan.  But  one  thing 
fs  certain,  that  "I  pray  not  that  Thou  shouldest  take  them 
out  of  the  world,  but  that  Thou  shouldest  keep  them  from 
the  evil,"  was  Shinran's  ideal  as  it  was  also  the  ideal  of 
Luther.  Hence  both  Buddhists  and  Christians  may  under- 
stand  the  words  in  the  Nestorian  Inscription  : 


INTRODUCTION  155 


"  They  preserve  their  beards  to  show  how  their  work  lies 
without  themselves  ;  they  shave  their  crowns  to  show  that 
they  have  no  private  inward  affections." 

The  beards  remind  them  of  their  work  of  love  and 
charity,  whilst  the  shaven  crown — the  tonsure  which  is 
peculiar  to  the  Mahayana  and  not  found  in  the  Hinayana 
Buddhism — reminds  them  that  they  are  "  not  of  the  world." 
They  were  Nestorian  clergy  at  heart,  but  as  men  more  human 
than  their  fellows.  "  They  do  not  differ  from  the  laity  in 
their  outward  appearance,  whilst  of  greedy  selfishness  they 
have  none." 

Speaking  Buddhistically,  this  is  the  Mahayana  doctrine 
of  Mahayana  doctrines.  It  is  of  a  piece  with  the  principles 
of  Ashvagosha  and  Nagarjuna.  The  paradox  of  the  lay- 
priest  and  the  priest-laic  was  a  part  of  the  great  principle 
which  was  realised  in  the  legal  marriage  of  the  priest. 

We  have  shown   that  the  Nestorian  Stone  cannot  be  a 
Jesuit  fabrication,  as  was  once  erroneously  sup-  Conclusion, 
posed.     And  if  its  genuineness  be  established  then  we   can 
immediately  appreciate  its  value. 

It  is  really  "  the  Speaking  Stone ! "  and  in  it  we  recognize 
a  similar  value  to  that  of  the  Moabite  Stone,  or  the  Rosetta 
Stone,  or  the  Rock  of  Behistan  on  the  Caravan  High-road  to 
the  Far  East — all  of  them  witnesses  in  stone  to  the  Truths  of 
the  Bible,  or  affording  Keys  whereby  to  interpret  it. 

By  this  Nestorian  Stone  we  can  at  once  explain  why  so 
many  European  elements  are  observable  in  the  Chinese  civili- 
zation of  the  Middle  Ages.  We  can  also  trace,  "  fore  and  aft," 
so  to  speak,  in  Assyrian  Christianity,  the  Vairochana  Religion, 
the  Amitabha  Doctrine,  the  Feast  of  departed  Souls,  the  eat- 
ing of  flesh,  and  the  legal  and  canonical  marriage  of  priests 
as  well  as  the  tonsure—"  the  Crown  of  Thorns  "  mentioned 
in  the  "  Travels  to  the  Western  Heaven,"  a  Chinese  Buddhist 
allegory  which  exhibits  strong  Nestorian  influence— all  of 
which  are  most  conspicuous  elements  in  Japanese  Buddhism, 


156  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

but  quite  contrary  and  entirely  foreign  to  Southern  Buddhism 
and  to  the  greater  part  of  the  Mahayana  School  in  High 
Asia.  As  for  the  Mahayana  School  in  India  of  which  we 
have  spoken  so  often,  we  are  told  by  good  authorities  that 
there  is  now  no  Mahayana  in  India  as  it  was  utterly 
destroyed  by  the  Arabs  and  Brahmans  over  iooo  years  ago, 
China  and  Japan  being  the  only  countries  where  this  new 
Buddhism  has  attained  its  full  growth. 

If  any  one  should  ask  what  influence  Nestorianism  had 
on  Chinese  thought  in  general,  we  reply  that  it  was  the  great 
change  effected  by  the  Nestorians  on  the  ^Chinese  idea  of 
"  Heaven/'  which  after  the  seventh  century,  became  gradually 
merged  into  that  of  a  Personal  God. 

The  theistic  conception  of  the  world  was  strongly  and 
clearly  expressed  by  the  Confucian  and  Taoist  scholars 
between  618  and  1277  A.D.,  which  is  commonly  known  as  the 
Tang  and  Sung  period  of  Chinese  literature.  The  most 
sceptical  cannot  deny  that  the  best  Chinese  literature  of  these 
two  dynasties  is  interpenetrated  by  the  theistic  conception 
of  "  Heaven."  We  cannot  but  observe  that  this  remarkable 
change  took  place  in  the  period  following  the  arrival  of  the 
Nestorians.  What  Dr.  Legge  said  fifty  years  ago  in  his 
translation  of  the  Chinese  classic  "  The  Doctrine  of  the  Mean  "  : 
"In  the  meantime  the  Chinese  idea  was  antagonistic  to 
Christianity.  By  and  by,  when  Christianity  predominates  in 
the  New  China,  men  will  refer  to  it  as  a  striking  proof  how 
their  fathers  by  their  wisdom  knew  neither  God  nor  them- 
selves? cannot  by  any  means  be  said  of  the  Chinese  of  the 
Nestorian  period ! 

The  Nestorian  contribution  to  the  development  of  a 
theistic  or  Personal  God  is  indeed  great  and  valuable. 
The  Christian  idea  of  a  personal  God  could  find  no  better 
tree  on  which  to  be  grafted  than  Chinese  thought,  whose 
heritage  of  moral  precepts  (derived  from  Lao-tzu  and 
Confucius)  may  be  compared  with  that  of  the  Hebrew  and 


INTRODUCTION  157 


Christian  Scriptures.  We  can  point  to  no  moral  precept 
which  was  a  Nestorian  monopoly,  or  which  was  entirely  new 
and  unknown  to  the  Chinese  of  the  seventh,  eighth,  and 
ninth  centuries  a.d. 

When  the  Nestorians  came  to  China,  the  Chinese,  for 
centuries  past,  had  possessed  a  highly  developed  system  of 
morals  :  "  Rectification  of  the  heart ;  Veracity  of  intention  ; 
Cultivation  of  the  whole  individual  person  ;  the  Right 
Management  of  the  Family  and  good  Order  of  the  State ; 
and  so  to  attain  the  general  Peace  of  the  World."  (The 
Chinese  book,  "  The  Great  Learning.") 

These  constitute  the  end  and  aim  of  both  the  individual 
and  the  State — the  individual  had  the  ideal  set  before  him 
to  walk  on  the  broad  Highway  of  Charity,  Justice,  Order, 
Wisdom,  and  Fidelity  ;  and  the  mass  of  individuals  composed 
the  State.     What  could  the  Nestorian  Teachers  add  to  this  ? 

In  mystical  and  profound  doctrines  or  in  simple  and 
practical  precepts,  the  Nestorians  could  not  surpass  either 
Taoists  or  Buddhists — especially  in  such  doctrines  as  those 
of  Dhyani,  Abidharma,  etc. 

But,  as  some  would  say,  we  must  acknowledge  that  the 
relation  of  Nestorianism  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries 
to  the  civilization  of  the  Chinese  Empire  somewhat  resembles 
that  of  Christianity  to  the  Graeco- Roman  civilization  of  the 
Roman  Empire  in  St.  Paul's  time ! 

The  Nestorian  missionaries  stood  before  the  Emperors  of 
China  as  the  Apostles  stood  before  the  Roman  governors, 
whilst  the  Nestorians,  like  the  Hebrew  prophet,  Daniel,  and 
the  monks  of  the  West  in  the  sub-apostolic  age,  were  the 
trusted  advisers  of  the  Chinese  and  possibly  Japanese 
Sovereigns ! 

But  the  chief  merit  of  the  Nestorians  in  China  can  by  no 
means  be  ignored. 

The  true  leaven  never  ceases  to  work.  Weak  and 
inperceptible  as  the  Nestorian  leaven  was,  it  gradually  but 


158  THE   NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

surely  permeated  the  whole  tone  of  Chinese  literature  during 
the  T'ang  and  Sung  Dynasties.  And  when  all  China  was 
divided  between  Confucianists  and  Taoists  on  the  one  side 
and  Buddhists  on  the  other,  the  Nestorians  turned  the  scale 
in  favour  of  Chinese  Ancestor-worship,  and  thus  contributed 
to  create  what  is  known  to-day  as  "  Chinese  Buddhism  " — 
and  to  confirm  the  belief  in  Amitabha — the  Saviour  who 
saves  those  who  simply  trust  in  and  consecrate  their  whole 
being  to  Him. 

That  the  Nestorians  who  were  driven  from  Edessa  to 
Persia,  and  thence  to  Central  Asia,  and  finally  to  the  Middle 
Kingdom — sometimes  sheltered  by  Arabs  and  sometimes  by 
Hindoos — should  have  performed  this  great  work  of  leaven- 
ing Chinese  thought  with  Theistic  conceptions,  reminds  us 
of  that  "  Stone  which  the  builders  rejected  but  which  became 
the  chief  Corner-stone !  " 

But  should  any  one  ask,  "  Why  the  Nestorian  Church 
once  so  strong  in  China  cannot  now  be  discerned  there  ? M 
we  reply  that  we  can  find  their  remnants — partly  In  the  Chin- 
tan  Chiao  (^  ffi  ^),  whose  number  amounts  at  present 
to  ten  millions,  and  partly  among  the  twenty  millions  of 
Mohammedans  in  China. 

As  for  the  theological  difficulties,  we  should  like  to 
emphasize  that  the  most  difficult  thing  for  an  intellectual 
Chinese  to  believe,  is  the  "  Resurrection  of  the  Lord,"  which 
is  as  great  a  stumbling-block  to  them  as  it  was  to  the  Men 
of  Athens  in  the  days  of  the  Apostle  Paul  (Acts  xvii.  16). 
There  is  a  curious  sentence  in  Ssu-ma  Kuang's  "  Mirror  of 
History  "  under  the  seventh  century  (a  few  years  after  A-lo- 
pen's  arrival  in  635  A.D.),  which  runs  thus : 

"  There  came  a  priest  from  the  Western  Regions  who 
was  skilled  in  charms  and  magic  :  he  could  cause  people 
to  fall  down  dead,  and  then,  after  muttering  an  incantation 
over  them,  to  come  to  life  again"  {Tzu  chih  t'ung  chien, 
ch.  195,  year  639  A.D.). 


INTRODUCTION  159 


<*rirBi5«3fc.   #  fl  fll- H  *  A  4  5E- « 

Strange  as  this  remark  appears,  it  resembles  the  rumour 
we  ourselves  heard  here  in  Japan  some  thirty  or  forty  years 
ago,  that  "  any  Christian  missionary  could  work  miracles  " 
(which  is  nothing  but  Magic) ;  hence  Christian  missionaries 
were  much  dreaded  by  the  mass  of  the  Japanese  people 
owing  to  a  mistaken  idea  which  had  been  handed  down  from 
father  to  son  for  generations  ever  since  the  great  Persecution 
by  the  Shogun  in  161 1  A.D. 

History  repeats  itself.  What  once  happened  in  Athens, 
occurred  again  in  China,  six  hundred  years  later ;  and  the 
same  thing  is  still  taking  place  in  our  own  Japan  which 
inherited  the  civilization  of  Ch'ang-an !  The  difficult  pro- 
blems of  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries  are  the  very 
same  that  the  Japanese  Church  has  to  face  and  solve 
to-day. 

But  what  lessons  can  we  learn  from  the  history  of  the 
Syriac  Church  in  China  ?  This  depends  on  how  we  study 
this  Inscription. 

If  we  mention  the  failures  of  the  Nestorian  Mission  in 
China,  we  should  say  first  of  all,  that  they  did  not  raise  up 
native  workers.  The  foreign  missionaries  relied  on  them- 
selves too  much.  We  see  hardly  any  native  Chinese  priests 
amongst  the  seventy-five  names  inscribed  on  the  sides  of 
the  Nestorian  Stone.* 

And,  secondly,  they  were  cut  off  from  the  main  stream  of 
the  Church  after  the  tenth  century ;  at  least  they  were  not 

*  It  may  be  insisted — not  without  good  reason — that  it  is  impossible  to 
distinguish  natives  and  foreigners  with  any  degree  of  certainty.  But  to  any  one  all 
names  mentioned  in  the  Inscription  would  seem  to  be  "foreigners  "  as  the  contexts 
show,  whilst  to  the  author  almost  all  the  names  on  the  sides  of  the  Stone  seem  not 
to  be  the  native  Chinese.  Possibly  Priest  P'u-chi  (f£  j|  $|)  on  the  side  may  be  the 
only  Chinese,  though  we  have  no  clear  evidence  except  that  this  name  is  unusual 
for  a  Syriac  one. 


160  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN   CHINA 

reinforced  from  the  main  body  after  the  rise  of  Moham- 
medanism. China  was  too  vast  a  country  to  be  Christianized 
by  a  comparatively  small  Church  which  had  no  "Mother- 
Church"  to  back  it  or  strengthen  the  Nestorian  body  in 
China.  Thus  the  detached  regiment  of  the  Soldiers  of  Christ, 
not  being  in  communication  with  the  main  body  of  the  army, 
was  finally  cut  off  from  it  And  this  is  the  position  of  the 
Nestorian  remnant  in  China  to-day ! 

Again,  it  appears  to  us  that  the  missionaries  relied  too 
much  upon  Imperial  favour.  They  died  or  were  smothered 
under  too  much  favour  from  principalities  and  powers  as  a 
State  religion  so  often  is.  "Too  much  kindness,"  in  this 
case,  "  killed  the  cat ! "  A  State  Church  is  a  national 
confession  of  God,  and  the  nation  which  disowns  or 
ignores  God  is  doomed ;  but  the  State  protection  of 
religion  is  apt  to  lead  to  State  corruption  of  religion  too. 

But  we  can  perceive  Nestorian  influence  in  the  books  of 
the  Mongol  period.  We  can  recognize  their  relics  in  the  Chin- 
tan  Chiao  and  Mohammedans  of  China ;  in  the  Ancestor- 
worship  which  they  harmonized  with  the  Feast  of  departed 
Souls ;  in  the  name  of  "  The  Vairochana- Religion  " ;  in  priestly 
marriage  and  meat-eating  ;  in  the  "  Salvation-by-faith-in- 
Amitabha-Buddhism  "  and  Eternal  Life  ;  and  in  the  theory  of 
"  Qod-in-man  "  ($$  \  fe  — -  fgfc)  upheld  by  the  Sung 
scholars. 

Verily  the  Syriac  Church  did  abundantly  fulfil  her 
mission  in  the  Far  East! 

We  have  only  to  go  back  to  the  sources  in  Japan  in  order 
to  "  convince  "  the  so-called  "  heathen  "  in  our  midst — whose 
ancestors  actually  heard  the  Christian  verities  so  long  ago  ! 
— to  wake  them  up  and  make  them  understand  that  their 
ancestors  were  indeed  Christians  or  (at  least)  possessed 
Christian  truth  under  a  different  name.  Yaso,  Jesus, 
'It?<rovc,  Messiah,  Christ,  Xpurrog,  Mi-le  Fo,  and  Miroku, 
are  all  Names  for  the  One  Being,  "  One  without  a  second," 


INTRODUCTION  161 


as  the  inscriptions  on  the  Egyptian  Pyramids  declared  five 
thousand  years  ago. 

And  should  the  attitude  of  foreign  missionaries  in  China 
and  Japan  towards  the  " heathen"  amongst  whom  they  work 
be  softened,  even  a  little,  and  the  remnant  of  the  old  Nes- 
torian  Christians  be  identified  among  the  ten  millions  of  the 
Chin-tan  Chiao,  or  discovered  among  the  twenty-one  millions 
of  Mohammedans  in  China,  then  surely  our  study  of  the 
Inscription  on  the  Venerable  Stone-Tablet  at  Hsi-an-fu  will 
not  be  in  vain  ! 


PART   II 


.. 


THE  TRANSLATION   OF   THE  INSCRIPTION 

A  Monument  commemorating  the  Propagation  of  The 
Ta-ctiin  (i)  Luminous  Religion  (2)  in  the  Middle 
Kingdom  (3). 

[The  figures  correspond  to  the  Number  in  the  Notes,  pp.  181-256.] 

EULOGY  on  a  Monument  commemorating  the  propagation 
of  the  Luminous  Religion  in  the  Middle  Kingdom,  with 
a  Preface  to  the  same,  composed  by  Ching-ching  (4),  a 
priest  of  the  Ta-ch'in  monastery  (5)  (in  Syriac),  Adam  (4), 
priest  and  chorepiscopos,  and  papas  (pope)  of  Zhinastan  (6). 

Behold  !  there  is  One  who  is  true  and  firm,  who,  being 
Uncreated,  is  the  Origin  of  the  origins ;  who  is  ever 
Incomprehensible  and  Invisible,  yet  ever  mysteriously  exist- 
ing to  the  last  of  the  lasts  ;  who,  holding  the  Secret  Source  of 
Origin,  created  all  things,  and  who,  bestowing  (7)  existence 
on  all  the  Holy  ones,  is  the  only  unoriginated  Lord  of  the 
Universe,  (9) — is  not  this  our  Aloha  (8)  the  Triune,  mys- 
terious Person,  the  unbegotten  and  true  Lord  ? 

Dividing  (10)  the  Cross,  He  determined  the  four  cardinal 
points.  Setting  in  motion  the  primordial  spirit  (wind),  He 
produced  the  two  (11)  principles  of  Nature.  The  dark  void 
was  changed,  and  Heaven  and  Earth  appeared.  The  sun  and 
moon  revolved,  and  day  and  night  began.  Having  designed 
and  fashioned  all  things,  He  then  created  the  first  man  and 
bestowed  on  him  an  excellent  disposition,  superior  to  all 
others,  and  gave  him  to  have  dominion  over  the  Ocean  of 
created  things. 


THE  CROSS  AND   TITLE  OF  THE  "  NESTORIAN   MONUMENT. 
(The  title  is  translated  in  italics  on  p.  162,  opposite.) 

{To  face  p.  162. 


THE    TRANSLATION  OF   THE  INSCRIPTION  163 

The  original  nature  of  Man  was  pure,  and  void  of  all 
selfishness,  unstained  and  unostentatious,  his  mind  was  free 
from  inordinate  lust  and  passion.  When,  however,  Satan  (12) 
employed  his  evil  devices  on  him,  Man's  pure  and  stainless 
(nature)  was  deteriorated  ;  the  perfect  attainment  of  goodness 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  entire  (13)  exemption  from  wicked- 
ness on  the  other  became  alike  impossible  for  him. 

In  consequence  of  this,  three  (14)  hundred  and  sixty-five 
different  forms  (of  error)  arose  in  quick  succession  and  left 
deep  furrows  behind.  They  strove  to  weave  nets  of  the  laws 
wherewith  to  ensnare  the  innocent.  Some  pointing  to  natural 
objects  pretended  that  they  were  the  right  objects  to  worship  ; 
others  denied  the  reality  of  existence,  and  insisted  on  ignoring 
the  duality  ;  some  sought  to  call  down  blessings  (happiness 
or  success)  by  means  of  prayers  and  sacrifices ;  others  again 
boasted  of  their  own  goodness,  and  held  their  fellows  in 
contempt.  (Thus)  the  intellect  and  the  thoughts  of  Men  fell 
into  hopeless  confusion  ;  and  their  mind  and  affections  began 
to  toil  incessantly  ;  but  all  their  travail  was  in  vain.  The 
heat  of  their  distress  became  a  scorching  flame  ;  and  self- 
blinded,  they  increased  the  darkness  still  more ;  and  losing 
their  path  for  a  long  while  they  went  astray  and  became 
unable  to  return  home  again. 

Whereupon  one  Person  (1 5)  of  our  Trinity,  the  Messiah  ( 16), 
who  is  the  Luminous  Lord  of  the  Universe,  veiling  His  true 
Majesty,  appeared  upon  earth  as  a  man.  Angels  proclaimed 
the  Glad  Tidings.  A  virgin  gave  birth  to  the  Holy  One  in 
Ta-ch'in(i7).  A  bright  Star  announced  the  blessed  event. 
Persians  saw  the  splendour  and  came  forth  with  their  tribute. 

Fulfilling  (18)  the  old  Law  as  it  was  declared  by  the 
twenty-four  Sages,  He  (the  Messiah)  taught  how  to  rule  both 
families  and  kingdoms  according  to  His  own  great  Plan. 
Establishing  His  New  (19)  Teaching  of  Non-assertion  which 
operates  silently  through  the  Holy  Spirit,  another  Person  of 
the  Trinity,  He  formed  in  man  the  capacity  for  well-doing 


164  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


through  the  Right  Faith.  Setting  (20)  up  the  standard  of  the 
eight  cardinal  virtues,  He  purged  away  the  dust  from  human 
nature  and  perfected  a  true  character.  Widely  (21)  opening 
the  Three  Constant  Gates,  He  brought  Life  to  light  and 
abolished  Death.  Hanging  up  the  bright  Sun,  He  swept 
away  the  abodes  of  darkness.  All  the  evil  devices  of  the 
devil  were  thereupon  defeated  and  destroyed.  He  then  took 
an  oar  in  the  Vessel  (22)  of  Mercy  and  ascended  to  the 
Palace  (23)  of  Light.  Thereby  all  rational  beings  were 
conveyed  across  the  Gulf.  His  mighty  work  being  thus 
completed,  He  (24)  returned  at  noon  to  His  original  position 
(in  Heaven).  The  twenty-seven  (25)  standard  works  of  His 
Sutras  were  preserved.  The  great  means  of  Conversion  (or 
leavening,  i.e.  transformation)  were  widely  extended,  and  the 
sealed  Gate  of  the  Blessed  Life  was  unlocked.  His  Law  is 
to  bathe  with  water  and  with  the  Spirit,  and  thus  to  cleanse 
from  all  vain  delusions  and  to  purify  men  until  they  regain 
the  whiteness  of  their  nature. 

(His  ministers)  carry  the  Cross  (26)  with  them  as  a  Sign. 
They  (27)  travel  about  wherever  the  sun  shines,  and  try  to 
re-unite  those  that  are  beyond  the  pale  (i.e.  those  that  are 
lost).  Striking  (28)  the  wood,  they  proclaim  the  Glad 
Tidings  (lit.  joyful  sounds)  of  Love  and  Charity.  They  (29) 
turn  ceremoniously  to  the  East,  and  hasten  in  the  Path  of 
Life  and  Glory.  They  (30)  preserve  the  beard  to  show  that 
they  have  outward  works  to  do,  whilst  they  shave  the  crown 
(tonsure)  to  remind  themselves  that  they  have  no  private 
selfish  desires.  They  keep  neither  male  nor  female  slaves. 
Putting  all  men  on  an  equality,  they  make  no  distinction 
between  the  noble  and  the  mean.  They  neither  accumulate 
property  nor  wealth ;  but  giving  all  they  possess,  they  set 
a  good  example  to  others.  They  (31)  observe  fasting  in 
order  that  they  may  subdue  "  the  knowledge  "  (which  defiles 
the  mind).  They  keep  the  vigil  of  silence  and  watchfulness 
so  that  they  may  observe  "the  Precepts."     Seven (32)  times 


THE   TRANSLATION  OF  THE  INSCRIPTION  165 

a  day  they  meet  for  worship  and  praise,  and  earnestly  they 
offer  prayers  for  the  living  as  well  as  for  the  dead.  Once  (33) 
in  seven  days,  they  have  "  a  sacrifice  without  the  animal " 
{i.e.  a  bloodless  sacrifice).  Thus  cleansing  their  hearts,  they 
regain  their  purity.  This  (34)  ever  True  and  Unchanging 
Way  is  mysterious,  and  is  almost  impossible  to  name.  But 
its  meritorious  operations  are  so  brilliantly  manifested  that 
we  make  an  effort  and  call  it  by  the  name  of  "  The  Luminous 
Religion." 

But,  at  any  rate  (35),  *  The  Way"  would  not  have  spread 
so  widely  had  it  not  been  for  the  Sage,  and  the  Sage  would 
not  have  been  so  great  were  it  not  for  " The  Way"  Ever 
since  the  Sage  and  "  The  Way  "  were  united  together  as  the 
two  halves  of  an  indentured  deed  would  agree,  then  the 
world  became  refined  and  enlightened. 

When  the  accomplished  Emperor  T'ai-Tsung  (36) 
(627-649  A.D.)  began  his  magnificent  career  in  glory  and 
splendour  over  the  (recently)  established  dynasty  and  ruled 
his  people  with  intelligence,  he  proved  himself  to  be  a 
brilliant  Sage. 

And  behold  there  was  a  highly  virtuous  man  named 
A-lo-pen  (37)  in  the  Kingdom  of  Ta-ch'in  (38).  Auguring 
(of  the  Sage,  i.e.  Emperor)  from  the  azure  sky,  he  (39) 
decided  to  carry  the  true  Sutras  (of  the  True  Way)  with 
him,  and  observing  the  course  of  the  winds,  he  made  his  way 
(to  China)  through  difficulties  and  perils.  Thus  in  the  Ninth 
year  of  the  period  named  Cheng-kuan  (40)  (635  A.D.)  he 
arrived  at  Ch'ang-an.  The  Emperor  despatched  his  Minister, 
Duke  (41)  Fang  Hsuan-ling,  with  a  guard  of  honour,  to  the 
western  suburb  to  meet  the  visitor  and  conduct  him  to  the 
Palace.  The  Sutras  (42)  (Scriptures)  were  translated  in  the 
Imperial  Library.  (His  Majesty)  investigated  "The  Way" 
in  his  own  Forbidden  apartments,  and  being  deeply  con- 
vinced of  its  correctness  and  truth,  he  gave  special  orders  for 
its  propagation. 


166  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


In  the  Twelfth  year  of  the  Cheng-kuan  period  (a.d.  638) 
in  the  Seventh  month  of  Autumn,  the  following  Imperial 
(43)  Rescript  was  issued : — 

u  The  Way "  had  not,  at  all  times  and  in  all  places,  the 
selfsame  name  ;  the  Sage  had  not,  at  all  times  and  in  all 
places,  the  selfsame  human  body.  (Heaven)  caused  a 
suitable  religion  to  be  instituted  for  every  region  and  clime 
so  that  each  one  of  the  races  of  mankind  might  be  saved. 
Bishop  A-lo-pen  of  the  Kingdom  of  Ta-ch'in,  bringing  with 
him  the  Sutras  and  Images,  has  come  from  afar  and  pre- 
sented them  at  our  Capital.  Having  carefully  examined 
the  scope  of  his  teaching,  we  find  it  to  be  mysteriously 
spiritual,  and  of  silent  operation.  Having  observed  its 
principal  and  most  essential  points,  we  reached  the  con- 
clusion that  they  cover  all  that  is  most  important  in  life. 
Their  language  is  free  from  perplexing  expressions  ;  their 
principles  are  so  simple  that  they  "remain  as  the  fish  would 
remain  even  after  the  net  (of  the  language)  were  forgotten." 
This  Teaching  is  helpful  to  all  creatures  and  beneficial 
to  all  men.  So  let  it  have  free  course  throughout  the 
Empire." 

Accordingly,  the  proper  authorities  built  a  Ta-ch'in  (44) 
monastery  in  the  I-ning  (45)  Ward  in  the  Capital  and  twenty- 
one  (46)  priests  were  ordained  and  attached  to  it.  The 
virtue  of  the  honoured  (47)  House  of  Chou  had  died  away ; 
the  (rider  on)  (48)  the  black  chariot  had  ascended  to  the  west. 
But  Virtue  revived  and  was  manifested  again  at  the  moment 
when  the  Great  T'ang  (Dynasty)  began  its  rule,  whilst  the 
breezes  of  the  Luminous  (Religion)  came  eastward  to  fan  it. 
Immediately  afterwards,  the  proper  officials  were  again 
ordered  to  take  a  faithful  (49)  portrait  of  the  Emperor,  and 
to  have  it  copied  on  the  walls  of  the  monaster  The 
celestial  beauty  appeared  in  its  variegated  colours,  and 
the  dazzling  splendour  illuminated  the  Luminous  "  portals  " 
(i.e.   congregation).      The   sacred   features   (thus  preserved) 


THE    TRANSLATION  OF  THE   INSCRIPTION  1 67 

conferred  great  blessing  (on  the  monastery),  and  illuminated 
the  Church  for  evermore. 

According  (50)  to  the  descriptive  Records  of  the  Western 
Lands    and    the    historical   works   of    the    Han    and   Wei 
dynasties,  the  Kingdom  of  Ta-ch'in  is  bounded  on  the  south 
by  the   Coral   Sea  (51),  and   reaches  on  the  north  to  the 
Mountain  (52)  of  all  Precious  Things ;  on  the  west  it  looks 
toward  the  Gardens  (53)  of  the  Immortals  and  the  Flowery 
Forests.     On  the  east  it  lies  open  to  the  Long  Winds  (54) 
and    the    Weak    Waters.     The   country   produces   asbestos 
cloth,  the  soul-restoring  (55)  incense,  the  bright-moon  pearls, 
and  night-shining  gems.     Robberies  and  thefts  are  unknown 
among  the  common  people,  whilst  every  man  enjoys  happi- 
ness and  peace.     None  but  the  Luminous  teachings  prevail ; 
none  but  virtuous  rulers  are  raised  to  the  sovereign  power. 
The  territory  is  of  vast  extent ;  and    its  refined  laws  and 
institutions,  as  well  as  accomplished  manners  and  customs, 
are  gloriously  brilliant. 

The  great  Emperor  Kao-Tsung  (56)  (650-683  A.D.)  suc- 
ceeded most  respectfully  to  his  ancestors;  and  giving  the 
True  Religion  the  proper  elegance  and  finish,  he  caused 
monasteries  of  the  Luminous  Religion  to  be  founded  in 
every  (57)  prefecture.  Accordingly,  he  honoured  A-lo-pen  by 
conferring  on  him  the  office  of  the  Great  Patron  and 
Spiritual  Lord  of  the  Empire.  The  Law  (of  the  Luminous 
Religion)  spread  throughout  the  ten  (58)  provinces,  and  the 
Empire  enjoyed  great  peace  and  concord.  Monasteries  were 
built  in  many  cities,  whilst  every  family  enjoyed  the  great 
blessings  (of  Salvation). 

During  the  period  of  Saeng-li  (59)  (698-699  a.d.),  the 
Buddhists,  taking  advantage  of  these  circumstances,  exercised 
a  great  influence  (over  the  Empress  Wu)  and  raised  their 
voices  (against  the  Luminous  Religion)  in  the  Eastern  Chou, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  Hsien-t'ien  (60)  period  (712  A.D.) 
some  inferior  (61)  (Taoist)  scholars  ridiculed  and  derided  it, 


168  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

slandering  and  speaking  against  it  in  the  Western  Hao. 
But  there  came  the  Head-priest  .(or  Archdeacon)  Lo-han(62), 
Bishop  Chi-lieh  and  others,  as  well  as  Noblemen  from  the 
"  Golden  "  region  and  the  eminent  priests  who  had  forsaken 
all  worldly  interests.  All  these  men  co-operated  in  restoring 
the  great  fundamental  principles  and  united  together  to 
re -bind  the  broken  ties. 

The  Emperor  Hsiian-Tsung  (63)  (712-755  A.D.),  who  was 
surnamed  "  the  Perfection  of  the  Way,"  ordered  the  Royal 
prince,  the  King  of  Ning-Kuo,  and  four  other  Royal  princes 
to  visit  the  blessed  edifices  (i.e.  monastery)  personally  and  to 
set  up  altars  therein.  Thus  the  "  consecrated  rafters  "  which 
had  been  temporarily  bent,  were  once  more  straightened  and 
strengthened,  whilst  the  sacred  foundation-stones  which  for 
a  time  had  lost  the  right  position  were  restored  and  perfected. 
In  the  early  part  of  the  period  (64)  T'ien-pao  (742  A.D.),  he 
gave  orders  to  his  general  Kao  Li-shih  to  carry  the  faithful 
portraits  of  the  Five  Emperors  (65)  and  to  have  them  placed 
securely  in  the  monastery,  and  also  to  take  the  Imperial  gift 
of  one  hundred  pieces  of  silk  with  him,  making  the  most 
courteous  and  reverent  obeisance  to  the  Imperial  portraits. 
We  feel  as  though  "  we  (66)  were  in  a  position  to  hang 
on  to  the  Imperial  bow  and  sword,  in  case  the  beard  of 
the  Dragon  should  be  out  of  reach."  Although  the  solar 
horns  (i.e.  the  August  and  Majestic  Visages)  shine  forth 
with  such  dazzling  brilliance,  yet  the  gracious  Imperial 
faces  are  so  gentle  that  they  may  be  gazed  upon  at  a  distance 
less  than  a  foot. 

In  the  third  year  of  the  same  period  (67)  (744  A.D.)  there 
was  a  priest  named  Chi-ho  (68)  in  the  Kingdom  of  Ta-ch'in. 
Observing  the  stars,  he  decided  to  engage  in  the  work  of 
Conversion  (lit.  transforming  influence) ;  and  looking  toward 
the  sun  (i.e.  eastward),  he  came  to  pay  court  to  the  most 
honourable  (the  Emperor).  The  Imperial  orders  were  given 
to  the  Head-priest  (Archdeacon)  Lo-han,  priest  P'u-lun  (69) 


THE    TRANSLATION  OF  THE  INSCRIPTION  169 


and  others,  seven  in  all,  to  perform  services  to  cultivate 
merit  and  virtue  with  this  Bishop  Chi-ho  in  the  Hsing-ch'ing 
(70)  Palace.  Thereupon  the  monastery-names  (71),  composed 
and  written  by  the  Emperor  himself,  began  to  appear  on  the 
monastery  gates  ;  and  the  front-tablets  to  bear  the  Dragon- 
writing  (i.e.  the  Imperial  hand- writing).  The  monastery  was 
resorted  to  by  (visitors)  whose  costumes  resembled  the 
shining  feathers  of  the  king-fisher  bird  whilst  all  (the 
buildings)  shone  forth  with  the  splendour  of  the  sun.  The 
Imperial  tablets  hung  high  in  the  air  and  their  radiance 
flamed  as  though  vying  with  the  sun.  The  gifts  of  Imperial 
favour  are  immense  like  the  highest  peak  of  the  highest 
mountains  in  the  South,  and  the  flood  of  its  rich  benevolence 
is  as  deep  as  the  depths  of  the  Eastern  sea. 

There  is  nothing  which  "  The  Way  "  cannot  effect  through 
the  Sage  ;  and  whatever  it  effects,  it  is  right  for  us  to  define 
it  as  such  in  eulogy.  There  is  nothing  which  the  Sage  cannot 
accomplish  through  "  The  Way "  ;  and  whatever  He  accom- 
plishes, it  is  right  we  should  proclaim  it  in  writing  (as  the 
Sage's  work). 

The  Emperor  Su-Tsung  (72)  (756-762  A.D.),  the  Accom- 
plished and  Enlightened,  rebuilt  the  monasteries  of  the 
Luminous  (Religion)  in  Ling-wu,  and  four  other  counties. 
The  great  Good  Spirit  continued  to  assist  him  and  the 
happy  reign  began  anew.  Great  blessings  were  given  (to 
him  and  his  people)  and  the  Imperial  inheritance  was  made 
secure. 

The  Emperor  Tai-Tsung  (73)  (763-779  A.D.),  the  Accom- 
plished and  Martial,  greatly  magnified  the  sacred  Throne  to 
which  he  succeeded.  He  observed  the  rule  of  non-assertion 
and  walked  in  The  Way  of  the  Silent-operation.  Every 
year  when  the  (Emperor's)  birthday  (74)  recurred,  he 
bestowed  celestial  incense  (on  the  priests)  wherewith  to 
report  (to  Heaven)  the  meritorious  deeds  accomplished  by 
him.     He   distributed   provisions   from   his   own  table   and 


i7o  THE  NESTOR  IAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


thereby  gladdened  the  congregation  of  the  Luminous 
Religion.  Morever,  Heaven  blessed  him  with  great  blessings, 
and  what  he  did  cannot  but  reach  far  and  wide.  As  the  Sage 
is  the  Embodiment  of  the  Original  Way  of  Heaven,  he  com- 
pletes and  nourishes  the  objects  of  his  favours. 

Our  present  Emperor  (75)  (who  named  the  present  period 
*  Chien-chung  *  when  he  ascended  the  throne  in  780  A.D.)  is 
most  sacred  and  august  alike  in  the  works  of  Peace  and  War. 
He  developed  the  "  Eight  *  (76)  (objects)  of  Government,  and 
degraded  the  unworthy  whilst  he  promoted  the  deserving. 
He  exhibited  the  "  Nine  divisions  "  of  the  grand  scheme  of 
Imperial  government ;  and  thus  imparted  new  life  and  vigour 
to  his  own  Illustrious  Mission.  Conversion  (i.e.  the  trans- 
forming influence)  leads  (the  people)  to  the  understanding  of 
the  most  mysterious  Principles.  There  is  nothing  to  hinder 
us  from  offering  our  thanksgiving  prayers  for  him. 

That  those  who  are  noble  and  exalted  may  behave 
humble-mindedly ;  that  those  who  are  devoted  to  the 
Perfect  Stillness  may  also  be  sympathetic  and  lenient  to 
others ;  and  that  they  may  thus  seek,  with  boundless  mercy, 
to  relieve  the  sufferings  of  all,  and  with  unselfish  benevolence 
extend  their  helping  hand  to  all  mankind,  these  are  our 
great  plans  for  daily  discipline  and  training,  and  gradual 
elevation  of  our  life.  Furthermore,  in  order  that  the  winds 
and  rains  may  come  in  their  due  season ;  that  peace  and 
tranquillity  may  prevail  throughout  the  Empire  ;  that  all 
men  may  act  reasonably  ;  that  all  things  may  remain  un- 
dented ;  that  the  living  may  flourish,  and  those  who  are 
dead  (or  dying)  may  have  joy  ;  that  the  words  of  the  mouth 
may  be  in  tune  with  their  inmost  thought  as  the  echo  follows 
the  sound  :— all  these  are  the  meritorious  fruits  of  the  power 
and  operation  of  our  Luminous  Religion. 

Our  great  Donor  (yy),  the  priest  I-ssu  who  had  the  title 
of  Kuang-lu-ta-fu(78)  (i.e.  one  of  the  highest  titles  conferred 
on  an  officer),  with  the  decoration-rank  of  the  Gold  (signet)  and 


THE   TRANSLATION  OF  THE  INSCRIPTION  171 


the  Purple  Robe,  and  who  was  also  the  Lieutenant-Governor- 
General  of  the  Northern  Region,  and  the  Assistant  Over-Seer 
of  the   Examination    Hall,   was   honoured   with  the  purple 
clerical  robe.      He  was  mild  in  his  nature  and  was  naturally 
disposed  to  charity !     Ever  since  he  heard  of  " The   Way" 
he  endeavoured  to  practise  it.     From  afar,  from  the  "  City 
(79)   of  the  Royal  Palace,"  he  finally  came  to  the   Middle 
Kingdom,  which  in  the  advancement  of  learning  now  almost 
surpasses  the  Three   (80)  Dynasties,   and   enjoys   the  full 
development   of  knowledge  and  skill  in  all  the  Arts.     First 
performing  (81)  certain  faithful  services  to  (the  one  who  dwells 
in)  the  "  Red  Court,"  he  finally  (82)  inscribed  his  name  in  the 
Imperial  book  {i.e.  thus  pledging  himself  to  be  a  loyal  subject). 
When  the  Duke  Kuo  Tzu-i  (83),  a  Secretary  of  State  and 
Viceroy  of  the  Fen-yang  Province,  was  first  appointed  to  the 
charge  of  the  military  operations  in  the  Northern   Regions 
(750   A.D.)    the   Emperor  Su-Tsung  ordered  him  (I-ssu)   to 
accompany    the    Duke    to    his    command.       Although    so 
intimate  with  the  Duke  as  to  be  admitted  into  his  sleeping- 
tent,  yet  so  strictly  and  respectfully  did   he  (I-ssu)   behave 
that  he  made  no  difference  between  himself  and  others  on 
the  march.     He  proved  himself  to  be  "  claw  and  tusk  "  to 
the  Duke  ;  and  "  ear  and  eye  "  to  the  Army. 

He  distributed  all  his  salary  as  well  as  the  gifts  conferred 
on  him,  and  did  not  accumulate  wealth  for  himself  and  for 
his  own  family.  He  made  offerings  (to  the  monastery)  of 
the  Sphatika  (84)  (i.e.  crystal)  which  had  been  granted  to 
him  by  the  Emperor  himself,  and  dedicated  to  the  monastery 
the  gold-interwoven  carpets  which  (despite  his  humble  refusal) 
had  been  given  to  him  by  the  Emperor's  own  favour.  He 
also  restored  the  old  monasteries  to  their  former  condition, 
whilst  he  enlarged  the  worship-halls  afresh.  The  corridors 
and  walls  were  nobly  ornamented  and  elegantly  decorated  ; 
roofs  and  flying  eaves  with  coloured  tiles  appeared  like  the 
five-coloured  pheasant  on  the  wing. 


172  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

Still  further,,  ever  since  he  took  refuge  in  the  Luminous 
Portals,  he  spent  all  his  income  in  benevolent  deeds.  Every 
year  he  assembled  the  priests  of  the  four  (85)  monasteries  to 
have  their  reverent  services  and  earnest  offerings  of  prayers 
for  fifty  days.  The  hungry  came  to  be  fed  ;  the  naked  came 
to  be  clothed ;  the  sick  were  cured  and  restored  to  health  ; 
the  dead  were  buried  and  made  to  rest  in  peace.  Among 
the  purest  and  most  self-denyfng  Dasa  (86)  (i.e.  man-servants) 
of  the  Lord  such  excellent  examples  were  never  heard  of; 
but  we  see  this  very  man  amongst  the  white-robed  scholars 
of  the  Luminous  Religion ! 

To  the  glory  of  God  for  all  these  eminent  and  meritorious 
events  (above  described),  we  engrave  the  following  Eulogy 
on  this  great  Monument. 

It  is  the  true  Lord  who  was  Uncreated, 

And  was  ever  profoundly  firm  and  unchangeable. 

He  created  the  Universe  after  His  own  plan, 

And  raised  the  Earth  and  framed  the  Heaven. 

Dividing  His  God-head,  He  took  human  form 

And  through  Him,  Salvation  was  made  free  to  all. 

The  Sun  arising,  the  darkness  was  ended. 

All  these  facts  prove  that  He  is  the  True  Mystery. 

The  most  Glorious  and  Accomplished  Sovereign 
Surpassed  all  His  predecessors  in  upholding  " The  Way'* 
Taking  Time  at  its  flood,  He  so  settled  all  disorders 
That  Heaven  was  expanded  and  Earth  widened. 
The  brightest  and  most  brilliant  of  all  teachings— 
The  teaching  of  the  Luminous  Religion — 
Took  root  deep  and  firm  in  our  Land  of  T'ang  (87). 
With  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures 
And  the  building  of  convents, 

We  see  the  living  and  the  dead  all  sailing  in  one  Ship  of 
Mercy ; 


THE    TRANSLATION  OF  THE  INSCRIPTION  173 

All   manner  of  blessings   arose,   and  peace  and   plenty 
abounded. 

Kao-Tsung  succeeded  to  the  Throne  of  his  Fathers  ; 

He  re-built  the  edifices  for  Holy  use. 

Palaces  of  Peace  and  Concord  stood  resplendent  far  and 

near ; 
The  rays  shining  from  them  filled  every  part  of  the  Empire. 
The  truths  of  "  The  Way  "  were  made  clear  to  all  men. 
Setting   up   a   new   institution,  he    created    "the   Lord 

Spiritual "  ; 
And  every  man  enjoyed  most  blessed  peace  and  joy, 
Whilst  the  land  saw  neither  pain  nor  grief. 

When  Hsiian-Tsung  commenced  his  glorious  career, 
With  might  and  main,  he  pursued  the  Way  of  Truth. 
The  temple-names  written  by  the  Emperor  shone  forth  ; 
The    tablets    of     the     celestial    hand-writing    reflected 

gloriously. 
The  Imperial  Domain  was  embellished  and  studded  with 

gems, 
While   the   least   and  the  remotest  places  attained  the 

highest  virtue. 
All  sorts  of  works  undertaken  by  the  people  flourished 

throughout  the  land  ; 
And  each  man  enjoyed  his  own  prosperity. 

When  Su-Tsung  finally  was  restored  to  the  throne, 
The  Celestial  Dignity  guided  the  Imperial  vehicle ; 
At  length  the  sacred  Sun  sent  forth  its  crystal  rays  ; 
Felicitous  winds  blew,  and  the  Darkness  fled  ; 
Thus  the  precious  Throne  was  made  secure 
To  the  Imperial  family  of  the  great  T'ang. 
The  causes  of  calamity  took  flight— never  to  return  ; 
Tumults  were  settled  and  men's  passions  subdued  ; 
The  ideals  of  the  Middle  Kingdom  were  at  last  realized. 


174  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

Tai-Tsung  was  filial  to  his  parents  and  just  to  all. 

His  virtues  united  with  the  great  Plans  of  the  Universe. 

By  his  unselfish  benevolence,  he  helped  all  mankind, 

Whilst  the  greatest  blessings  were  realized  in  the  abun- 
dance of  wealth  and  prosperity. 

By  burning  fragrant  incense,  he  showed  his  gratitude ; 

With  benevolence  he  distributed  his  gifts  to  the  people. 

The  Empire  became  so  enlightened  as  though  the  glory  of 
the  Rising  Sun  in  the  Eastern  Valley 

And  the  full  Moon  in  her  secret  cave  were  brought 
together  as  one. 

When  our  present  Emperor  ascended  the  Throne, 

He  took  the  reins  of  government  and  named  the  "  Chien 

chung"  (period). 
He  devoted  himself  to  the  cultivation  of  the  Luminous 

Virtue. 
His  military  sway  quelled  the  tumults  of  the  Dark  Sea  in 

the  Four  Quarters, 
Whilst  his  peaceful  rule  of  Enlightenment  purified  every 

part  of  the  world. 
As  the  light  from  a  candle  shines  forth,  so  doth  his  glory 

penetrate  the  secrets  of  men. 
As  the  mirror  reflects  all  things,  so  nothing  is  hid  from 

his  observant  eye. 
The  whole  Universe  gets  life  and  light  because  of  him. 
And  even  many  of  the  rudest  tribes  outside  the  Empire 

take  pattern  by  his  government. 
How  vast  and  extensive  is  the  True  Way  ! 
Yet  how  minute  and  mysterious  it  is. 
Making  a  great  effort  to  name  it, 
We  declared  it  to  be  "  Three-in-One  "  ! 
O  Lord  nothing  is  impossible  for  Thee ! 
Help  Thy  servants  that  they  may  preach  ! 
Hereby  we  raise  this  noble  Monument, 
And  we  praise  Thee  for  Thy  great  blessings  upon  us  ! 


THE   TRANSLATION  OF  THE  INSCRIPTION  175 


Erected  in  the  Second  year  of  the  Chien-chung  period 
(781  A.D.)  of  the  Great  T'ang  (Dynasty),  the  year  Star  being 
in  Tso-o,  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  First  month  (the  day 
being),  the  great  " Yao-sen-wen "  (89) day;  when  the  Spiritual 
Lord,  the  Priest  Ning-shu  (88)  (i.e.  "  mercy  and  peace "), 
was  entrusted  with  the  care  of  the  Luminous  Communities 
of  the  East. 

(In  Syriac)  In  the  day  of  our  Father  of  Fathers,  my  Lord 
Hanan-isho,*  Catholicos,  Patriarch. 

(In  Chinese)  Written  by  Lii  Hsiu-yen  (90)  Assistant- 
Secretary  of  State,  and  Superintendent  of  the  Civil  Engineer- 
ing Bureau  of  T'ai  Chou  (ue.  a  department  in  Che-kiang). 

(Below  the  Inscription,  partly  in  Syriac  and  partly  in* 
Chinese,  are  these  notices)  — 

(In  Syriac)  In  the  year  one  thousand  and  ninety-two  of 
the  Greeks  (1092  -  311  =  A.D.  781)  my  Lord  Yesbuzid, 
priest  and  chor-episcopos  of  Kumdan,  the  Royal  city,  son 
of  the  departed  Milis,  priest  from  Balkh  (94),  a  city  of 
Tehuristan,  erected  this  Monument,  wherein  is  written  the 
Law  of  Him,  our  Saviour,  the  Preaching  of  our  forefathers 
to  the  Rulers  of  the  Chinese. 

(In  Chinese)  Priest  Ling-pao  (J||  ^). 

(In  Syriac)  Adam,  deacon,  son  of  Yezdbuzid,  chor- 
episcopos  ;  Mar  Sergius,  priest  and  chor-episcopos. 

(In  Chinese)  The  Examiner  and  Collator  at  the  erection 
of  the  Stone  Tablet,  priest  Hsing-t'ung  (fj  jf}). 

(In  Syriac)  Sabr-isho,  priest ;  Gabriel,  priest  and  arch- 
deacon, and  the  Head  of  the  Church  of  Kumdan  (91)  and 
of  Saragh. 

(In  Chinese)  Assistant  Examiner  and  Collator  at  the 
erection  of  the  Stone  Tablet,  priest  Yeh-li  the  Head-priest  (93) 
of  the  monastery,  who  is  honoured  with  the  purple-coloured 
ecclesiastical  vestment,  and  who  is  the  Director  (92)  of  the 
Imperial  Bureau  of  Ceremonies,  Music,  and  Sacrifices. 

*  This  is  the  Syriac  name  Hanan-isho,  which  means  "  Mercy  of  Jesus." 


76 


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THE   NAMES  ON   THE   RIGHT   SIDE  OF   THE  MONUMENT. 

(Translated,  pp.  178-180.) 

*  [To  face  p.  180. 


PART   III. 

NOTES   ON  THE  TEXT. 

(i)  Ta-chHn. — Chinese  authors  used  the  words  "Kingdom 
of  Ta-ch'in  "  with  different  meanings  at  different  times.  But  it 
must  be  a  country  near  the  Mediterranean  Sea  with  a  Patri- 
archal form  of  government  as  well  as  a  Graeco-Roman  civiliza- 
tion, and  must  have  included  the  land  lying  between  Antioch 
and  Alexandria.  It  was  mentioned  in  the  "  Book  of  History  " 
(]£,  IE)>  written  by  Ssu-ma  Ch'ien  (ffj  jg  3§)  in  95  B.C.,  as 
well  as  in  the  "  History  of  Han  "  (g|  j$),  by  Pan-ku  (g£  g|), 
in  92  A.D.  under  the  name  of  "  Li-k'an  "  (^  ^f ).  It  is  in  the 
"  History  of  After-Han  "  ($j?  gg  ^),  written  by  Fan  Yeh 
(%  iS8)i  in  445  A.D.,  that  we  come  across  the  name  of  Ta-ch'in 

(:fc^)  with  the  caPital  of  "An-tu"  ($C%$ffl  (** 
Antioch). 

Then  again  in  the  books  written  after  the  Pang  Dynasty 
(618-906  A.D.)  the  country  is  known  as  "  Fu-lin  "  (^  7^  S)- 
The  appearance  of  the  name  "  Fu-lin "  in  Chinese  history 
must  have  been  very  old,  for  one  of  the  two  first  so-called 
Buddhist  temples  erected  about  A.D.  379  by  the  monk  Jundo 
at  Ping-yang,the  old  capital  of  Korea,  was  called  "  I-p'u-lan-ssu 

(fP*  W  ffl  %)»  which  may  mean  "The  EPhraim  Temple." 
But  it  is  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventh  century — between  605 
and  616  A.D.  when  the  famous  Yang-Ti  (fffi  ^),  the  Sui 
Emperor,  tried  to  re-open  intercourse  with  "  Fu-lin  "  but  in 
vain,  that  the  name  entered  into  the  historical  works.  In 
the  year  643  A.D.,  Po-to-li  (  $£  £  j])  (ie.  Patriarch)  of  the 


1 82  THE  NESTOR  IAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


"  Kingdom  of  Fu-lin  "  (^  ^  g|)  (i.e.  Phrin  or  Ephraim) 
sent  an  Ambassador  to  the  Chinese  court. 

We  are  quite  safe  in  saying  that  "  Li-k'an,"  "  Ta-ch'in  " 
and  "  Fu-lin  M  (Ephraim)  are  names  connected  with  the  lands 
where  the  Graeco-Roman  civilization  was  grafted  on  Hebrew 
thought  and  culture.  But  in  our  Nestorian  Inscription, 
Syria,  or  at  least  that  part  of  Palestine  where  Christ  was 
born,  was  intended.  This  is  obvious  from  the  words :  "  A 
Virgin  gave  birth  to  the  Holy  One  in  Ta-ch'in." 

In  this  expression,  Ta-ch'in  is  used  for  Judaea.  By  it,  at 
any  rate,  is  meant  that  part  of  the  Province  of  Syria  where  the 
Lord  was  born,  whilst  we  know  for  certain  that  the  "Ta-ch'in" 
of  the  Chinese  Annals  was  a  part  of  the  great  Roman  Empire. 

The  following  quotations  from  authors  who  have  spent 
more  time  and  energy  than  others  in  elucidating  the  subject 
may  help  the  student  to  understand  the  "  Fu-lin  mystery  "  and 
its  relation  to  "  Ta-ch'in."  The  following  are  from  the  edition 
of  the  book  "  Chau  Ju-kua  "  by  Dr.  Hirth  and  Rockhill  (pp. 
104,  105). 

"The  Ta-ts'in  of  the  twelfth  century,  as  represented  in 
Chou  K'u-feY's  account,  has  all  the  characteristics  of  an 
ecclesiastical  state.  As  in  ancient  times  Ta-ts'in  and 
Fu-lin  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  representatives  of  the 
Christian  world  united  under  a  spiritual  chief,  the  Patriarch 
of  Antioch,  so  the  King  of  Ta-ts'in  of  the  twelfth  century 
must  have  been  a  patriarch,  and,  as  is  shown  in  a  subsequent 
note,  this  king  must  have  been  the  Nestorian  patriarch  of 
Baghdad,  which  city  was  indeed,  at  that  time,  the  point  of 
junction  where  all  the  great  trade  routes  of  Western  Asia 
united.  The  words  '  [Ta-ts'in  was]  also  called  Li-kien,' 
added  here  by  Chau,  are  taken  from  the  Hou  Han-shu 
($fc  ^H  it*)*  **8,  anc*  re^er  to  tne  Ta-ts'in  of  ancient  times. 

"  Since  the  capital  of  Ta-ts'in  is  called  An-tu  (Antioch)  in 
the  Wei-shu  (^J|  ^f),  102,  the  so-called  king  of  Ta-ts'in  may 
have  to  be  identified  with  the  Patriarch  of  Antioch,  who  was 


NOTES  ON  THE    TEXT  \%i 


indeed  considered  the  spiritual  head  of  all  the  Christians 
in  Asia,  certainly  before  the  schism  in  498  A.D.,  when  the 
adherents  of  Nestorius  established  their  own  church  irt 
Chaldaea.  According  to  the  T'ang-shu  (0  ||£),  198,  the  king 
of  Fu-lin  called  Po-to-li  ($£  ^J  ^J),  sent  ambassadors  to  the 
Chinese  court  in  643  A.D.  This  name  lends  itself  admirably  as 
a  transcription  of  the  Syriac  form  for  ■  patriarch/  viz.  batrik. 
In  Chou  K'ii-fei's  account,  as  copied  by  Chau  Ju-kua,  the 
king  of  Ta-ts'in  in  the  twelfth  century  is  styled  (§j§,  i.e.  he 
is  addressed  by  the  title  of)  Ma-lo-fu  (jjg|t  ffi  jfij.  Canton 
dialect :  Ma-lo-fat,  probable  old  sound  Ma-lo-pat,  or  Ma-lo-ba, 
since  fu  (3$})  may  stand  for  blia  in  Sanskrit  transcriptions, 
see  Julien,  Mtihode  pour  dtchiffrer,  104,  No.  309).  This 
again  is  an  excellent  transcription  for  Mar  Aba,  one  of 
the  titles  by  which  the  Nestorian  patriarch  could  be 
addressed.  Mar  is  a  title  of  honour  given  to  learned  devotees 
among  the  Syrian  Christians,  somewhat  like  our  "  Venerable  " 
(Ducange,  Glossarium,  etc.,  ed.  L.  Favre,  s.v.  Mar).  Aba 
means  '  father/  Mar-Aba  may  thus  be  translated  by 
•Venerable  Father/  Its  Latin  and  Greek  equivalent  was 
Patricius.  (Assemanni,  "Bibl.  Orient./'  III.  B.  92:  'Quern 
enim  Graeci  Latinique  Patricium  vocant,  is  dicitur  Syriace 
Aba,  et  praefixo  Mar,  seu  Domini  titulo,  Mar- Aba.') 

"In  the  Syriac  portion  of  the  Nestorian  Inscription  of 
Si-an-fu  the  patriarch  Hannanjesus  II,*  who  died  in  778  A.D. 
three  years  before  the  erection  of  the  monument  in  781, 
is  referred  to  under  the  title  Abad  Abahotha  Hanan  Isua 
Qatholiqa  Patrirkis.  This  does  not  exclude  the  possibility 
of  all  the  patriarchs  mentioned  in  Chinese  records  up  to  the 
time  of  Chou  K'ii-fei  as  kings  of  Ta-t'sin  or  Fu-lin  being 
patriarchs  of  Antioch." 

(2)  Luminous  -  Religion.  —  The  Chinese  character  for 
"Luminous"  is  "Ching"  (;§;)  and  consists  of  two  cha- 
racters "jin"  (  0)  and  "ching"  (jg)— the   former   standing 

N 
*  Compare  this  with  our  Introduction,  p.  35. 


184  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


for  "sun"  whilst  the  latter  is  a  phonetic.  The  Sun-great 
means  "  Luminous." 

The  writer  of  the  Inscription — not,  be  it  noted,  Ching- 
ching,  its  composer,  but  the  Chinaman  Lu  Hsiu-yen,  employed 
or  rather  invented  a  different  form  of  the  character  "  Ching," 
(viz.  (-&)  instead  of  (J£)  the  normal  form  found  in  the 
authorised  Dictionary). 

Why  Lu  Hsiu-yen  used  a  new  form  for  this  and  other 
characters  throughout  the  Inscription  has  been  much  dis- 
cussed by  European  critics.      For  instance,  Dr.  Legge  says 

in  his  note : 

"  It  has  been  made  an  objection  to  the  genuineness  of  the 
monument  that  the  form  of  the  characters  and  style  of  the 
composition  are  so  much  akin  to  the  writing  and  style  of  the 
present  day.     But  the  same  objection  may  be  made  to  other 
inscriptions  of  the  same  date,  and  even  of  dynasties  older 
than   the  Pang.     No  one  familiar   with   the  character   and 
literature  of  the  country  would  be  likely  to  make  it.     Still 
there  are  some  of  the  characters  of  an  unusual  form,  though 
rarely  unexampled.     To  two  or   three,  not  previously  pointed 
out,  attention  will  be  f mind  drawn  in  tJie  present  edition  of  the 
Chinese  Text    I  wish  here  to  notice  the  character  translated 
1  Illustrious'  and  which  everywhere  in  the  monument  appears 
as  (*)  instead  of  (;§;).     There  is  no  doubt  that  they  are 
two  forms  of  the  same  character,  but  I  have  nowhere  found 
their  difference  of  form  remarked  upon,  and  it  has  escaped 
the  observation  of  all  the  lexicographers,   Chinese  as   well 
as  foreign.     The  second  form  is  the  correct  one  ;   the  '  jih  * 
(B)>  or  symbol  of  meaning  is  what  it  should  be,  and  so  is  the 
'ching'     (^)   or   phonetic   symbol.      The    writer    of    this 
Inscription  uses  (jf )  for  (jjQ  throughout,  at  which  I  am  not 
surprised.     How  he  should  change  the  xph%  (0)  m  the  top  of 
the  character  into  ' Pott'  (P)    surprises   and  perplexes   me." 
(Dr.  Legge,  The  Nestor ian  Monument,  p.  3-) 

Dr.     Legge   was   perfectly   correct    when    he    remarked 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  ^5 


that  he  had  nowhere  found  the  difference  of  these  forms 
commented  upon,  and  that  it  has  escaped  the  observation  of  all 
the  lexicographers,  Chinese  as  well  as  foreign,  but  the  reason 
is  not  far  to  seek  ;  and  if  the  lexicographers  failed  to  notice 
the  point,  it  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  almost  all  the  native 
scholars  fully  understand  the  reason  of  the  difference. 

Anyone  who  has  especially  studied  "the  Stone  and 
Metal  Writings  "  is  familiar  with  what  is  traditionally  called 
"  One-stroke-freedom  of  a  Calligrapher."  That  is  to  say, 
a  calligrapher  enjoys  the  great  privilege  of  changing  the 
form  of  a  certain  ideograph  with  impunity  to  suit  his  own 
calligraphical  taste  so  long  as  the  original  number  of  stroke 
is  observed,  and  in  certain  cases  he  may  add  or  take  away 
a  stroke  from  the  original  and  orthodox  numbers  of  strokes 
to  show  his  skill,  so  that  forms  found  in  the  Dictionary  may 
differ  from  those  that  are  found  on  the  "  stone  or  metal." 

For  example,  the  character  standing  for  "pen"  (^.) 
meaning  "  root  "  or  "  origin,"  is  to  be  written  thus  (^C),  but 
calligraphers  prefer  to  use  their  own  form  (2j£)  rather  than 
that  given  in  the  Dictionary  (7(c),  because  both  the  characters 
consist  of  five  strokes,  whilst  in  our  Inscription  the  form  of 
( jg  k'ou)  was  used  instead  of  ($|  ch'u).  So  when  Dr.  Legge 
charged  Dr.  Bridgman  with  misreading  this  very  ideograph, 
saying  "  Bridgman  misreads  ( jg  k'ou)  in  it,  as  if  it  were 
(^g  ch'u)  '  a  pivot,'  '  an  axis/  "  he  was  entirely  wrong,  and 
Bridgman  was  perfectly  correct  in  reading  (;j§[)  in  the 
Inscription  as  (flj^). 

Not  being  aware  of  this  calligraphical  rule  Dr.  Legge 
translated  "hsuan"  (]£)  with  "k'ou"  (Jg),  which  gives 
by  no  means  a  suitable  meaning.  On  the  other  hand, 
"hsuan"  (]£)  with  "ch'u"  (fl|),  meaning  "mysterious 
source,"  is  an  established  phrase  which  is  frequently  used  in 
philosophical  writings. 

(3)  The  Middle  Kingdom,  "  Chung  Kuo,"  is  a  very  old 
name   for   China.     It  dates  from   the  establishment  of  the 


186  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

Chou  Dynasty,  about  B.C.  1122  when  the  Imperial  territory 
was  so  named  from  its  own  special  position  in  Honan.  It 
was  surrounded  by  all  the  others  and  was  really  in  the 
middle  of  all  states.  As  the  empire  grew  the  name  was 
retained,  and  thus  the  popular  belief  that  China  is  actually 
situated  in  the  centre  of  the  earth  was  strengthened.  Chung 
kuo  jen,  or  "men  of  the  Middle  Kingdom,"  denotes  the 
Chinese.  (See  p.  4,  Vol.  I.,  "The  Middle  Kingdom,"  by  Dr. 
Williams.) 

(4)  Ching-ching  (King-tsing). — This  is  the  Chinese  name 
for  Adam,  the  Persian  priest.  The  two  Chinese  characters 
used  to  represent  it  are  very  suitable  ones  :  "  Ching  "  (which 
the  Southern  Chinese  pronounce  "  King ")  stands  for 
"Luminous,"  whilst  the  second  "Ching"  (which,  again,  is 
"  Tsing  "  in  the  south,  stands  for  "  pure  "  or  "  purified"  The 
whole  meaning  would  be  "one  purified  by  the  Luminous 
Religion." 

That  this  Adam  laboured  with  Prajna,  the  Kashmir  monk, 
in  translating  the  Sat-paramita-sutra  (see  Introduction,  pp. 
71-74)  shows  that  he  must  have  studied  Buddhism,  whilst 
this  Inscription  composed  by  him  shows  how  thoroughly 
versed  he  was  in  Chinese  Art  and  Literature.  His  death 
must  have  occurred  some  time  between  785-823  A.D.  He 
was  associated  with  Prajna  (who  first  reached  Hsi-an-fu  in 
782  A.D.)  in  translating  a  Buddhist  sutra  some  time  between 
785-805  A.D.,  as  is  proved  from  the  Chinese  books  ;  whilst  the 
fact  that  a  Metropolitan  for  China  was  consecrated  by  Mar 
Timothy,  Catholicos  and  Patriarch  some  time  between 
782-824  a.d.,  is  also  proved  from  "  The  Book  of  Governors  " 
by  Thomas,  Bishop  of  Marga,  840  A.D. ;  see  Dr.  Budge's 
translation  where,  on  p.  448,  Vol.  II.,  we  read  : 

"Mar  Eliya,  whose  history  we  are  about  to  write,  was 
elected  Bishop  of  Mukan,  David  was  elected  to  be  Metro- 
politan of  Beth  Sinaye  (i.e.  China) — now  I  have  learned 
concerning  this  man  from  the  Epistles  of  Mar  Timothy." 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  187 


It  is  our  firm  belief  that  this  David  was  elected  to  be 
Metropolitan  of  China  in  succession  to  Ching-ching,  Adam, 
whose  title  was  "  Papas  of  Zhinastan " — in  other  words 
"  Metropolitan  of  China."  Hence  his  death  must  have 
occurred  during  the  reign  of  the  Catholicos  Mar  Timothy. 

(5)  Monastery  (^)  Temples  or  monasteries  which  enjoy 
the  title  of  "  Ssu  "  (^),  were  limited  to  those  supported  by 
the  Government.  The  names  of  "  Aranyakah  "  (jSpf  ]f|j  ^) 
or  "Chao-t'i"  (^  |j|)  were  used  for  the  Buddhist  temples 
unsupported  by  the  Government.  Although  the  Nestorian 
Churches  were  supported  by  the  Government  and  some  of 
the  Emperors  and  high  officials  favoured  the  Syrian  Christians 
in  China,  the  question  how  far  the  Chinese  as  a  people  were 
Nestorians  presents  itself. 

(6)  Papas  of  Zhinastan.—"  Chen-tan "  (§|  jft)  are  the 
Chinese  characters  used  to  represent  China  in  the  Hindu 
phonetisation  ever  since  the  time  of  the  Ch'in  Dynasty  (B.C. 
349-202)  whose  capital  was  at  Hsi-an.  "  Papas  of  Zhinastan  " 
means  the  Metropolitan  of  China,  an  office  which  was  held 
by  Bishop  David  early  in  the  ninth  century. 

But  how  could  a  Chor-episcopos  be  also  Papas  or  Metro- 
politan ?  We  think  Pere  Havret  was  correct  in '  suggesting 
the  «  Papas,"  which  denotes  the  office  of  the  visitor,  might 
have  been  used  of  the  Metropolitan,  as  well  as  of  lesser 
officers  of  the  Church. 

(7)  Bestowing  existence  on  all  tlie  Holy  Ones  {miao-clmng- 
skeng)  (fr>#  M)  Ht.  "mysteriously  giving  existence  to 
multitudinous  sages."-The  phrase  is  doubtless  borrowed 
from  ■  I-ching,  the  Book  of  Changes."  The  Chinese  -  sheng 
(IB)  may  mean  more  than  "Sage"  or  -  Holy  man."  Only 
an  omniscient  being  was  called  "  sheng,"  so  we  should 
prefer  to  render  « chung-sheng,"  the  expression  before  us, 
"all  the  Gods"  instead  of  "Holy  ones,"  were  it  in  an  ordi- 
nary Chinese  composition. 

Of  course  «  sheng  "  has  more  than  one  meaning.     It  may 


188  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

mean  sovereign  or  "  Lord  "  in  the  secular  as  well  as  in  the 
spiritual  sense  of  the  word.  But  that  "sheng"  in  this  place 
means  "  sage  "  or  "  Holy  one,"  is  beyond  dispute. 

(8)  A'lo-he  (fql  |H  |5).~ This  is  no  doubt  the  Chinese 
phonetisation  of  the  Syriac  term  for  Eloh,  God,  and  is 
equivalent  to  the  Hebrew  (plural)  "  Elohim,"  although  the 
three  Chinese  characters  used  here  are  exactly  the  same 
as  those  which  the  Buddhist  translator  Kalayashas  em- 
ployed to  represent  "Arhat,"  the  fruit  of  Buddha.  See 
the  Chinese  translation  of  the  Amitayur  dhyana  Sutra 
(1&  Ift  IS  f&  *  %  M.)>hy  Kalayashas  in  442  A.D.,  quoted 
on  the  page  133  of  this  book. 

(9)  Lord  of  the  Universe.—"  The  Lord  of  the  Universe," 
or  "Highly  Honoured  by  the  Universe"  is  an  epithet  of 
Buddha.  Here  Ching-ching,  Adam,  used  the  same  epithet 
in  a  Christian  sense. 

(10)  Dividing  the  Cross.— More  literally,  "fixing  the 
ideograph  Ten,"  or  "dissecting  the  ten-ideograph."  The 
Chinese  character  "  ten  "  consists  of  two  strokes,  one  vertical 
and  the  other  horizontal.  The  vertical  stroke  stands  for  the 
North  to  South,  whilst  the  horizontal  stroke  stands  for  the 
East  and  West.  So  "  dividing  the  ideograph  Ten  "  actually 
means  "determining  the  four  cardinal  points"  or  quarters, 
as  in  the  expression  which  follows  this. 

This  kind  of  phrasing,  called  "  Introductory  wording,"  is 
commonly  used  both  in  Chinese  and  Japanese  composition  ; 
and  it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  by  it  the  author  of 
the  Inscription  meant  the  "  Cross,"  a  Christian  symbol,  as  in 
paragraph  seven. 

(1 1)  Two  Principles  of  Nature.— -By  this  what  the  Chinese 
call  "twofold  ether"  was  meant,  Yin  ((Sgt)  means  the  shadow 
or  Darkness  and  Yang  (gg)  the  Light  or  Brightness.  The 
Spirit  of  Darkness  and  the  Spirit  of  Light  are  indicated  by 
the  expression,  which  is  borrowed  from  Chinese  cosmogony 
— especially  that  of  Taoism,  which,  it  is  possible,  may  have 


J 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  189 


been  derived  from  the  Persian  dualism,  since  Chinese  dualism, 
like  that  of  Persia,  explains  almost  everything  by  the  Two 
Spirits  of  Yin  and  Yang. 

(12)  Satan. — A  Chinese  phonetisation  of  the  Syriac 
corresponding  to  the  Hebrew  word. 

(13)  The  entire  exemption  from  Wickedness. — This  may 
not  be  the  literal  translation  ;  but  judging  from  the  context, 
the  sense  of  the  Chinese  text  must  be  so  rendered.  Compare 
the  following  varieties  of  translation  : 

(Abbe  Hue)  "  But  Sathan  propagated  lies,  and  stained  by 
his  malice  that  which  had  been  pure  and  holy :  He  pro- 
claimed, as  a  truth,  the  equality  of  greatness,  and  upset  all 
ideas." 

(Wylie)  "  Man,  acting  out  the  original  principles  of  his 
nature,  was  pure  and  unostentatious;  his  unsullied  and 
expansive  mind  was  free  from  the  least  inordinate  desire : 
until  Satan  introduced  the  seeds  of  falsehood,  to  deteriorate 
his  purity  of  principle ;  the  opening  thus  commenced  in  his 
virtue  gradually  enlarged,  and  by  this  crevice  in  his  nature 
was  obscured  and  rendered  vicious. 

(Dr.  Legge)  "Man's  perfect  original  nature  was  void  of  all 
ambitious  pre-occupation  ;  his  unstained  and  capacious  mind 
was  free  from  all  inordinate  desire.  When,  however,  Satan 
employed  his  evil  devices,  a  glamour  was  thrown  over  that 
pure  and  fine  (nature).  A  breach  wide  and  great  was  made 
in  its  judgments  of  what  was  right,  and  it  was  drawn, 
as  through  an  opening  into  the  gulph  of  (Satan's)  per- 
versities." 

(A.  C.  Moule)  « It  came  to  pass  that  Satan,  the  propagator 
of  falsehood,  borrowing  the  adornment  of  the  pure  spirit, 
disturbed  the  great  (moral)  equilibrium  in  (men's)  goodness 
by  the  introduction  of  the  likeness  of  confusion  (which  was) 
in  his  own  wickedness." 

(14)  365  different  forms  of errors.- -The  Chinese  character 
"chung"  (9)  means  "species  "or  "form."  Butwhy365?  The 


190  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


number  corresponds  with  that  of  the  days  in  an  ordinary  year. 
We  may  render  the  phrase :  "  different  forms  of  errors 
which  daily  arise."  "  365  "  may  mean  *  daily  "  or  "  innumer- 
able." So  it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  the  "  form  "  of 
error  means  only  the  "  sect  "  or  "  doctrine."  The  meaning  of 
the  word  "  chung  "  (jfjj)  is  far  wider  and  much  more  general 
than  that  of  "sect"  or  "doctrine."  Although  Mr.  Yang 
(H|  ^  $jj),the  Chinese  author  on  the  Inscription,  suggested 

in  his  book  (^  ffc  fl$  £  JE  ¥  3$C  IE)  that  the  word 
"  chung  "  means  "  sect "  or  "  doctrine,"  the  context  "  strove  in 
weaving  snares  of  the  law,"  does  not  confirm  his  view. 

(15)  One  Person  of  our  Trinity. — Lit.  "  Three-one-divided- 
Body,"  "  Messiah,  who  is  the  Luminous  Lord  of  the  Universe." 
The  words  "  Three-one-divided-Body  "  being  in  apposition  to 
the  word,  Messiah,  we  so  translate  them,  although  by  so 
doing  we  stray  from  the  beaten  track. 

Mr.  Alexander  Wylie  rendered  this  expression,  "  There- 
upon, our  Tri-une  being  divided  in  Nature  "  ;  whilst  Dr.  Legge 
translated  it,  "  Hereupon  our  Tri-une  (Eloah)  divided  His 
Godhead  and  The  Illustrious  and  adorable  Messiah,"  etc. ;  and 
Mr.  A.  C.  Moule  rendered  it,  "  Thereupon  our  Three  in  One 
divided  Himself."  ("  Journal  of  the  North-China  Branch  of  the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society,"  Vol.  XLI,  1910,  Shanghai.)  We  think 
that  "  fen-shen  "  (fr  J§*)  ought  here  to  be  treated  as  a  noun 
in  an  apposition  to  the  word  "Tri-une,"  and  ought  to  be 
translated  "  One  person  "  instead  of  "  He  divided  Himself," 
as  was  shown  by  MM.  Chavannes  and  Pelliot  in  Un  Traitt 
Mankhien,  etc.,  1912,  p.  17.  But  compare  p.  122  above  on 
the  lAmitabha  Doctrine,  which  is  identical  with  that  of  the 
stone. 

Theophilus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  who  flourished  in  the 
second  century,  was  the  first  who  used  the  word  "  Trinity  " 
to  express  the  three  Sacred  Persons  in  the  Godhead,  and  the 
doctrine  it  expresses  has  been  generally  received  amongst 
Christians"  (Hulme's  "  Symbolism  in  Christian  Art,"  p.  31). 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  191 


(16)  Mi-shi'lw. — This  is,  beyond  all  dispute,  the  Chinese 
phonetisation  of  the  Syriac  name  of  the  Messiah.  "Mshikha  " 
is  ety mologically  identical  with  the  Hebrew  "  Messiah,"  but 
to  the  Assyrian  Christians  it  stood  and  stands  for  more  than 
the  Messiah-king  of  Prophecy,  i.e.  for  the  Union  of  the  Two 
Natures,  "the  God-man."  (See  "The  Assyrian  Church," 
pp.  288-9,  by  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Wigram,  D.D.,  S.P.C.K.) 

(17)  Ta-chHn. — Here  Ta-ch'in  is  used  for  Judea  or  that 
part  of  the  Roman  Province  of  Syria  where  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  was  born. 

(18)  Fulfilling  tJie  old  laws—by  twenty-four  sages.—  The 
writer  most  probably  meant  by  this  the  twenty-four  writers  of 
the  Old  Testament. 

Some  suggest  that,  in  the  original,  the  Chinese  character 
"  man "  is  accidentally  omitted  after  the  words  "  twenty- 
four  sheng."  Mr.  Moule  says :  "  In  the  original  a  word 
(?  A  or  $)  is  here  accidentally  omitted.  To  Havret's  proof 
of  this  we  may  add  that  the  omission  occurs  at  the  end 
of  a  column— -a  most  likely  place,  and  that  the  last  column 
of  the  Inscription  is  short  by  one  word.  Besides  this  slip 
in  the  writing  there  are  at  least  two  mistakes  in  the  en- 
graving." 

We  consider  that  the  character  was  intentionally  avoided, 
as  its  addition  would  spoil  the  composition.  The  apparent 
slip  is  by  no  means  one,  whilst  what  some  declare  to  be 
"  mistaken  forms  of  the  Chinese  characters,"  are  in  reality 
neither  mistakes  of  the  writer  nor  of  the  engraver!  See 
Note  2  above  in  connection  with  our  explanation  of  the 
character  representing  "  Luminous." 

Besides,  any  well-educated  Chinese  or  Japanese  would  at 
once  understand  from  the  context  that  the  word  "sheng" 
(IS)  here  stands  for  "sage"  without  being  followed  by  the 
character  " jen"( \)  ("man"  or  "men").  To  add  the 
character  "jen"  after  "sheng,"  would  be^as  the  Chinese 
proverb  says,  "adding  feet  to  the  centipede." 


192  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

(19)  His  new  teaching  of  non-assertion. — Non-assertion  or 
non-action  is  practically  the  same.  This  phrase  was  adopted 
from  Taoism.  Compare  the  Text  with  the  following  quota- 
tions   from   the   Second   Chapter    of    "The    Tao-tS-ching " 

"  When  in  the  world  all  understand  beauty  to  be  beauty, 
then  only  ugliness  appears.  When  all  understand  goodness 
to  be  goodness,  then  only  badness  appears  .  .  .  therefore  the 
holy  man  (sage)  abides  by  non-assertion  in  his  affairs  and 
conveys  his  instruction  by  silence.  When  the  ten  thousand 
things  arise,  verily,  he  refuses  them  not.  He  quickens,  but 
owns  not.  He  works,  but  claims  not.  Merit  he  accomplishes 
but  he  doth  not  dwell  on  it. 

"  Since  he  doth  not  dwell  on  it, 
It  will  never  leave  him." 

Alexander  Pope  must  have  been  "  an  unknown  Taoist " 
in  Christian  England  when  he  judiciously  observed  in  his 
m  Essay  on  Man  :  " 

"  Men  must  be  taught  as  if  'twere  taught  them  not, 
And  things  unknown  proposed  as  things  forgot" 

The  author  of  the  Nestorian  Inscription  used  a  Taoist 
phrase  here  as  elsewhere,  but  added  his  own  explanatory 
words,  "which  operates  silently  through  the  Holy  Spirit/' 
and  thus  Christianised  the  whole  expression.  The  seventh 
century  Assyrian  Christians  in  China  resembled  the  modern 
Quakers  or  Quietists  in  their  teaching. 

(20)  Setting\up  the  standard  of  tlie  eight  cardinal  virtues 
.  .  .  the  dusts  from  nature,  etc.  Lit.  "  fixing  the  standard 
of  the  Eight  Boundaries." — This  is  one  of  the  most  difficult 
sentences  in  the  Inscription.  Compare  the  following  trans- 
lations : 

(Abbe    Hue)    "  He    signified    to    the    world    the    eight 


NOTES  ON  THE    TEXT  193 


commandments,  and   purged   humanity  from  its  pollutions, 
by  opening  the  door  to  the  three  virtues." 

(Wylie)  "He  fixed  the  extent  of  the  eight  boundaries, 
thus  completing  the  Truth  freeing  it  from  dross.  He  opened 
the  Gate  of  the  Three  Constant  Principles,  introducing  life 
and  destroying  death." 

(Legge)  "He  defined  the  measure  of  eight  (moral) 
conditions,  purging  away  the  dust  (of  defilement)  and 
perfecting  the  truth  (in  men). 

(Moule)  "  He  laid  down  the  rule  of  the  eight  conditions, 
cleansing  from  the  defilement  of  sense  and  making  (men) 

saints." 

What  is  meant  by  "  eight "  cardinal  virtues  ?  Mr.  Yang 
(*&  M.  Mb),  a  Christian  Chinese  and  the  author  of  a  book 
oTthTlnscription,  suggested  that  "Eight  Beatitudes"  was 
meant  by  "the  Eight  cardinal  virtues,"  whilst  others  have 
suggested  that   it  was  the   Eight  Orders  of  the  Assyrian 

Church.  ,  ^  U  A 

We  are  inclined  to  believe  that  the  phrase  was  borrowed 
from  Buddhism.  In  one  of  the  Garbha  Sutras 
( fit  *&  Rfi!  H£  W)  we  read  of  "Eight  precepts."     It  says  : 

«  nStSS  are  truly  what  makes  a  Buddha  of  man  " 

(AH****** *>  And  these  Eight  pre" 

cepts  are : 

(1)  Kill  no  living  being. 

(2)  Abstain  from  theft  and  robbery. 

(3)  Abstain  from  adultery. 

(4)  Abstain  from  lying, 
(e)  Abstain  from  wine. 

(6)  Do  not  sit  on  a  high,  broad,  or  large  couch. 

(7)  Do  not  adorn  thyself  with  wreaths  of  fragrant  flowers, 
nor  anoint  thy  body  with  perfume. 

(8)  Do  not  takeVt  1  *"*■*  «  *"**  "  " nI 
theatrical  performances,  neither  look  on  nor  hsten  to  these 

things. 


194  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

Again,  what  is  called  the  u  eight  rules  of  conduct "  (or 
"  marga  "  in  Sanskrit)  are  as  follows  : 

(i)  Correct  view,  or  ability  to  discern  the  Truth. 

(2)  Correct   thinking,  i.e.   the    mind    free    from   wicked 

thought. 

(3)  Correct  speech,  or  ability  to  avoid  both  nonsense  and 

error  in  speaking. 

(4)  Correct  profession — mendicancy,  the  vow  of  Poverty. 

(5)  Correct  and  suitable  Virya  or  incessant   practice   of 

Asceticism. 

(6)  Correct  Samadhi  or  mental  coma. 

(7)  Correct  memory  or  recollection  of  the  Law. 

(8)  Correct  life  or  strict  observation  of  Purity. 

This  Garbha  Sutra  was  translated  into  Chinese  by  three 
different  men — Dharmarakcha  (a.d.  303),  Kumaradjiva  (A.D. 
384-427)  and  Bodhirutchi  (A.D.  684-727).  So  that  the 
phrases  must  have  been  very  familiar  to  Chinese  Buddhists 
when  this  Inscription  was  written  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighth  century. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  he  who  afterwards  co-operated  in 
translating  the  Satparamita  Sutra  with  Prajiia,  the  Kashmir 
monk,  should  use  these  Buddhist  terms  and  phrases. 

Moreover,  the  expression  in  the  context :  u  He  purged 
away  the  dust  "  is  borrowed  from  Buddhism.  We  are  certain 
that  "  dust "  here  is  the  Sanskrit  "  Guna,"  which  may  well 
be  translated  "  sensation,"  or  "  the  objects  of  sensation  "  or 
finally  "the  organs  of  sensation"  eyes,  ears,  tongue,  body, 
and  mind.  The  purification  of  these  sense-organs  is  implied 
by  the  expression,  "  He  purged  away  the  dust."  So  we  are 
justified  in  saying  that  the  term  "Eight  cardinal  virtues" 
was  borrowed  from  Buddhism. 

(21)  Widely  opening  the  three  constant  Gates. — The  three 
graces  of  Faith,  Hope,  and  Love  have  been  suggested  by 
Mr.  Yang,  Dr.  Legge  and  others. 

But  we  think  that  Ching-ching,  Adam,  the  author  of  the 


2/O.TMS'  ON  THE   TEXT  I95 


Inscription  here  again  adopted  a  Buddhist  expression. 
Judging  from  the  fact  that  "three  Gates"  must  be  the 
literal  translation  of  the  Sanskrit  words,  "  Trividha  Dvara," 
we  think  that  purity  of  body,  speech,  and  thought  as  the 
result  of  "  purging  the  dust "  from  the  human  nature  was 
implied  by  "widely  opening  the  three  constant  Gates"— 
the  three  Gates  being  the  gates  of  sensations — eye,  ear, 
and  nose.  John  Bunyan  in  his  allegory  of  the  Holy  War 
similarly  uses  the  expressions  *  Eye-gate,"  "  Ear-gate,"  when 
describing  "  the  Siege  of  Man-Soul." 

(22)  He  then  took  an  oar  in  the  Vessel  of  Mercy.— -This 
expression  is  decidedly  Buddhistic.  Kuan-yin  or  Avalo- 
kiteshvara,  who  is  the  Saviour  of  the  faithful,  is  generally 
represented  with  a  ship  on  her  back  owing  to  the  commonly 
accepted  tradition  that  Kuan-yin  saves  people  from  ship- 
wreck. One  may  understand  by  this  that  Kuan-yin  rescues 
us  from  tJie  shipwreck  of  life.  This  boat-shaped  aureole  is 
known  in  Japanese  as  "  funazoko."  So  we  may  understand 
by  the  phrase  that  the  author  desired  to  express  the  truth 
of  Jesus  the  Messiah  being  the  Pilot  of  life  and  death,  as  in 
one  of  Lord  Tennyson's  most  beautiful  poems  "  Crossing  the 
bar."     (See  p.  66,  supra.) 

(23)  The  Palace  of  Light. — This  means  either  Paradise  or 
the  High  Heaven,  the  Empyrean  where  God  dwells.  The 
beautiful  "  New  Jerusalem "  described  in  the  twenty-first 
chapter  of  the  Book  of  Revelation  is  no  other  than  this 
"  Palace  of  Light "  according  to  our  common-sense  reading, 
or  Gokuraku-zodo,  the  Pure  Land  of  Japanese  Faith  and  Hope. 

(24)  He  returned  to  His  original  position  in  Heaven. 
— Lit.  "  He  ascended  to  the  true  (nature)."  That  the 
Ascension  of  our  Lord  was  meant  here  is  quite  clear.  The 
idea  was  neither  new  nor  strange  to  the  Chinese  of  the  Middle 
Ages  since  Lao-tzu,  the  old  philosopher,  was  said  to  have 
ascended  to  Heaven,  whilst  the  "  Nirmanakaya "  of  the 
Buddhists  had  taught  them  that  one  of  Buddha's  three-fold 


196  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

embodiments  (Trikaya)  was  capable  of  transformation,  i.e. 
metamorphosis.  But  strange  to  say  it  was  the  Resurrection 
of  our  Lord  itself  that  they  could  not  easily  accept,  whilst 
some  of  the  literati  were  altogether  opposed  to  it. 

(25)  The  twenty-seven  standard  volumes  of  His  SUtras. 
— Of  course  the  Christian  New  Testament  is  meant.  But 
this  is  very  difficult  to  harmonise  with  the  ordinary  view,  for 
the  Syrian  Churches  accept  only  twenty-two  of  our  New 
Testament  books.  The  Nestorians  of  East  Syria  were  slow 
to  accept  the  four  disputed  general  Epistles  and  the  Book 
of  Revelation,  nor  did  these  ever  find  their  way  into 
the  Peshito  Version.  That  they  were  recognised  by  the 
Nestorians  in  China  in  the  eighth  century  is  an  important 
point  for  consideration  by  students  of  the  Syrian  canon. 

(26)  His  ministers  carry  the  Cross, — This  is  the  Cross  of 
Christian  symbolism.  The  author  here  passes  from  the  work 
of  Christ  to  that  of  His  ministers  and  churches.  In  the 
East  Syriac  Daily  Offices  we  find  (pp.  57,  144) — "By  the 
Cross  of  Thy  light  Thou  hast  illumined  our  knowledge ; " 
and  again :  "His  lightnings  lighted  the  world.  The  Cross 
of  Light  which  was  shown  to  Constantine  in  Heaven  like 
a  mighty  one  of  the  Virtues  went  at  the  head  of  the  camp 
to  war.  And  they  were  moved  and  astonished,  the  com- 
panies of  the  heathen  who  worships  created  things  ;  and  they 
left  off  the  error  of  heathenism  and  venerated  and  honoured 
the  Cross." 

(27)  They  travel  about  wfierever  the  sun  shines  and  try  to 
re-unite  those  that  are  out  of  reach  {i.e.  beyond  the  pale). — 
This  translation  may  be  disputed.  Compare  the  following 
different  translations  : 

(Abbe"  Hue)  "The  sign  of  the  Cross  unites  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world,  and  restores  the  harmony  that  had 
been  destroyed." 

(Wylie)  "As  a  seal,  they  hold  the  Cross,  whose  influence 
is  reflected  in  every  direction,  uniting  all  without  distinction." 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  197 

(Legge)  "  His  ministers  bearing  with  them  the  seal  of 
the  Cross,  diffuse  a  harmonising  influence  wherever  the  sun 
shines,  and  unite  all  together  without  distinction." 

(Moule)  "  The  figure  of  ten,  which  is  held  as  a  badge,  en- 
lightens the  four  quarters  so  as  to  unite  (all)  without  exception  " 
But  we  are^justified  in  translating  as  we  do,  because  the 
Chinese  character  "  Jung"  (g^)»  beinS  Part  of  a  verbal  phrase 
Jung-tcung  (g4jfi)»  should  be  rendered  "go  travelling 
about "  or  "  melting  "  or  u  diffusing."  Its  original  meaning  is 
0  to  go  through  "  or  "  to  pass  from  one  place  to  another,"  or 
11  accommodate,"  whilst  the  latter  part  of  the  phrase  may  be 
rendered  "  try  to  reach  those  that  are  out  of  the  way "  (or 
"beyond  the  pale")  i.e.  lit.  "try  to  catch  those  for  whom 
there  is  no  catching."  The  idea  is  that  the  Gospel  of  our 
Lord  is  all-sufficient  to  save  even  the  outcasts  and  forsaken 
sinners.     (See  Hebrews  v.  2,  12,  13.) 

(28)  Striking  tJie  «/<?<w*— This  doubtless  refers  to  the 
church  music  of  the  Nestorian  mission  in  China  in  the  eighth 
century.  That  they  struck  the  wood  is  quite  certain,  but  how 
and  when  they  did  so  our  Inscription  does  not  say.  We 
think,  however,  that  the  time  and  the  way  in  which  they 
struck  the  wood  in  the  church  services  can  be  made  clear  to 
us  through  "the  striking  of  the  wood"  preserved  in  Japanese 
Buddhism-more  especially  in  the  Shinshu  (U  "The  True 
Religion  Sect ")  founded  by  the  renowned  Shinran  Shonin 
(1 173-1262  A.D.),  who  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Hongwanji 
Temple  at  Kyoto. 

The  wood  is  four  or  five  inches  long  and  about  one  inch 
wide  The  priest  holds  a  piece  in  each  hand  and  strikes  the 
two  pieces  together.  This  "  striking  of  the  wood  "  is  usually 
done  whilst  the  priest  recites  "The  Three  Books  on  the 
Amitabha  Doctrine "-  the  larger  Sukhavati  Vyuha  the 
smaller  Sukhavati  Vyuha,  and  the  Amitayurdhyana  Sutras. 
The  reciting  or  reading  of  the  sutras  takes  place  whilst  the 
wood  is  struck  or  chimed  in  a  regular,  methodical  way.     1  he 


198  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

sound  assists  the  Buddhist  temple  service  as  the  organ  does 
the  singing  in  a  Christian  church. 

This  "  striking  of  two  pieces  of  wood  "  is  quite  different 
from  the  "  beating  of  the  board  "  in  Buddhist  temples,  which 
is  done  for  utilitarian  purposes  rather  than  for  musical 
purposes.  For  instance,  the  time  to  rise  or  to  go  to  bed  in 
a  monastery  is  indicated  by  beating  the  "  wood  "  or  "  board." 

The  origin  and  history  of  "  striking  wood  "  as  a  part  of 
the  musical  service  in  a  temple  are  not  fully  known.  All  we 
know  is  that  the  Nestorians  struck  the  wood,  and  so  does 
the  Shin-shu  sect  of  Japanese  Buddhism  ;  that  "  the  striking 
of  the  wood  "  is  peculiar  to  the  Shin-shu,  and  that  the  beating 
of  the  "  wooden  fish  *  (^C  jgfl)  is  peculiar  to  the  most  ancient 
Mahayana  Buddhist  sects  in  China  and  Japan. 

In  India  a  large  gong  called  "  Ghanta  "  was  used,  which 
also  found  its  way  vid  Khotan  to  China  and  thence  to  Japan. 
This  is  mentioned  by  the  Chinese  pilgrim  Fa-hsien  (^  ]|j|) 
in  his  travels,  A.D.  400.  So  the  two  pieces  of  wood,  with  a 
gong,  drum,  and  a  pair  of  symbols,  now  form  the  musical 
instruments  of  the  Shin-shu  sect  as  well  as  of  other  sects. 

We  read  in  "The  Book  of  Governors"  (Vol.  II.,  p.  244) : 
that  "  when  the  sacristan  rose  up  to  beat  the  board  to  summon 
the  congregation  for  the  office  of  the  night,  behold,  he  saw 
that  all  the  nut-trees  had  come  round  about  the  church,  and 
in  his  joy  he  went  to  where  the  Bishop  was  sleeping  to 
announce  to  him  the  departure  of  the  trees."  This  is  quite 
different  from  the  above-mentioned  "  striking  of  the  wood  " 
or  the  beating  of  the  "  wood-fish." 

(29)  They  turn  ceremoniously  to  the  East, — Worshipping 
toward  the  East  is  the  regular  Nestorian  custom.  A  most 
interesting  passage  from  "The  Book  of  Governors,"  Vol.  II., 
p.  274,  translated  by  Dr.  Budge,  throws  great  light  not  only 
on  the  eastward  position  of  the  Nestorian  use,  but  also  upon 
their  clerical  life  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries. 

"And  once  when  he  (Bishop  Maran-Zekha)  was  journeying 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  lg9 


along  the  road  to  that  mountain  (the  mountain  of  the  village 
of  Zinai),  he  saw  the  figure  of  a  man  standing  on  the  top  of 
a  hill  with  his  face  turned  towards  the  East,  and  as  he  drew 
near  to  it,  he  heard  him  raising  (his  voice)  in  the  hymn  of 
the  Resurrection  from  the  Communion  Service  of  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  which  beginneth,  *  Come,  all  ye  peoples,  let 
us  move  our  lips,'  and  little  by  little  he  went  up  and  came 
close  to  him.  Maran-Zekha,  before  he  perceived  that  man, 
wondered  how  this  pastor  of  camels  was  able  to  sing  this 
hymn  which  was  so  difficult  that  not  every  man  was  capable 
of  singing  it,  and  where  he  had  learned  it  ?  And  when  the 
holy  Maran-Zekha  saw  him  he  marvelled,  and  cried  out  in 
the  customary  way  '  Peace ' ;  but  that  blessed  man  answered 
him  in  Arabic,  speaking  in  barbarous  language  wishing  to 
disguise  himself. 

"  Bishop  Maran-Zekha  fell  down  before  him  and  affirming 
with  oaths  said,  '  I  will  not  rise  up  until  thou  dost  promise 
me  that  thou  wilt  not  hide  from  me  who  thou  art.' — *  If 
thou  art  an  Arab  as  thou  sayest  (by  the  speech),  where  didst 
thou  learn  this  hymn  of  the  Resurrection  of  our  Lord  which 
very  few  men  are  found  to  have  ability  enough  to  sing  ?  and 
why  were  thy  arms  and  face  turned  toward  tJie  East  ? '  .  .  . 
And  he  answered,  saying,  ■  Behold,  Master,  forty  years  ago 
I  was  appointed  Bishop  of  the  Scattered  who  were  in 
the  land  of  Egypt.  When  I  had  ministered  in  this  office  a 
short  time,  a  scarcity  of  rain  took  place  there,  and  I  gathered 
together  the  believers  and  went  forth  (with  them)  to  the 
desert  to  make  supplication  and  entreaty  to  God.  And 
those  Arabs  who  dwell  in  tents  surrounded  me,  and  while 
every  one  else  escaped,  I  remained,  because  I  thought  that 
they  would  do  me  no  harm  ;  and  they  took  me  captive  and 
brought  me  to  their  tents,  and  appointed  me  to  be  the 
shepherd  of  these  camels  which  thou  seest— I  remembered 
that  many  of  the  saints  were  shepherds,  and  I  am  comforted. 
And  as  for  this  hymn  which  thou  didst  hear  to-day,  behold 


20o  THE  NESTORJAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


I  am  accustomed  each  day  to  perform  the  service  of  festival 
of  the  Lord,  and  to  watch,  and  to-day  I  performed  the 
service  of  the  Resurrection  of  our  Lord,  and  lifted  up  my 
voice  in  the  hymn  as  if  I  had  been  standing  in  the  temple 
before  the  altar  of  our  Lord." 

(30)  They  preserve  the  beard, — tliey  shave  the  crown. — This 
symbolic  explanation  is  very  curious.  There  is  no  end  to 
the  possible  reasons. 

The  Buddhist  priests  shaved  the  crown,  and  so  did  the 
Nestorians.  The  upper  class  Chinese  and  literati  at  that 
time  wore  beards,  and  so  did  the  Nestorian  missionaries. 
The  Nestorians  seem  to  us  to  have  adopted  good  things  from 
others,  and  explained  their  reasons  for  so  doing. 

The  custom  seems  to  us  to  be  reminiscent  of  the  words 
of  our  Lord  recorded  by  St.  John  xvii.  15,  "I  do  not  ask 
Thee  to  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  to  keep  them  from 
the  evil." 

Some  of  the  Nestorian  priests  were  high  officials  in  the 
Chinese  Court,  and  others  even  occupied  military  positions 
as  staff  officers,  vested  in  their  monastic  robes,  as  shown  in 
the  Inscription  itself.  (See  also  p.  xcix.  Vol.  I.,  Yule's 
■  Cathay  and  Way  Thither.") 

That  upper  class  society  in  China  was  considerably 
influenced  by  the  Nestorian's  theistic  conceptions  of  the 
world,  may  be  seen  from  the  contemporary  writings  of  the 
T'ang  period. 

(31)  They  observe  fasting  in  order  that  they  may  subdue 
"knowledge"— they  keep  the  vigil  so  that  tliey  may  keep 
"  precept  "—The  word  "knowledge"  in  this  phrase  is  an 
especially  Buddhistic  one.  It  is  the  Chinese  for  the  Sans- 
krit "vidjnana,"  and  means  a  "knowledge  of  what  defiles 
the  mind."  To  subdue  "knowledge"  is  to  purify  various 
sense-organs. 

This  expression  is  a  counter-part  of  the  phrase  "  purging 
away  the  dust"  used   in  the   Inscription.     What   is   called 


.VOTES  ON  THE   TEXT 


"  exemption  from  all  knowledge  "  is  the  fifth  of  the  Dharma- 
kaya  attributes.  "  Observing  the  Precepts "  means  again 
exemption  from  all  materialism  ("rupa")  in  which  lust 
comes  first. 

(32)  Seven  times  a  day  .  .  .  prayers  for  the  dead. — This  is 
what  the  Japanese  Buddhists  call  "e-ko"  (|gj  [p])  (lit. 
44  turn  toward  "). 

In  other  words,  "  To  comfort  the  spirit  of  the  departed 
through  the  merit  and  virtue  of  the  reading  of  sutras,  and 
by  virtue,  or  the  sheer  force  of  prayers  offered  or  said  by 
the  living,  so  as  to  make  the  departed  turn  toward  (the 
living).  The  Buddhist  ■  Communion  of  Saints '  is  meant  by 
4  e-ko.* " 

The  idea  is  very  familiar  to  all  the  Japanese  as  well  as 
to  the  Chinese.  Thus  whether  consciously,  or  unconsciously, 
Buddhists  admit  the  existence  of  the  soul,  or  else  it  were 
useless  to  pray  for  the  dead  if  they  be  indeed  dead  in  body 
and  soul  {i.e.  absolutely  extinct).  This  prayer  for  the  dead 
is  most  natural  to  those  who  believe  in  the  survival  of  the 
Soul  and  in  the  life  beyond  the  Tomb. 

The  Nestorians  were  great  believers  in  the  prayer  for  the 
dead.  The  names  on  their  Diptychs  were  recited  every  time 
at  their  worship.  The  idea  of  Ancestral  commemoration 
naturally  led  to  prayers  being  offered  for  the  departed  as 
well  as  for  those  that  are  living. 

The  Shin-gon  shu  (jj|  =f  ^)  pray  for  the  living  and  for 
the  dead  more  than  any  other  Buddhist  sect,  whilst  the 
Shin-shu  (jf|  5^)  do  not  pray— at  least  profess  not  to  pray 
— for  the  living  at  all.  They  do  not  pray  even  for  the  dead 
in  the  sense  that  other  sects  do. 

This  fact  was  well  proved  at  the  time  preceding  and 
following  the  death  of  our  late  Emperor  (on  the  30th  of 
July,  19 1 2).  All  sects,  whether  Shinto,  Buddhist,  Christian 
or  non-Christian,  prayed  for  the  recovery  of  the  Emperor's 
health,  with  the  exception  of  the  Shin-shu  who   could   not 


202  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

participate  in  doing  so.  Dr.  M.  Anesaki,  professor  of  Com- 
parative Religion  in  the  Tokyo  Imperial  University,  in  writing 
to  the  Tokyo  Asahi  Shimbun  (the  largest  paper  in  Japan)  on 
the  3rd  of  August,  191 2,  emphasised  this  point. 

(33)  Once  in  seven  days  .  .  .  a  sacrifice  without  animals. — 
The  Chinese  character  "chien"  (jj|§)  really  means  "a 
sacrifice  without  an  animal."  It  is  quite  clear  from  these 
words  that  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Communion  was 
observed  weekly  by  the  Assyrian  Church  in  China.  "  Once 
in  seven  days  "  of  course  means  "  once  a  week  on  the  First 
day" — for  they  kept  Sundays  and  not  the  Sabbath  or 
Seventh  day. 

(34)  This  ever  true  and  unchanging  Way  is  mysterious, 
and  is  almost  impossible  to  name. — This  expression  must 
have  been  derived  from  Taoism.  Compare  these  words 
with  those  of  Lao-tzu  :  *  The  Way,  so  long  as  it  remains 
absolute,  is  unnameable  "  ;  or  with  "  When  obliged  to  give  it 
a  name,  I  made  an  effort  to  call  it  The  Great  Way." 
(Chapters  xxv.  and  xxxii.,  of  the  Tao-te-ching.) 

That  Adam,  the  author  of  the  Nestorian  Inscription, 
though  a  Persian  by  birth,  was  as  well  versed  in  Taoism  as  in 
Buddhism  is  quite  evident. 

(35)  But  at  any  rate,  The  Way  would  not  spread  so  widely 
had  it  not  been  for  the  Sage,  and  the  Sage  would  not  have  been 
so  great,  etc. — These  are  perhaps  the  most  difficult  expressions 
in  the  whole  Inscription.    Compare  the  following  translations : 

(Hue)  "  Learning  alone  without  sanctity  has  no  grandeur ; 
sanctity  without  learning  makes  no  progress.  When  learning 
and  sanctity  proceed  harmoniously,  the  Universe  is  adorned 
and  resplendent." 

(Wylie)  "  Now  without  holy  men,  principles  cannot 
become  expanded  ;  without  principles,  holy  men  cannot 
become  magnified ;  but  with  holy  men  and  right  principles, 
united  as  the  two  parts  of  a  signet,  the  world  becomes 
civilised  and  enlightened." 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  203 


(Legge)  "But  any  (such)  system  without  (the  fostering 
of)  the  sage  (sovereign)  does  not  attain  its  full  development, 
and  a  sage  (sovereign)  without  the  aid  of  such  a  system 
does  not  become  great.  Let  the  sage  (sovereign)  and  the 
(right)  system  came  together  like  the  two  halves  of  a  seal 
or  convenant,  and  the  world  will  become  polished  and 
enlightened." 

(Moule)  "  Doctrine  without  a  prophet  will  not  flourish  ;  a 
prophet  without  doctrine  will  not  be  great ;  when  the  doctrine 
and  the  prophet  are  closely  united  the  world  is  civilised  and 
enlightened." 

In  the  Inscription,  the  Chinese  character  (ffi)  is  used 
which  can  be  read  either  "indeed,"  or  "really"  (]j|f|),  or 
"only"  or  "alone"  (Hf|)-  In  some  cases  it  is  read  for  "at 
any  rate."  Here  again  the  calligrapher  exercised  the  privi- 
lege of  which  we  have  already  spoken. 

In  the  Inscription  the  character  literally  means  "  only," 
but  "  at  any  rate,"  or  "  however "  is  also  possible.  "  The 
Way'1  means  " the  True  and  Unchanging  Way"  mentioned 
above.  That  is  to  say,  Christianity  ("  the  True  Way  ")  would 
not  have  spread  so  widely  had  it  not  been  for  the  Sage. 

According  to  Chinese  ideas,  "sheng"  or  Sage  means  (1) 
omniscience  personified,  or  (2)  omniscient  man,  or  (3)  perfect 
virtue  and  perfect  knowledge  personified  in  a  sovereign. 
Here,  no  doubt,  Adam,  the  author,  employed  the  word  in 
the  sense  of  No.  3,  ■  Omniscience  personified  in  the  Sove- 
reign "  or  "  All-knowing." 

(36)  Tai-Tsung,  the  Emperor.-— -This  is  the  posthumous 
name  of  Li  Shih-min  (^  i£  Jg),  the  second  son  of  Li  Yuan, 
known  in  the  annals  of  Pang  as  Kao-Tsu,  the  founder  of 
the  Dynasty,  A.D.  618. 

Li  Yuan  had  two  other  sons— one  older  and  one  younger 
than  T'ai-Tsung.  The  elder  was  the  Crown  Prince,  who  from 
mere  envy,  if  we  believe  Chinese  history,  united  with  the 
younger  brother,  known  as  Prince  Ch'i  (5^  J),  in  trying  to 


204  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

murder  T'ai-Tsung ;  but  T'ai-Tsung  was  more  than  a  match 
for  them,  as  he  killed  them  both  in  626  A.D.,  and  after  this 
bloody  deed  compelled  his  father  Li  Yuan  to  abdicate,  and 
himself  ascended  the  throne  in  627  A.D.,  nine  years  before  the 
Nestorian  mission  came.  The  death  of  Li  Yuan  was  also 
mysterious  and  bloody.  Some  say  that  T'ai-Tsung  was 
responsible  for  it !  But  T'ai-Tsung  was  one  of  the  best 
rulers  that  China  ever  had. 

(37)  A  -lo-pen.— That  A-lo-pen  or  Alopun  is  aSyriac  name 
there  is  no  doubt.  The  "  alo "  or  "  olo "  is  an  equivalent 
found  in  many  Hebrew  names  beginning  with  "  eli  "  or  "  el  " 
— Elijah,  El-nathan,  etc. 

We  insist  that  this  A-lo-pen  or  Alopun  is  a  personal  or 
proper  name,  although  ever  since  Sir  Henry  Yule  started 
"the  Alopun-Rabban  theory"  many  years  ago,  almost  all 
the  recent  writers  have  implicitly  followed  him.  He  says  : 
"  O-lo-pan — this  name  according  to  Pauthier  is  Syriac,  Alo- 
pano  signifying  the  '  Return  of  God  \"  If  this,  however,  is  an 
admissible  Syriac  name,  it  is  singular  that  the  original  should 
have  been  missed  by  one  so  competent  as  Assemanni,  who 
can  only  suggest  that  the  name  was  the  common  Syriac  name 
Jaballaha,  of  which  the  Chinese  had  dropped  the  first  syllable, 
adding  a  Chinese  termination. 

"Might  not  Olopan  be  merely  a  Chinese  form  of  the 
Syriac  Rabban,  by  which  the  apostle  had  come  to  be 
generally  known  ? 

"  It  is  fair,  however,  to  observe  that  the  name  in  the 
older  versions  used  by  Assemanni  is  written  Olopuen,  which 
might  have  disguised  from  him  the  etymology  proposed  by 
Pauthier.  The  name  of  this  personage  does  not  appear  in 
the  Syriac  part  of  the  Inscription."  ("  Cathay  and  the  Way 
Thither,"  Vol.  L,  p.  94.) 

Mr.  Moule  says — "  The  identification  of  A-lo-pen  with  the 
Syriac  Raban  is  due  to  Colonel  Yule,  who  is  followed  by 
Cheikho  and  Havret." 


NOTES  ON  THE    TEXT  205 


Dr.  K.  Shiratori,  professor  of  Oriental  History  in  the 
Imperial  University,  Tokyo,  also  holds  the  same  view.  He 
says  that  "these  Chinese  always  borrow  one  of  the  "a,"  "o," 
and  "u"  sounds  to  pronounce  a  proper  noun  beginning 
with  the  "r"  sound  ;  for  instance,  they  pronounce  "O-russia" 
for  "  Russia."  So  this  "  Olopan  "in  Chinese  would  represent 
"  Lopan,"  every  "  r  "  becoming  "  1  "  in  Chinese  pronunci- 
ation. "  Rabban "  would,  according  to  his  theory,  be  the 
nearest  possible  equivalent  of  "  Alopan." 

But  various  reasons  compel  us  to  question  this  "  Alopen- 

Rabban  theory." 

First  of  all,  it  is  not  necessary  to  conclude  that  the 
Chinese  cannot  pronounce  any  foreign  names  beginning 
with  a  vowel  because  they  always  borrow  "a"  or  "o"  to 
pronounce  foreign  names  beginning  with  "  r." 

Secondly,  in  the  Inscription  A-lo-pen  is  called  -  Shang- 
te"-*.*.  "Shang-te  A-lo-pen."     "Shang-te"  literally  means 
«  High  Virtue,"  and  this  honorific  title  may  correspond  to 
the  Syriac  "Rabban,"  as  "Ta-te,"  Great-virtue,  may  do  to 
the  title  of  a  "Bishop"-^-  "Bishop  George"  who  in  the 
Inscription   is    designated   "Great-virtue   Giwargis."      And, 
strange   to  say,  this   "Ta-te,"  Great-virtue,  was  commonly 
used  by-the  Buddhists  whilst  Taoists  preferred     Shang-te, 
High-virtue.      This  is  another  point  which   proves  that  the 
Nestorians   in   China  adopted   anything  they  thought  was 
good  whether  it  came  from  Buddhism  or  from  Taoism. 

If  we  accept  the  « Alopen-Rabban  theory  we  must 
translate  "Shang-te  A-lo-pen,"  ^^  ***+£m 
"Rabban  Rabban."  That "  Great-virtue  stands  for  Bishop, 
and  -  High-virtue  "  for  "  Rabban  "  appears  to  us  to  be  certain, 
whilst  that  the  one  is  Buddhistic  and  the  other  Taoistic  is 
abundantly  proved  from  Chinese  sources. 

StaStbban  A-lo-pen  was  afterwards  made  the  "Patron 
J^rii  o'f  the  Empire,"  and  styled  "Great- 
lrSn;»   or  Bishop  A-lo-pen,   as  in  another  part 


206  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


of  the  Inscription.  So  he  must  have  been  already  a  Bishop 
when  he  arrived  in  China  at  the  head  of  his  missionary 
monks.  His  name  appears  thrice  in  this  Inscription — once 
as  "  High-virtue  A-lo-pen,"  then  "  Great-virtue  A-lo-p£n," 
and  lastly  without  any  honorifics.  This  shows  that  "  A-lo- 
p£n"  was  regarded  by  the  Chinese  as  a  personal  proper 
name  beyond  all  doubt. 

Thirdly,  Etheridge,  the  author  of  "  the  Syriac  Church," 
gives  also  Yabh-allaha  for  "  Alopen  "  (after  Assemanni)  and 
interprets  it  as  "  the  Conversion  of  God." 

The  name  "  Yabh-allaha  "  occurs  more  than  once  in  the 
famous  "  Book  of  Governors  " ;  and  this  agrees  with  what 
Assemanni  said,  that  the  name  was  an  ordinary  Syriac  one. 
"  The  Book  of  Governors  "  says  that  one  Yabh-allaha  was  the 
founder  of  monasteries  in  Babylonia  and  Arabia  in  385  A.D. 
Another  Yabh-allaha  was  Bishop  of  Gilan,  and  brother  to 
Kardagh,  both  of  whom  did  good  work  in  Central  Asia 
during  the  Patriarch  Timothy's  reign  (781-824  A.D.).  (See 
4<  The  Book  of  Governors,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  cxxxi.) 

Finally,  our  view  is  confirmed  by  a  newly  discovered 
Inscription  which  is  seventy  years  older  than  the  Nestorian 
Inscription  itself. 

It  is  called  "  The  Inscription  on  the  Stone-tablet  set  up  in 
memory  of  the  late  great  Persian  chief,  the  General  and 
commander  of  the  right  wings  of  the  Imperial  Army  of  T'ang 
(i.e.  China)  with  the  title  of  Grand  Duke  of  Chin-ch'eng  chiin 
(in  Kan-su)  and  the  Rank  of  Shang-chu-kuo  "  (  \^  ^  §|) 
(lit.  The  first-class  corner-stone  of  the  Empire).  In  the  first 
line  we  have  the  name  "  A-lo-han  n  (fpj  $j|  ^).     It  runs  : 

"This  is  the  Stone-tablet  erected  in  memory  of  A-lo-han, 
a  Persian  prince  by  birth  and  the  most  illustrious  of  the 
whole  tribe." 

For  the  full  text  of  the  Inscription,  see  Appendix 
No.  I. 

To-  say  that  "A-lo-pen"   is  a  personal  proper  noun    is 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  207 

one  thing,  but  to  identify  him  with  "  Yabh-allaha "  is  quite 
another. 

Although  Assemanni  and  M.  Pauthier  may  be  correct 
in  suggesting  "  Yabh-allaha  "  for  "  A-lo-p£n,"  we  should  like  to 
point  out  that  "Lo-han"  (JH  ^),  whether  in  the  Nestorian 
Inscription  at  Hsi-an-fu  or  in  the  Jewish  Inscription  at  K'ai- 
feng-fu  in  Honan,  stands  for  "  Abraham,"  and  we  are  there- 
fore tempted  to  surmise  that  "  A-lo-p£n  "—whose  Japanese 
sound  is  "  Arohon  " — is  originally  the  same  as  that  found  in 
the  newly-discovered  Inscription,  viz.  "  Alohan,"  which  would 
be  sounded  "  Arohan  "  by  the  Japanese,  by  whom  the  Pang 
sound  of  the  Chinese  letters  is  far  better  preserved  than 
among  the  modern  Chinese. 

If  we  compare  the  Chinese  characters  for  "  Lo-han  "  and 
"  A-lo-han  "  or  u  A-lo-p$n,"  we  cannot  fail  to  see  that  what 
we  assert  is  founded  on  a  sound  basis. 

(38)  The  Kingdom  of  Ta-ck in.— This  Kingdom  means 
Judea  as  in  note  seventeen  where  the  Birth  of  our  Lord 
is  mentioned.  Here  probably  it  indicates  more  particularly 
the    Province    of    Syria    in    the    Roman    Empire    of   the 

Orient. 

(39)  He  decided  to  carry  the  true  Siltras.— Here,  again, 
the  usual  Chinese  character  for  the  Buddhist  word  "Sutras" 
is  employed.  The  word  "  Sutras  "  of  course  means  "  Canon," 
and  may  mean  "the  Holy  Scriptures,"  or  -  The  Bible."  We 
feel  certain  from  the  other  part  of  this  Inscription,  as  well  as 
from  Prof.  Pelliot's  recent  discovery,  that  the  Bible,  or  at 
least  a  *reat  part  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  must  have  been 
translated  into  Chinese  by  the  end  of  the  eighth  century  A.D. 

(40)  Cheng-kuan  Period.— This  period  lasted  twenty-three 
years,  and  exactly  corresponds  to  the  reign  of  the  Emperor 
Tai-Tsung,  who,  on  the  abdication  of  his  father  in  627 
a.d.  ascended  the  throne  and  named  the  Era  "  Cheng-kuan." 
He  died  in  A.D.  649. 

The  ninth  year  of  Cheng-kuan  (A.D.   635)   was  that   in 


208  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


which  the  mysterious  death  of  his  father,  the  abdicated 
Emperor  Li  Yuan,  occurred.  The  arrival  of  the  Nestorian 
Mission  was  also  in  that  same  ninth  year  of  the  Cheng-kuan 
period  (A.D.  635). 

(41)  Duke  Fang  Hsuan-ling. — This  man  was  one  of  the 
four  greatest  statesmen  who  lived  and  died  during  the  three 
hundred  years  of  the  T'ang  Dynasty.  Amongst  these  foui 
statesmen,  Fang  Hsuan-ling  and  Tu  Ju-hui  ;££  Ifjl  Q& 
belong  to  the  reign  of  T'ai-Tsung,  Yao  Ch'ung  iffe  &  and 
Sung  Ching  to  that  of  Hsiian-Tsung,  713-754  a.d. 

Duke  Fang  was  born  at  Lin-ssti  ([£§j  y0),  577  a.D.  His 
father  was  the  Governor  of  Ching-yang  (Jg  |y|).  When 
T'ai-Tsung  marched  against  the  Northern  Wei  with  his  army 
in  613  A.D.,  Fang  Hsuan-ling,  at  the  head  of  his  clan,  offered 
himself  to  the  Emperor's  service,  and  ever  after  they  were 
great  friends.  He  was  a  man  of  learning  and  culture,  and  is 
considered  to  have  been  the  very  best  type  of  a  faithful  and 
capable  Minister.  He  served  the  Emperor  T'ai-Tsung  as 
Minister  of  State  for  fifteen  years,  and  held  a  position  in 
China  similar  to  that  which  Prince  von  Bismarck  held  in 
recent  years  in  Germany. 

(42)  The  Stitras  were  translated,  etc. — We  are  not  yet  in 
a  position  to  say  which  parts  of  the  Bible  were  actually 
translated.  The  word  "  sutras M  used  here  literally  means 
"  standard  books,"  and  may  mean  the  Bible,  or  the  Scriptures, 
but  it  may  also  mean  the  Church  literature. 

In  the  year  1908  A.D.,  Prof.  Paul  Pelliot  found  a  list  of 
the  names  of  some  35  Nestorian  "sutras"  translated  into 
Chinese  besides  22  Diptychs  in  Chinese  at  Sha-chou,  China. 
Although  we  cannot  identify  them  all,  it  is  certain  that 
the  term  "  Sutras "  is  used  for  anything  which  resembles  a 
"  Catechism"  or  a  u  Commentary."  And  in  our  Introduction 
we  mentioned  how  Adam,  the  author  of  the  Nestorian 
Inscription,  was  engaged  in  translating  the  Buddhist 
scriptures.      If  the   Assyrian    monks   could    spare   time    to 


NOTES  ON  THE    TEXT  209 


translate  Buddhist  works  as  well  as  their  own  literature, 
how  much  more  time  they  must  have  given  to  Bible 
translation  ! 

So  the  expression  "  the  sutras  were  translated  "  may  mean 
the  translation  of  parts,  if  not  the  whole,  of  the  Bible.  That 
capable  men  were  found  to  aid  the  missionaries  in  translating 
Christian  literature  into  Chinese  may  be  clearly  seen  both  from 
the  composition  and  the  style  of  the  Nestorian  Inscription. 

(43)  The  Imperial  Rescript— The  attitude  of  the  Emperor 
T'ai-Tsung  towards  Religion  in  general,  whether  Christianity 
or  Buddhism,  is  well  disclosed  in  this  Rescript.  We  give 
different  translations  so  that  the  real  meaning  of  the  Chinese 
Emperor  may  not  be  misunderstood  : 

(Abbe  Hue)  *  In  the  twelfth  year  of  Tching-Kouan  in  the 
seventh  moon,  during  the  autumn,  the  new  Edict  was  pro- 
mulgated in  these  terms : 

"The  Doctrine  has  no  fixed  name,  the  holy  has  no 
determinate  substance ;  it  institutes  religions  suitable  to 
various  countries,  and  carries  men  in  crowds  in  its  track. 
Olopen,  a  man  of  Ta-Thsin,  and  of  lofty  virtue,  bearing 
Scriptures  and  images,  has  come  to  offer  them  in  the  Supreme 
Court  After  a  minute  examination  of  the  spirit  of  this 
religion,  it  has  been  found  to  be  excellent,  mysterious^and 
specific.  The  contemplation  of  its  radical  principle  gives  birth 
to  perfection,  and  fixes  the  will.  It  is  exempt  from  verbosity  ; 
it  considers  only  good  results.  It  is  useful  to  men,  and 
consequently  ought  to  be  published  under  the  whole  extent 
of  the  heavens.  I,  therefore,  command  the  magistrates  to 
have  a  Ta-Thsin  temple  constructed  in  the  quarter  named 
I-ning  of  the  Imperial  city,  and  twenty-one  religious  men 
shall  be  installed  therein." 

(Leese)  -  Systems  have  not  always  the  same  name  ;  sages 
have  not  always  the  same  personality.  Every  region  has  its 
appropriate  doctrines,  which  by  their  imperceptible  influence 
benefit  the  inhabitants.     The  greatly  virtuous  Olopun  of  the 


210  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

kingdom  of  T&  Ts'in,  bringing  his  scriptures  and  images  from 
afar,  has  come  and  presented  them  at  our  High  Capital. 
Having  carefully  examined  the  scope  of  his  doctrines,  we  find 
them  to  be  mysterious,  admirable,  and  requiring  nothing 
(special)  to  be  done  ;  having  looked  at  the  principal  and  most 
honoured  points  in  them,  they  are  intended  for  the  establish- 
ment of  what  is  most  important.  Their  language  is  free 
from  troublesome  verbosity  ;  their  principles  remain  when 
the  immediate  occasion  for  their  delivery  is  forgotten  ;  (the 
system)  is  helpful  to  (all)  creatures,  and  profitable  for  men : — 
let  it  have  free  course  throughout  the  empire." 

(Wylie)  "  Right  principles  have  no  invariable  name,  holy 
men  have  no  invariable  station ;  instruction  is  established  in 
accordance  with  the  locality,  with  the  object  of  benefiting  the 
people  at  large.  The  Greatly  Virtuous  Alopun  of  the 
kingdom  of  Syria,  has  brought  his  Sacred  books  and  images 
from  that  distant  part,  and  has  presented  them  at  our  chief 
capital. 

*  Having  examined  the  principles  of  this  religion,  we  find 
them  to  be  purely  excellent  and  natural ;  investigating  its 
originating  source,  we  find  it  has  taken  its  rise  from  the 
establishment  of  important  truths;  its  ritual  is  free  from 
perplexing  expressions,  its  principles  will  survive  when  the 
framework  is  forgot ;  it  is  beneficial  to  all  creatures  ;  it  is 
advantageous  to  mankind.  Let  it  be  published  throughout 
the  Empire,  and  let  the  proper  authority  build  a  Syrian 
church  in  the  capital  in  the  E-ning  Way,  which  shall  be 
governed  by  twenty-one  priests.  When  the  virtue  of  the 
Chow  dynasty  declined,  the  rider  on  the  azure  ox  ascended 
to  the  west ;  the  principles  of  the  great  Pang  becoming 
resplendent,  the  Illustrious  breezes  have  come  to  fan  the 
east." 

(Moule)  "  Teaching  has  no  immutable  name,  holy  men 
have  no  unchanging  method.  Religions  are  founded  to  suit 
(respectively,  different)  lands,  that  all  the  masses  of  men  may 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  211 


be  saved.     Raban  of  the  land  of  Syria,  a  man  of  great  virtue, 
bringing  Scriptures  and  images  from  far  has  come  to  offer 
them  at  the  chief  metropolis.     The  meaning  of  his  religion 
has  been  carefully  examined  ;   it  is  mysterious,  wonderful, 
full  of  repose.     His  fundamental  principle  has  been  reviewed  ; 
it  fixes  the  essentials  of  life  and  perfection.     In  its  outward 
expression  there  is  no  multitude  of  words;    in  its  inward 
principle  there  is  (laying  stress  on  the  end,)  forgetting  the 
means.     It  is  the  salvation  of  living  beings,  it  is  the  wealth 
of  men.     It   is   right  that    it    should   spread   through    the 
domains  of  the  Empire.     Therefore  let  there  be  built  in  the 
I-ning  quarter  of  the  metropolis  a  monastery  of  Syria,  and 
let  twenty-one  men  be  duly  admitted  as  monks.    When  the 
virtue  of  the  ancestral  house  of  Chou  failed,  the  dark  chariot 
went  up  toward  the  West ;  now  that  the  doctrine  of  the  great 
house  of  Tang  is  bright,  a  favourable  breeze  blows  towards 

the  East."  .  .. 

We  are  quite  sure  that  the  Imperial  Rescript  ends  with 
the  word  "Empire";  and  that  the  words-" the  proper 
authorities  accordingly,  etc."-were  not  included  therein. 
But  Hue,  Wylie,  and  Moule  treated  these  words  as  though 
they  were  included  in  the  Rescript. 

We  consider  that  Dr.  Legge  was  perfectly  right  on  this 
point,  and  that  the  other  translators  must  have  overlooked 
the  important  Chinese  adverb  (BP)  " accordingly » or  "upon 

What  is  recorded  in  "the  T'ang  Hui-yao"  (jf  Jf  g) 
may  be  cited  against  our  opinion,  but  that  book,  although 
originally  written  in  982  A.D.  (as  all  scholars  know£  was 
almost  entirely  rewritten  in  the  time  of  Ch'ien-lung  (Jg  &) 
I736-I705  A.D.  That  is  to  say,  the  whole  book  was  re- 
compiled more  than  a  hundred  years  after  the  new  y 
discovered  Nestorian  Inscription  itself  was  made  known  to 
the  literary  world  in  China,  and  the  text  in  the  old  Tang 
Hui-yao  was  possibly  -  improved  "  in  the  revision. 


212  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

At  any  rate,  the  Imperial  Proclamation,  or  Rescript, 
begins  with  "The  Way  had  not,  etc.,"  and  ends  with  the 
words  "throughout  the  Empire."  How  far  the  Emperor 
borrowed  the  idea  for  his  Rescript  from  Taoism  may  be 
readily  seen  by  comparing  Lao-tzu's  words  in  the  Tao-te- 
ching  (Jf  fg  j&). 

"  The  Way  that  can  be  named  as  a  Way  is  not  the  Eternal 
Way"  " The  name  that  can  be  named  (as  a  Name)  is  not 
the  Eternal  Name."  Again,  in  Chapter  XXXII.  of  Lao-tzu's 
book,  we  read  : 

"  The  Way,  so  long  as  it  remains  absolute,  is  unnameable." 

The  Emperor  Tai-Tsung's  opinion  of  the  Nestorian 
Teaching,  twelve  hundred  and  thirty-five  years  ago,  is  the 
very  same  as  that  which  the  majority  of  intellectual  Japanese 
and  Chinese  hold  to-day.     The  Japanese  poet  who  sang : 

"  Wa  ke  no  bo  ru 
Fu  moto  no  michi  wa 
Kotonare  do 
Onaji  takane  no 
Tsuki  wo  miru  kana." 
"  By  differing  Ways  the  mountain  height  we  climb 
For  one  intent, — the  Moon  that  shines  sublime !  " 

pretty  nearly  expressed  what  T'ai-Tsung  intended  to  say  in 
his  Edict.  But  this  attitude  of  the  Chinese  Emperor  and  his 
people  explains  why  religious  persecution  pure  and  simple 
never  took  place  in  the  Far  East.  What  is  called  "  Religious 
Persecution"  in  the  history  of  China  and  Japan  was  not 
usually  caused  by  religion,  pure  and  simple,  but  by  political 
or  "  economic  "  reasons. 

That  the  Chinese  were  either  very  liberal  or  very  in- 
different— they  were  then  far  from  entertaining  an  exclusive 
and  self-conceited  race  feeling — can  be  seen  from  these  words 
of  the  Emperor : 

11  Truth  is  often  of  a  dual  character,  taking  the  form  of  a 


NOTES  ON  THE    TEXT  213 

magnet  with  two  poles ;  and  many  of  the  differences  which 
agitate  the  thinking  part  of  mankind  are  traced  to  the 
exclusiveness  with  which  partisan  reasoners  dwell  upon  one 
half  of  the  duality  in  forgetfulness  of  the  other." 

We  think  that  Alexander  Pope  was  right  in  saying, 
"There  is  nothing  wanting  to  make  all  rational  and  dis- 
interested people  in  the  world  of  One  Religion,  but  that  they 
should  talk  together  every  day." 

(44)  Ta-ckin  Monastery, — This  name  must  have  been  used 
ex  post  facto,  for  we  read  in  the  Imperial  Edict  of  the 
Emperor  Hsuan-Tsung  that  the  monastery  acquired  the 
official  name  of  the  "  Ta-ch'in  Monastery  "  for  the  first  time 
in  745  A.D.  Prior  to  that  date  it  was  known  as  "the  Persian 
Monastery."     That  Imperial  Edict  says  : 

"  The  Luminous  Religion  of  Persia  was  originally  started 
in  Ta-ch'in.  It  is  long  since  this  Religion  came  to  be  preached 
here.  Now  it  is  practised  by  many,  spreading  throughout 
the  Middle  Kingdom.  When  they  first  built  monasteries  we 
gave  them  the  name  of  '  Persia-Temple '  (because  of  their 
supposed  origin).  In  order  that  all  men  might  know  the 
(real  and  true)  origin  of  what  are  commonly  known  as 
'Persian  monasteries'  in  the  two  capitals  (the  names)  are 
henceforth  to  be  changed  to  the  Ta-ch'in  Monasteries.  Let 
those  also  which  are  established  in  all  parts  of  the  Empire 
follow  this  (example)." 

This  shows  that  there  was  more  than  one  Nestorian 
Monastery  in  the  capital,  whilst  it  also  shows  that  the  official 
name  "Ta-ch'in  Monastery"  originated  in  745  A-D->  although 
the  monastery  itself  was  founded  in  638  A.D.,  three  years 
after  the  arrival  of  the  Nestorian  missionary  band  under 
"  the  Great- Virtue  A-lo-pen." 

(45)  The  I-ning  Ward.- The  word  "  I  "  means  "  Righteous- 
ness,"  whilst  "  ning  "  means  "Repose."  The  ward  was  on 
the  left-hand  side  facing  towards  the  Imperial  Palace,  and 
in  the  second  street  below  the  Imperial  Palace. 


214  THE  XESTORIAX  MOXUMEXT  IX  CIIIXA 


The  city  of  Hsi-an-fu  {i.e.  Ch'ang-an)  was  planned  almost 
square,  as  we  see  in  the  old  map.  The  Japanese  city  of 
Kyoto  was  built  after  the  model  of  Ch'ang-an  about  twelve 
hundred  years  ago.  If  we  compare  Kyoto  with  Ch'ang-an 
we  find  that  where  the  Nijo  Castle  now  stands  would  be  the 
spot  where  the  Ta-ch'in  Monastery  was  built  by  Imperial 
order  for  the  Nestorians  in  638  A.D.,  and  one  street  lower 
down  and  one  street  towards  the  centre  would  be  the 
Buddhist  convent  where  our  Kobo  Daishi  dwelt  when  he 
was  in  Ch'ang-an  during  804-806  a.d. 

(46)  Twenty-one  priests  were  ordained  and  attached  to  it. — 
These  twenty-one  priests  may  have  been  Chinamen.  A  few 
years  must  have  elapsed  before  the  monastery  was  built,  and 
twenty-one  persons  fitted  to  receive  Ordination. 

Our  author,  Ching-ching  (Adam),  goes  on  to  describe  how 
this  newly-built  monastery  was  adorned  with  the  portrait  of 
the  great  Emperor  T'ai-Tsung. 

That  the  monastery  was  built  and  supported  by  the 
Government  is  clearly  seen  from  the  force  of  the  term 
"attached  to  it/' in  addition  to  its  title  "ssii"  (^f)— "  Ta- 
ch'in-ssu"  (see  note  5,  p.  185,  supra). 

(47)  The  virtue  of  the  honoured  House  of  Chou  had  died 
away. — This  means  that  the  great  moral  influence  exercised 
by  such  men  as  the  Duke  of  Chou  (J|)  ^)  (770-727  B.C.), 
and  by  Confucius  (551  B.C.)  and  his  followers,  had  departed 
long  before  the  Pang  Dynasty  arose  to  restore  the  moral 
code  of  the  nation  by  means  of  its  good  government,  for  the 
chief  reason  for  political  revolution  in  China  has  always  been 
the  maintenance  of  the  moral  code  of  the  nation. 

"  The  reign  of  Duke  of  Chou  "  in  Chinese  thought  means 
the  Golden  Age  of  the  past  and  the  Ideal  state  of  the  future. 

In  Hebrew  thought  the  Mosaic  Age  meant  much  the  same. 
And  in  China  the  past  Golden  Age  or  "ideally-fulfilled 
State  "  was  the  reign  of  the  Duke  of  Chou. 

On  the  one  hand  the  degenerate  condition  of  China  had 


NOTES  ON  THE    TEXT  215 


continued  ever  since  the  virtue  of  the  honoured  House  of 
Chou  disappeared ;  the  prevailing  disorder  was  the  result  of 
this.  And  this  fact  was  a  very  good  reason  why  Pai-Tsung 
and  his  father  should  supplant  the  Sui  Dynasty.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  ■  rider  on  the  black  chariot,"  i.e.  Lao-tzu 
(604  B.C.),  having  ascended  to  the  Western  Heaven,  the 
Chinese  people  had  been  left  without  moral  guidance  ;  and 
this  might  be  utilized  as  a  good  argument  for  the  Nestorians' 
coming  to  China  and  bringing  a  Religion  for  the  Chinese 
millions. 

As  in  politics  the  Pang  supplanted  the  Sui  Dynasty,  so 
in  religion  the  Nestorians  ought  to  succeed  the  Taoists.  These 
are  the  ideas  conveyed  in  the  expressions  of  the  Inscription. 

(48)  "  The  rider  on  the  black  chariot" — In  this  expres- 
sion the  author  alludes  to  the  old  philosopher  Lao-tzu 
who  disappeared  from  the  country  on  such  an  animal,  and 
was  supposed  never  to  have  died.  The  meaning  of  these 
two  sentences  is  :  "  The  virtue  of  the  honoured  House  of 
Chou  had  died  away ;  the  rider  on  the  black  chariot 
having  ascended  to  the  West,  darkness  reigned  throughout 
China.  But  virtue  revived  and  was  manifested  once  more  at 
the  moment  when  the  great  Tang  Dynasty  began  its  rule, 
and  the  breezes  of  the  Luminous  Religion  blowing  Eastward 
refreshed  it" 

Among  the  fragments  of  old  documents  found  by  Prof. 
Paul  Pelliot  at  Sha-chou  (&  >JH)  in  1908,  there  is  a  book 
entitled  "  The  Sutras  explaining  Lao-tzu's  ascent  to  the 
Western  (Heaven)  and  His  Incarnation  in  the  Land  of  Hu  " 

(*  ^  n  #  ft  $  «)■  In  other  words* "  A  re-inca™a- 

tion  of  Lao-tzu  in  the  Western  Land."  The  author  of  this 
book  suggests  another  Incarnation  of  the  Tao  ( jg)  or  "  Way" 
(i.e.  the  Logos  in  the  Chinese  sense). 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  founder  of  the  White  Lotus 
Guild  in  Southern  China  Hui-yiian,  the  disciple  of  Tao-an,  the 
Chinese  monk  from  Che-kiang  who  learned  the  Mahayana 


216  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

literature  at  Yeh  (|J§l  |flj)  (Chang-te-fu)  in  Northern  China 
in  the  middle  of  the  third  century  from  Buddho-chinga,  a 
monk  from  Gandhara  in  India,  taught  that  the  books  of 
Lao-tzu  were  a  necessary  introduction  to  the  teaching  of 
Ashvaghosa  and  Nagarjuna ;  just  as  St.  Paul  said  that  the 
Law  was  a  schoolmaster  to  bring  the  Jews  to  Christ.  And 
this  White  Lotus  Guild  taught  the  Amitabha-Doctrine  of 
Salvation  by  Faith. 

The  personal  name  of  the  author  of  the  book  discovered 
by  Prof.  Pelliot  is  lost,  and  there  is  no  knowing  who  and  what 
he  was  ;  but  he  evidently  tried  to  argue  that  the  Sages  in  the 
West,  whether  Sakyamuni  or  others,  were  but  re-incarnations 
in  their  respective  lands.  He  insisted  that  the  Sages  were 
all  the  same ;  and  that  if  they  were  not  the  same,  they  could 
not  be  Sages.  The  differences  between  them,  according  to 
this  author,  are  only  in  name  or  appellation. 

And  this  agrees  with  the  opinion  expressed  by  the 
Emperor  T'ai-Tsungas  preserved  in  the  Nestorian  Inscription: 
*  Sages  have  no  fixed  or  immutable  body." 

(49)  A  faithful  portrait  of  the  Emperor. — This  must  be 
the  first  time  that  the  Chinese  Emperor's  portrait  was  ever 
painted  on  the  wall  of  a  Christian  monastery.  Many  years 
afterwards  when  Hsiian-Tsung  (742-792  A.D.)  sent  the  five 
Imperial  portraits  to  the  monastery,  he  only  followed  the 
good  example  set  by  the  Emperor  T'ai-Tsung  in  638  A.D. 

Fresco  portraits  painted  on  the  wall  were  at  that  time 
quite  fashionable,  as  is  proved  by  those  discovered  lately  at 
Khotan  (^j1  g(|)  and  in  the  Caves  of  tne  Thousand  Buddhas 
at  Tun-huang  (|fc  jg.  =f-  $}  flpj)  in  Central  Asia,  by  Sir  A. 
Stein  as  well  as  by  the  Rev.  Z.  Tachibana  and  Prof.  Pelliot. 

(50)  According  to  the  descriptive  Records  of  Western  Lands, 
and  the  historical  works  of  the  Han  and  Wei  Dynasties,  etc. 
—This  description  of  Ta  chin  by  the  Nestorian  missionary- 
priest  in  the  eighth  century  makes  the  identification  of 
Ta-ch'in  rather  difficult 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  217 

It  is  no  wonder  that  Dr.  Legge,  despite  all  his  knowledge 
of  China  and  things  Chinese,  regretfully  says :  "  I  could  wish 
that  this  paragraph  about  Ta-Ts'in  had  not  been  put  in  the 
Inscription,  and  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  the  object  which  it 
serves." 

We  partly  agree  with  this  great  Sinologue.  But,  apart 
from  its  original  aim  and  purpose,  does  not  this  paragraph 
reveal  to  us  the  progress  of  the  world  in  the  course  of  twelve 
hundred  years  and  that : 

"  Through  the  ages  one  increasing  Purpose  runs, 
And  the  thoughts  of  men  are  widened  with  the  process 
of  the  Suns"? 

It  was  once   so  believed  by  the  Nestorians  and  others  in 
China ! 

Besides,  this  proves  how  keen  the  missionaries  were  in 
describing  the  good  things  in  the  home-land.  The  land  of 
Buddha  had  hitherto  been  described  as  the  best  country  in 
the  world,  but  now  we  find  the  Land  of  the  Luminous 
Religion  described  as  the  ideal  country  by  the  author  of  the 
Nestorian  Inscription,  who  is  quoting  old  Chinese  books. 

(51)  The  Coral  Sea.— This  expression  is  not  clear.  It 
means  either  the  Indian  Ocean  or  the  Red  Sea,  most  probably 
the  latter,  for  near  Aden  the  coral  reefs  are  dangerous  to 
ships,  hence  the  name  of  the  entrance  to  the  Red  Sea, 
Bab-el-mandeb,  "the  Gate  of  Tears,"  for  so  many  vessels 
are  wrecked  there. 

(52)  The  mountain  of  "All  Precious  Things."- -The 
Sanskit  "Ratnaghiri  (£  ll|)  literally  means  ■  Precious 
Mount,"  and  the  mountain  of  that  name  is  located  near 
Rajagriha,  the  ancient  capital  of  Magadha,  India.  But  we 
cannot  say  that  this  is  the  mountain  meant  by  the  author  of 
the  Inscription.  All  we  can  say  is  that  the  author  of  the 
expression  was  somewhat  influenced  by,  if  he  aid  not 
actually  borrow  from,  Buddhism. 


218  THE  XESTORIAX  MOXUMEXT  IX  CHIXA 

(53)  Tfo  Gardens  of  Immortals  and  the  Flowery  Forest. — 
The  dwelling  of  the  richi  (^  J^)}  Immortals,  is  known  as 
Sravasti  (^  J^  ^  ^),  an  ancient  kingdom,  500  /z'N.W.  of 
Kapilavastu,  Sakyamuni's  birthplace,  and  as  a  city  near  the 
river  Sravasti  which  was  a  favourite  resort  of  Sakyamuni. 
As  early  as  the  end  of  the  sixth  century  A.D.,  it  was  a  deserted 
ruin  whilst  the  ancient  name  of  Pataliputra  (^  §  jjjfc) 
was  Kusumapura,  "  the  city  of  Flowery  Palaces." 

We  are  far  from  saying  that  what  is  written  in  the 
Inscription  is  to  be  identified  with  these  Buddhist  places, 
but  we  say  that  it  is  very  plain  that  the  expressions  are 
borrowed  from  Buddhism. 

(54)  The  long  winds  and  tlie  weak  waters. — The  strong 
winds,  or  the  winds  that  blow  from  a  distant  place,  are  often 
indicated  by  the  expression  "long  winds."  Then  the  phrase 
began  to  denote  a  great  plain  or  desert  from  whence  the 
people  of  that  time  imagined  the  winds  to  spring.  In  this 
passage,  the  "  long  winds  n  probably  denote  the  great  plain  of 
Mesopotamia. 

The  Chinese  poet,  Liu  Tsung-yuan  (773-819  A.D.)  says  : 
"  In  the  mountains  on  the  Western  Sea  there  is  a  water  (river) 
spreading  out  and  having  no  strength  (coherence) ;  it  does 
not  carry  even  a  trifling  object,  and  whatever  is  put  on  its 
surface,  will  drop  down  to  the  bottom  and  remain  there — 
whence  it  is  called  weak  water." 

The  weak  waters  on  which  nothing  would  float  were  the 
fabled  protection  of  the  Palace  of  Hsi  Wang  Mu  (jgj  ££  -fij). 
But  no  one  knows  who  was  Hsi  Wang  Mu  and  where  she  (or 
he)  the  mysterious  person  of  Chinese  legend  dwelt. 

"The  weak  waters"  in  this  Inscription  may  mean  the 
Euphrates  or  Tigris.  The  mythological  "  Jo-shui  "  (|pjj  7JC) 
(weak  waters)  of  the  Chinese  could  be  navigated  only  in  skin 
boats.  The  idea  is  a  familiar  one  to  the  ancients.  Compare 
Herodotus  (III.,  23)  who  describes  a  fountain  in  Aethiopia, 
the  water  of  which  was  so  weak  that  nothing  can  float  upon 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  219 

it,  neither  wood  nor  such  things  as  are  lighter  than  wood,  but 
everything  sinks  to  the  bottom." 

(55)  The  soul-restoring  incense. — The  incense  most  com- 
monly known  in  Japan  is  "the  Ansoku-ko,"  i.e.  "An-hsi 
incense,"  which  simply  means  "  Parthian  incense,"  "  An-hsi- 
hsiang"  (^J  Jj,  ^f),  being  the  Chinese  corruption  for 
Arsakes,  the  founder  of  the  Parthian  Empire.  This  "  soul- 
restoring  incense  "  is  very  well  known  amongst  the  Japanese. 
It  was  no  doubt  introduced  into  Japan  from  Ch'ang-an. 

"The  soul-restoring  incense"  is,  of  course,  different 
from  the  "An-hsi  incense,"  because  their  uses  are  quite 
different.  The  name  of  the  soul-restoring  incense  is  also 
well  known  to  us  through  the  popular  literature  in  which 
its  name  very  often  occurs. 

(56)  The  Emperor  Kao-Tsung. — He  was  the  son  of  T'ai- 
Tsung,  his  mother  being  the  Empress  Chang-sun.  In 
Chinese  history  he  is  known  as  a  great  Taoist.  In  666  A.D., 
he  went  himself  to  Hao  (${),  the  native  place  of  Lao-tzu,  to 
visit  the  old  Philosopher's  temple  in  person,  and  bestowed 
the  posthumous  honour  of  "  the  greatest  Sovereign  Lord  of 
the  Most  Mysterious  Origin"  upon  that  great  Taoist 
Teacher. 

It  was  during  this  Emperor's  reign  that  the  famous  Chinese 
Shan-tao,Ta-shih  (#  *J|  ^  UP)  Hved  and  died  A.D.  612-680, 
whilst  his  teacher  Tao-ch'o  Ta-shih  (3||$  ^CW)  died  in 
645  a.d.  It  is  very  curious  that  the  name  of  the  Japanese 
Buddhism  reformed  by  Shinran  Shonin  should  bear  the  same 
name  as  that  mentioned  in  the  Inscription,  viz.  "the  True 
Religion "  (jg£  ££),  and  that  for  both  precisely  the  same 
Chinese  ideograph  is  used.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  the 
Nestorians  made  progress  under  an  emperor  like  this  Kao- 
Tsung  ? 

(57)  He  caused  monasteries  of  the  Luminous  Religion  to  be 
erected  in  every  Prefecture. — Similarly,  in  690  A.D.,  the 
Empress  Wu,  as  Chinese  history  records,  "  caused  monasteries 


220  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

of  the  Great   Cloud    Religion  (^  §  ^f )  to  be  erected  in 
every  Prefecture." 

According  to  the  Ch'ang-an  Topography  by  Sung  Min-ch'iu 
(995  A.D.)  the  Hai-yen  Ward,  where  the  first  monastery  of 
this  "  Great  Cloud  Religion  "  was  built,  was  not  far  from  the 
I-ning  Ward  where  the  first  Nestorian  monastery  was  built. 
The  Emperor  T'ai-Tsung,  it  is  said,  wrote  the  tablet  inscribed 
with  the  four  Chinese  characters,  "  Great-Cloud-Bright-Light " 
(:fc§I^J  53)  on  fc  and  Save  it  to  "the  Great  Cloud 
Religion  "  monastery. 

Again,  in  741  A.D.,  the  Japanese  Emperor  Shomu  followed 
the  good  example  of  the  Chinese  emperor  and  caused  a 
Buddhist  monastery  to  be  built  in  every  province  of  Japan 

The  Monastery  in  every  prefecture  mentioned  in  the 
Nestorian  Inscription  was  the  first  example  of  the  kind.  So 
we  may  say  that  the  Japanese  " Koku-bun-ji,"  i.e.  "a 
State-monastery  in  every  Prefecture,"  may  be  very  indirectly 
connected  with  the  Nestorian  Church  in  China. 

Many  Chinese  authorities  are  inclined  to  think  that  this 
"  Ta-yiin  ssu,"  "  the  Great  Cloud  Religion  monastery,"  built 
by  the  Empress  Wu,  was  a  Manichean  temple,  whilst  others 
try  to  identify  it  with  a  Nestorian  monastery. 

Personally  we  believe  the  monastery  of  the  H  Great  Cloud 
Religion "  to  have  been  a  Mosque.  Mohammedanism  in 
China  began  by  Mohammed  sending  his  own  maternal  uncle, 
Wah  Abi  Kobsha,  by  sea  as  an  envoy  to  the  Emperor  T'ai- 
Tsung  in  A.D.  628,  who  granted  authority  to  build  mosques 
in  Canton  together  with  the  free  exercise  of  the  religion. 
(Dabry    de    Thiersant :    "  Mahometanisme    en    Chine,"    I., 

86-97.) 

Moreover,  as  it  was  either  from  the  priests  of  the  "  Great 

Cloud   Religion  "   or  of  the   Nestorian   Monastery  that  the 

Chinese    government    obtained    interpreters   of  the    Uigur 

language  (JbJ  fjj|) — the  men  of  the  Uigur  tribes  were  faithful 


NOTES  ON  THE    TEXT  221 

mercenaries  to  the  Chinese  Emperor  Hsiian-Tsung  in  755 
A.D. — they  probably  spoke  the  same  language  if  they  were 
not  of  the  same  religious  belief. 

(58)  Ten  provinces. — In  his  first  year  (627  A.D.)  Tai-tsung 
divided  the  whole  empire  into  "  Shih  Tao  "  or  Ten  Provinces, 
viz. — 

(1)  Kuan-nei  (|||]  j^]),  lit.  "within  the  citadel"  or 
"inside  the  Gates."  The  province  was  called  by  different 
names  in  Chinese  history,— Kuan-cluing  (f$J]  tfl)  (Ch'in, 
255-206  B.C.);  Wei-nan  (ff  ^})  (Han,  206  B.C.-25  A.D.) ; 
Yung-chou  (ItljN1!)  (Eastern  Han,  25-221  A.D.) ;  Yung- 
nsing(^c^)  (Sung,  960-1127  A.D.) ;  An-hsi  (^  g) 
(Yuan  and  Ming,  1260-1644  A.D.).  It  belongs  to  the  present 
province  of  Shensi  (gj£  jgj  ^),and  its  capital  is  the  famous 
city  of  Hsi-an,  the  ancient  capital  of  all  China. 

(2)  Ho-nan  (ftf  $f ),  lit.  ■  South  of  the  River."  Its 
literary  name  is  Yu-chou  ( Jfc  jN*l),  and  'lt  corresponds  to  the 
present  Honan  and  Shantung. 

(3)  Ho-tung  (|BJ  ^),  lit.  "  East  of  the  River."  It  is 
part  of  the  ancient  Chi-chou  (]K  j\\),  and  corresponds  to 
the  present  province  of  Shansi  (UJ  ffi  ^)- 

(4)  Ho-pei  ($f  ;fc),  lit.  "  North  of  the  River."  It  com- 
prised parts  of  the  ancient  Chi-chou  (H  jHI)  and  Yu-chou 
d£^H)>  and  corresponds  approximately  to  the  present 
province  of  Chihli  (jg  $$  ^g). 

(5)  Shan-nan  (\1\  fljf),  lit.  "  South  of  the  Mountain." 
This  represented  the  ancient  Ching-chou  ($  lj  jft)  and 
Liang-chou  ($£  #|),  and  corresponds  to  the  present  province 

of  Hupei  m  ft  4)- 

(6)  Lung-yu  (ffi  #),  lit.  "the  right  side  of  the  Moun- 
tain called  '  Lung.'"  It  is  the  ancient  Ch'in-chou  (§§§  j^f), 
and  belongs  to  the  present  province  of  Kansu  (-#  )$f  ^£). 

(7)  Huai-nan  (*;§  ]S),  lit.  "South  of  the  Huai."  Anciently 
called  Yang-chou  (J§  jHH)  »  corresponds  now  to  the 
province  of  Anhui  (t£  jj§fc  $£) 


222  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

(8)  Chiang-nan  (££  ^f),  lit.  "  the  South  of  the  Yangtze- 
kiang."  It  was  a  large  province  comprising  the  two  present 
provinces  of  Chekiang  (jftft  ££  ^)  and  Kiangsi  (££  [flj  ^), 
and  large  parts  of  Kiangsu,  Fukien,  and  Hunan. 

(9)  Chien-nan  (JgjJ  ^),  lit.  "the  South  of  Mount  Chien." 
Its  ancient  name  is  not  known,  but  it  formed  a  part 
of  the  ancient  Liang-chou  (|j£  j^\),  and  is  now  a  part  of  the 
Ssuch'uan  province  (JJEJ  )\\  ^). 

(10)  Ling-nan  (^j|  f|j),  lit.  "  the  South  of  the  Mount 
(Ling,)"  corresponded  to  the  South  part  of  the  ancient  Yang- 
chou  (H|  >$\).  Its  literary  name  is  Yiieh-tung  (Jg.  ]^?). 
The  two  southern  provinces,  Kuangtung  (JH  j|f  ^f)  and 
Kuangsi  (J§|  |?§  ^|),  were  included  in  the  province  of  Ling- 
nan  in  the  time  of  the  Emperor  T'ai-Tsung. 

In  our  Introduction  we  have  said  that  Kuan-nei  (|JJ|  |?}) 
must  be  the  **  Kumdan  "  of  the  Nestorian  Inscription,  since 
that  very  name  "  Kuan-nei "  is  pronounced  "  Kandai "  by  the 
modern  Japanese — a  fact  which  leads  us  to  conclude  that  the 
name  Kumdan  must  have  been  a  corruption  of  "  Kandai." 

The  expression  "  within  the  Gates "  or  "  within  the 
citadels "  shows  how  well  protected  the  chief  Province 
(§&  Pi)  was*  ^^e  Sreat  capital  Ch'ang-an  was  situated 
inside  the  Citadels  or  Gates  as  well  as  surrounded  by  its 
own  high  walls. 

The  title  found  in  the  Syriac  part  of  the  Inscription, 
"  The  chorepiscopos  of  Kumdan  "  or  "  the  head  of  the  Church 
of  Kumdan  and  of  Saragh,"  may  mean  the  Metropolitan,  whose 
see  included  the  whole  province  wherein  the  capital  Hsi-an-fu 
was. 

Dr.  Legge  has  pointed  out  that  the  use  of  the  expression 
M  Ten  Provinces  "  is  a  strong  confirmation  of  the  genuineness 
of  the  Nestorian  Monument. 

(59)  The  period  of  Sheng-li  (Ig  ^|f).— This  is  one  of 
many  year-names  of  the  Empress-Dowager  Wu,  and  lasted 
only  two  years,  viz.  from  698  to  700  A.D. 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  223 

The  Inscription  thus  passes  from  683  A.D.,  in  which  Kao- 
Tsung  died,  to  699  A.D.,  i.e.  about  the  middle  of  the  Empress 
Wu's  reign,  which  practically  began  in  683  A.D.,  when  she 
usurped  the  throne  by  displacing  the  Crown  Prince  Chung- 
Tsung,  the  legitimate  eldest  son  of  Kao-Tsung  and  lawful 
heir  to  the  Throne,  and  appointing  his  illegitimate  son  Jui- 
Tsung.  This  Jui-Tsung  was  under  her  thumb,  so  to  speak, 
and  she  managed  to  keep  the  reins  of  government  in  her  own 
hand  through  that  Prince  until  she  died  in  705  A.D.,  when 
Chung-Tsung  was  restored  to  the  throne. 

During  the  Empress  Wu's  reign  she  changed  the  name  of 
the  Dynasty  from  T'ang  to  Chou  (^j).  Hence  there  were 
two  capitals  in  China  at  that  time,  as  the  Inscription 
says. 

The  city  of  Lo  appears  as  "  the  Eastern  Capital  of  Chou," 
and  Ch'ang-an  as  "  the  Western  Hao,"  which  was  the  name 
of  the  capital  of  King  Wu,  one  of  the  greatest  kings  that 
ever  ruled  over  the  Chinese.  The  Dowager-Empress  Wu 
claimed  descent  from  the  Great  King  Wu,  and  adopted  all 
the  old  Chou  names  wherever  possible. 

The  period  of  Sheng-li  corresponds  to  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  years  of  Ssu-sheng  (jp  ig)  of  the  Emperor 
Chung-Tsung  (t£  gS). 

(60)  TJie  end  of  Hsien-tien  (^  ^).— This,  the  first  year 
of  the  Emperor  Hsuan-Tsung,  was  the  last  year  of  the 
Emperor  Jui-Tsung  who  succeeded  Chung-Tsung  in  710  a.d. 
This  came  to  pass  as  Chung-Tsung  who  had  regained  the 
throne  from  the  Empress-Dowager  Wu  in  A.D.  705  was 
murdered  in  710  a.d.  Chung-Tsung  was  succeeded  by  Jui- 
Tsung,  who,  however,  abdicated  in  favour  of  his  own  son 
Hsuan-Tsung  in  712  A.D.  This  accounts  for  that  year  having 
had  two  names,  the  name  of  "  T'ai-chi "  {%  |g)  as  being  the 
last  of  Jui-Tsung,  and  that  of  "Hsien-t'ien"  (;$£  Ji)  as  being 
the  first  year  of  the  Emperor  Hsiian-Tsung. 

From  712  A.D.  to  the  end  of  755  A.D.,  China  being  under 


224  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

the  glorious  rule  of  Hsiian-Tsung,   might  be  called   "the 
Periclean  Era  of  Chinese  history." 

Hsiian-Tsung,  one  of  the  greatest  emperors  who  ever 
sat  on  the  throne  of  China,  was  the  second  greatest  after  the 
Emperor  T'ai-Tsung  during  the  three  hundred  years  of  the 
Pang  Era. 

(61)  Some  inferior  scholars \  etc. — Compare  this  with  Lao- 
tzu's  words  in  the  forty-first  chapter  of  "  Tao-t£-ching  "  : 

"  When  a  superior  scholar  hears  of  The  Way  he  endeavours 
to  practise  it. 

"  When  an  average  scholar  hears  of  the  The  Way  he  will 
sometimes  keep  it  and  sometimes  lose  it 

"When  an  inferior  scholar  hears  of  The  Way  he  will 
greatly  ridicule  and  deride  it." 

Thus,  during  some  thirty  years,  i.e.  from  683  to  612 
A.D.,  the  Luminous  Religion  was  in  the  most  difficult 
position,  because  the  Buddhists  were  supreme  in  the  reign  of 
the  Empress  Wu,  whilst  the  Taoists  were  very  influential 
during  the  reigns  of  Chung-Tsung  and  Jui-Tsung,  and  also 
in  the  early  part  of  Hsuan-Tsung's  reign. 

How  the  Nestorians  obtained  their  influence  over  the  great 
Emperor  Hsiian-Tsung  is  not  far  to  seek.  In  the  first  place, 
it  must  have  been  due  to  the  men  of  whom  the  Nestorian 
Papas  Adam,  Ching-ching  (J£  ^),  speaks  in  this  Inscription. 

In  the  second  place,  through  the  foreign  intercourse  of 
the  time  the  Nestorians  represented  the  advanced  popular 
party.  Without  the  aid  of  the  Syrian  Christians  or  of  the 
Mohammedans  the  Chinese  could  not  easily  procure  "  things 
Western." 

(62)  Lo-han,  Bishop  Chi-lieh,  and  noble  men  from  "  the 
Golden  Region? — Priest  Lo-han  was  identified  with  "  Abraham 
the  Metropolitan"  (see  Note  37) ;  "Ab,"  the  first  syllable  in 
his  name,  was  evidently  dropped  as  was  customary  in  China 
and  Japan. 

This  view  is  strongly  supported   by  the    famous  Jewish 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  22$ 


monument  at  K'ai-fSng-Fu,  which  was  erected  in  15 12  A.D., 
and  has  lately  come  into  the  possession  of  the  Anglican  mis- 
sion in  China.  Nearly  the  same  Chinese  characters  "  Lo-han  " 
(M  HI)  are  used  in  both  Inscriptions  for  "  Abraham." 

Bishop  "  Chi-lieh  "  was  identified  with  "  Gabriel "  by  Dr. 
Heller.  But  in  this  Nestorian  Inscription  "  Yeh-li"  (|j|  %\\) 
and  "  Kuang-te  "  (jfjg  $*k)  both  represent  ■  Gabriel." 

We  believe  that  the  former  is  the  Chinese  phonetization 
of  •  Gabriel,"  whilst  the  later  is  the  translation  of  the  Hebrew 
word  "  Gabriel "  which  means  "  Hero  of  God."  "  Kuang-t$  " 
in  Chinese  means  "Extensive  Virtue,"  which  is  the  most 
important  attribute  for  a  "  Hero  of  God." 

"Yeh-li"  (Hjl^lj)  in  Chinese  is  pronounced  "Gyo-ri" 
in  modern  Japanese,  which  is  much  closer  to  the  old  Chinese 
pronunciation  of  the  Pang  Era  than  the  present  day  Chinese 
is.  This  is  a  relic  of  the  long  intercourse  of  Japan  with  China 
in  the  Middle  Ages. 

These  facts  compel  us  to  conclude  that  the  bishop's  name 
0  Chi-lieh  "  must  represent  some  Persian  word  whose  first 
letter  had  the  "  K  "  sound,  because  "  Chi-lieh  "  is  pronounced 
"  Kyu-retsu  "  in  Japanese.  We  are  inclined  to  identify  this 
"  Kyu-retsu "  with  *  Cyriacus,"  that  being  nearest  to  the 
Japanese  pronunciation  of  the  Chinese  characters. 

This  Chi-lieh  was  the  Bishop  who  accompanied  the 
Persian  Embassy  to  China  as  recorded  in  the  annals  of 
the  epoch.     Chinese  history  says  that  : 

"  In  the  twentieth  year  of  the  K'ai-yuan  period  (ffi  jfc)t 
in  the  ninth  moon  (October)  (732  A.D.),  the  King  of  Persia  sent 
the  Chief  P'an-na-mi  (j&2H#?)  accompanied  by  Bishop  Chi-lieh 
to  Hsi-an-fu,  the  capital,  as  the  Persian  Envoy. 

*  The  chief  was  decorated  with  the  Imperial  Order  of 
'  Kuo-i '  (^  ^§{),  *  Heroic-Brave/  whilst  the  Priest  was 
presented  with  a  purple-coloured  vestment  besides  fifty 
pieces  of  silk." 

This    chief,   P'an-na-mi,    must    have    been    one  of    the 


226  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


noblemen  from  the  "  Golden  Region  "  mentioned  in  the  In- 
scription. Doubtless  there  were  others  of  whom  as  yet  we 
are  ignorant. 

We  do  not  know  whether  the  Nestorians  had  recovered 
their  influence  before  this  Persian  Mission  arrived  in  732  A.D., 
or  whether  it  was  in  consequence  of  its  arrival.  But,  as  the 
Emperor  Hsiian-Tsung  ascended  the  throne  in  713  A.D.,what 
the  Inscription  records  must  have  occurred  after  732  A.D.  of 
the  Emperor's  reign. 

(63)  The  Emperor  Hsiian-Tsung. — He  was  the  third  son 
of  the  Emperor  Jui-Tsung.  Although  his  eldest  son,  Ch'£ng- 
ch'i  (j$£  :§§:),  was  proclaimed  Heir  Apparent  in  710  A.D.,  he 
resigned  the  heritage  in  favour  of  his  younger  brother, 
P'ing-wang  (^  3E),  **  "  Prmcc  °f  Peace,"  who  was  later 
known  as  the  Emperor  Hslian-Tsung. 

This  Prince  Ch'eng-ch'i,  the  elder  brother  to  the  Emperor, 
was  afterwards  promoted  to  be  King  of  Ning  by  his  younger 
brother,  the  Emperor,  in  718  A.D. — six  years  after  his 
accession. 

Three  of  the  other  four  Imperial  princes  who  were  sent 
to  the  Nestorian  Monastery  (as  recorded  in  the  Inscription) 
were  brothers,  and  the  fourth  was  their  cousin. 

That  all  five  princes  lived  most  harmoniously  may  be 
seen  from  the  fact  that  they  dwelt  in  a  common  residence — 
a  place  built  by  the  Emperor  for  them — where  the  Emperor 
himself  may  often  have  listened  to  the  Nestorian  missionaries. 

The  reign  of  Hsiian-Tsung,  lasting  over  forty  years,  was 
the  most  glorious  period  in  all  Chinese  history.  Among  others, 
the  names  of  Madame  Yang  Kuei-fei  (ffi  JJ  jg)  and  An 
Lu-shan(^  $j£  jlj),  the  Cleopatra  and  Mark  Antony  of  China, 
if  the  Emperor  himself  had  been  its  Caesar,  are  very  familiar 
to  us  in  Japan.  In  common  parlance,  the  Emperor's  attitude 
towards  them  much  resembled  that  of  the  illustrious  Khaliph 
Haroun  Al-raschid  toward  Fetnah  and  Ganem,  Love's  Slave, 
as  described  in  the  Arabian  Nights'  Entertainments. 


.VOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  227 

The  Inscription  conveys  the  idea  that  the  Emperor 
Hsiian-Tsung  and  his  brothers  were  so  sympathetic  and  so 
liberal  toward  the  Nestorians  that  they  restored  the  influence 
of  the  Luminous  Religion.  Hence  we  conclude  that  they 
were  friends  of  the  Syrian  Missionaries,  although  whether  the 
Emperor  himself  was  a  Christian  or  not  we  cannot  determine. 

A  well-known  anecdote  says  that  one  day  Hsiian-Tsung 
lost  his  moustache  whilst  boiling  a  medicine  for  his  brother. 
He  said :  "I  am  only  too  willing  to  lose  my  moustache  if 
my  brother  gets  better." 

This  shows  how  different  he  was  from  the  average 
Oriental  monarchs  of  the  time.  He  was  humble  and  kind- 
hearted. 

(64)  The  early  part  of  the  period  of  T'ien-pao.— This  began 
with  the  thirtieth  year  of  the  Emperor  Hsiian-Tsung' s  reign, 
the  T'ien-pao  period  itself  corresponding  to  742-755  A-D-  Kao 
Li-shih  himself  was  made  "Generalissimo  of  Cavalry"  in 
748  A.D.  So  "  the  early  part  of  the  T'ien-pao  "  in  our  Inscrip- 
tion must  mean  at  least  748  A.D.,  i.e.  the  seventh  year  of 
T'ien-pao. 

General  Kao  Li-shih  was  a  eunuch,  and  had  been 
employed  in  the  palace  since  the  time  of  the  Empress 
Dowager  Wu.  His  more  than  ordinary  ability  and  strength 
proved  of  great  service  to  Hsiian-Tsung  in  defending  his 
Imperial  person  from  the  dagger  of  an  assassin,  who  almost 
succeeded  in  assassinating  him  in  the  palace  yard.  But  for 
this  eunuch  the  Emperor  would  have  fallen  a  victim  to  his 

enemy-  ,     j  *  11 

Hsiian-Tsung  was  very  grateful  to  the  eunuch,  and  finally 
promoted  him  to  be  -  the  Great  General  of  the  Cavalry,"  the 
Commander  of  the  Imperial  Guards. 

(65)  The  portraits  of  five  Emperors.-The  Emperor  T'ai- 
Tsung  had  his  own  portrait  painted  on  the  monastery  wall 
some  time  after  635  A.D.  as  mentioned  in  the  Inscription. 
When  Hsiian-Tsung  ordered   the  "faithful  portraits  of  the 


228  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


five  Emperors  "  to  be  carried  there  some  time  after  748  A.D., 
the  old  portrait  of  the  Emperor  T'ai-Tsung  was  probably 
still  visible. 

As  there  had  been  altogether  six  T'ang  emperors,  viz.  (1) 
Kao-Tsu  ;  (2)  T'ai-Tsung  ;  (3)  Kao-Tsung ;  (4)  Chung-Tsung  ; 
(5)  Jui-Tsung  ;  and  (6)  Hsiian-Tsung  himself,  so  most  likely 
by  "  the  five  faithful  portraits  of  the  Emperors  "  were  meant 
those  of  Hsiian-Tsung  and  his  predecessors  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  great  T'ai-Tsung  himself,  whose  portrait  was 
already  there.  Now  that  ^se.  more  portraits  were  added,  the 
portraits  of  all  the  T'ang  Emperors  up  to  755  A.D.  were 
visible  on  the  walls  of  the  Nestorian  Monastery  at 
Ch'ang-an. 

(66)  We  were  in  a  position  to  hang  on  to  the  Imperial  bow 
and  sword  in  case  the  beard  of  the  Dragon  should  be  out  of 
reach. — This  is  a  most  difficult  portion  of  the  Inscription,  and 
the  translators  differ  as  may  be  seen  from  the  following  : 

(Abbd  Hue)  "  Thus  we  were  able  to  seize  the  bow,  the 
sword,  and  the  moustaches  of  the  Dragon,  although  he  was 
far  off." 

(Wylie)  "  Although  the  Dragon's  beard  was  then  remote, 
their  bows  and  swords  were  still  within  reach ;  while  the 
solar  horns  sent  forth  their  rays,  and  celestial  visages  seemed 
close  at  hand." 

(Legge)  "Although  the  Dragon's  (i.e.  Imperial)  beard  in 
them  was  too  far  off,  yet  the  bow  and  sword  could  be  touched 
with  the  hand  ;  when  the  Sun's  horns  (i.e,  rays)  shed  on 
them  their  light,  the  celestial  countenances  seemed  to  be 
within  about  a  cubit  (from  the  spectator)." 

(Moule)  "Though  the  Dragon's  beard  is  far  away  the 
bow  and  sword  may  be  touched  ;  the  horn  of  the  sun  diffuses 
light ;  the  divine  faces  are  not  far  distant." 

We  think  that  the  author,  Ching-ching  (King-tsing),  Adam, 
alludes  here  to  the  old  tradition  so  well  known  amongst 
Chinese  and  Japanese  scholars,  that  "  about  B.C.  3700  there 


NOTES  ON  THE   1 EXT  229 


came  down  a  Dragon  with  a  long  beard  to  the  Yellow  Emperor 
(SC  *?&)•  Mounting  it,  the  Emperor  ascended  to  Heaven. 
Seventy  or  more  of  his  servants  and  court  ladies  accompanied 
him.  Minor  officials  finding  themselves  unable  to  follow  His 
Majesty  to  Heaven,  they  all  clung  to  the  beard  of  the  Dragon. 
But  alas !  the  beard  was  pulled  out  by  their  weight.  Upon 
this,  the  Emperor  kindly  let  down  his  own  bow  (and  sword). 
Clinging  to  the  bow  (and  sword)  all  wept  bitterly." 

This  being  the  tradition  handed  down  to  us,  the  sentence 
in  the  Inscription  must  have  been  an  allusion  to  the  story. 
The  Emperors,  so  august  and  so  majestic,  are  beyond  the 
reach  Qf  ordinary  folk,  yet  ordinary  folks  may  look  up  at  the 
portraits  of  the  Emperors  on  the  monastery  walls.  As 
the  minor  officials  of  the  olden  time  were  permitted  to  hold 
the  Imperial  bow  and  sword,  so  the  Nestorians  are  allowed 
to  gaze  upon  the  Imperial  portraits.  If  "  a  cat  may  look  at  a 
king,"  then  how  much  more  so  the  Nestorians ! 

"  The  Sun's  horn "  is  the  usual  expression  for  the  stern 
and  serious  visage  of  the  Imperial  dignity,  whilst  the  expres- 
sion "celestial  face"  means  the  gracious  and  kind-hearted 
countenance  of  the  Emperor.  All  these  expressions  support 
our  view  as  to  the  allusion  to  the  above-quoted  tradition 
which  was  first  pointed  out  by  Diaz  in  his  edition  of  the 
Inscription,  1644,  fol.  45. 

(67)  In  the  third  year  of  Vien-pao.— The  Chinese  ideograph 
for  the  "  year  "  was  first  changed  from  "  nien  "  (&f)  to  "  tsai " 
(ffl  in  744  A.D.  by  an  Imperial  Decree.  Observing  this, 
the  author   of  our   Inscription   used   "tsai"    (ft)    instead 

of  "  nien  "(^). 

This  is  one  of  the  many  internal  evidences  in  favour  of 
the  genuineness  of  the  Nestorian  Stone.  The  third  year  of 
Pien-pao  corresponds  to  744  A.D. 

(68)  There  was  a  priest  by  tlie  name  of  Chi-ho  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Ta-ch'in.-The  Chinese  "Chi-ho"  is  pronounced 
«Gi-wa"    in  Japanese  (which  is    simply  the   ancient  T'ang 


230  THE  XESTORIAX  MOXUMEXT  IX  CHINA 

pronunciation   preserved  to  this  day  in  the  Island  Empire), 
and  may  well  be  identified  with  "  Giwargis,"  i.e.  *  George." 

This  "  priest  Chi-ho  "  must  have  been  "  Bishop  George  M 
who  came  from  Ta-ch'in  with  a  reinforcement  of  monks, 
having  been  encouraged  by  the  news  of  the  Mission's  great 
success  brought  back  by  the  Persian  chief  and  Bishop  Chi-lieh 
(Cyriacus)  in  732  A.D. 

(69)  Priest  Pln-lun. — This  priest  maybe  identified  with  one 
of  the  three  "  Ephraims  "  who  are  named  in  the  Inscription — 
one  in  the  text,  and  two  in  the  lists  of  priests  inscribed  in 
Syriac  on  the  sides  of  the  stone. 

The  Chinese  characters  used  here  for  "  Plu-lun  "  differ  from 
those  used  for  it  in  the  list  of  priests  on  the  sides  of  the  Monu- 
ment. In  fact,  each  of  the  three  "  Ephraims  "  is  designated 
by  different  Chinese  characters.  For  the  "  P'u-lun  "  here  the 
name  in  Syriac  is  not  given,  whilst  the  other  two  have  the 
Syriac  equivalent  for  the  Chinese  characters. 

(70)  The  Hsing-chHng  Palace. — This  Palace  was  erected  in 
714  A.D.,  owing  to  the  proposal  of  the  King  (later  King  of 
Ning)  and  four  other  Imperial  Princes  that  they  should  have 
a  residence  near  the  Imperial  Palace.  So  it  was  built  in  the 
Hsing-ch'ing  Ward,  on  the  left  side  of  the  city  facing  towards 
the  Imperial  Palace.  This  Hsing-ch'ing  Palace  was  so  near 
the  Imperial  Palace  that  the  Emperor  could  go  there  direct 
through  *  The  Luminous  Wind  Gate  "  of  the  Imperial  Palace 
without  being  seen  by  the  crowd. 

It  is  also  written  in  the  Chinese  contemporary  Annals : 
"  The  Emperor  Hsiian-Tsung  ploughs  the  field  in  person  at 
the  back  of  the  Hsing-ch'ing  Palace  so  that  he  may  cultivate 
sympathy  with  the  farmers." 

This  Hsing-ch'ing  Palace,  the  residence  of  the  five  Princes, 
was,  therefore,  a  suitable  place  for  the  religious  service 
mentioned  in  the  Inscription. 

(71)  Monastery  71  antes  composed  and  written  by  the  Emperor 
— It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  nearly  every  monastery  in  China 


NOTES  OX  THE    TEXT  231 


and  Japan  has  two  names — one  called  "  the  Mountain  title  " 
and  the  other  "  the  Monastery  name."  "  So-and-so  Shan  " 
(>fpj  k  Uj),  and  « So-and-so  Ssu  "  Monastery  (fpj  *  r*f ) 
is  the  regular  formula  to  designate  a  Buddhist  temple.  If 
our  Nestorian  Monastery  enjoyed  the  great  privilege  of  being 
a  state  Church,  it  must  have  had  its  "  Shan  name  or 
Mountain  name,"  beside  its  Ssu  name  or  monastery  name, 
which  was  "  Ta-ch'in  Ssu."  Although  we  cannot  ascertain 
the  "  Mountain  name "  borne  by  our  Nestorian  Monastery, 
yet  these  words  in  the  Inscription  prove  that  it  was  under 
Imperial  patronage  and  so  must  probably  have  possessed 
such  a  name. 

(72)  The  Emperor  Su-Tsung  (756-762  a.d.)—  He  had 
been  the  Heir  Apparent  of  Hsiian-Tsung  for  twenty  years 
when  the  great  rebellion  of  An  Lu-shan  (t£  jjjj^  [Jj)  occurred. 
He  died  in  the  seventy -eighth  year  of  his  age. 

It  was  at  a  place  called  Ling-wu,  which  corresponds 
to  Ling-chou  in  the  prefecture  of  Ning-hsia  in  the  province 
of  Kan-su  (-\jf  J$  %)  that  he  ascended  the  throne  in 
consequence  of  the  whole  Court  having  been  suddenly 
compelled  to  quit  the  Capital  because  of  the  invading  army 
of  An  Lu-shan.  His  father,  the  Emperor  Hsuan-Tsung, 
survived  the  disaster  but  one  year  and  died  at  Ch'eng-tu 

($C  tR)  in  756  A.D. 

When  the  news  that  An  Lu-shan  had  rebelled  against  the 
Emperor  Hsuan-Tsung  in  755  A.D.  reached  the  King  of  the 
Uigurs  ([Bj  f|),  he  immediately  sent  his  son,  Yeh-hu  (zfg  fjj) 
(i.e.  Jacob),  at  the  head  of  four  thousand  picked  men  to  defend 
the  Imperial  person  from  the  arms  of  the  rebels. 

Prince  Kuang-p'ing,  the  Emperor's  own  son,  was  made 
Commander-in-Chief,  and  Kuo  Tzu-i  (f|J  ^  {g),  of  whom  we 
have  already  spoken,  had  the  command  over  the  men  of  the 
Uigur  tribes  as  well  as  over  some  other  foreign  mercenaries 
from  the  Western  Lands. 

The  mere  fact  that  some  of  the  Nestorian  monks  were 


232  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

interpreters  for  the  Chinese  general  who  commanded  the 
Uigur  army  is  a  sufficient  proof  that  the  "  Luminous  Religion  " 
had  already  spread  amongst  the  Uigurs. 

Sir  Aurel  Stein,  in  "  Ruins  of  Desert  Cathay"  (pub.  191 2), 
describes  his  discovery  of  manuscripts  in  the  Caves  of  the 
Thousand  Buddhas  at  Tun-huang  (^j[  jj|||)  on  the  western- 
most frontier  of  China  proper,  which  were  in  a  Uigur 
script  derived  from  Syriac.  This  Uigur  script,  he  says, 
was  "  widely  used  among  the  Turkish  population  of  Central 
Asia,  before  the  spread  of  Mohammedanism,  for  the  Turki 
writings." 

(73)  The  Emperor  Tai-Tsung. — He  was  a  great  friend  and 
patron  of  the  famous  Indian  monk  Amogha-vajra,  as  were 
his  father,  Su-Tsung,  and  grandfather,  Hsiian-Tsung.  His 
reign  corresponds  to  763-779  a.d.  Amogha-vajra  died  in 
772  A.D.  (see  p.  136,  supra).  Our  Ching-ching  (J£  ^f),  the 
author  of  the  Nestorian  Inscription,  must  also  have  been  a 
friend  of  this  Emperor  as  well  as  of  his  successor  Te'-Tsung. 
It  is  safe  therefore  to  infer  that  he  was  intimate  with  Amogha- 
vajra. 

(74)  The  Birthday  festival.— Hue,  Wylie,  Havret  and 
others  take  this  festival  to  be  the  birthday  of  the  Messiah, 
but  Dr.  Legge  rightly  insisted  that  in  this  case  the  birthday 
of  the  Emperor  was  meant. 

Compare  the  following  different  translations : 

(Hue)  "  Every  year,  at  the  hour  of  the  Nativity,  he  burnt 
celestial  perfumes  in  remembrance  of  the  divine  benefit ; 
he  prepared  imperial  feasts  to  honour  the  Luminous 
Multitude." 

(Wylie)  "Always,  on  the  Incarnation-day,  he  bestowed 
celestial  incense  and  ordered  the  performance  of  a  service  of 
merit ;  he  distributed  of  the  Imperial  viands,  in  order  to  shed 
a  glory  on  the  Illustrious  Congregation." 

(Moule)  "  Every  (year)  on  the  day  of  the  Nativity  he 
presented  divine  incense  to  proclaim   the  perfected  work  ; 


NOTES  ON   THE   TEXT  233 


and  offered  a  royal  feast  to  do  honour  to  the  Christian 
Congregation." 

(Legge)  "  Always  when  the  day  of  his  birth  recurred,  he 
contributed  celestial  incense  wherewith  to  announce  the 
meritorious  deeds  accomplished  by  him,  and  sent  provisions 
from  his  own  table  to  brighten  our  Illustrious  Assembly." 

In  Nien  Ch'ang's  "Biographical  History  of  Buddhism" 

($t>  M  M  ft  M  WO  (xiv-  P-  l8)  lt  is  recorded  that  Tai- 
Tsung  also  had  a  service  performed  for  him  by  a  large  com- 
pany of  Buddhist  priests  on  his  own  birthday. 

It  is  the  more  curious  because  the  same  phraseology  in  our 
text  is  found  there  too.  (Cf.  Legge,  op.  cit.%  p.  19.)  But  the 
explanation  is  that  the  Emperor  was  equally  kind  and  sympa- 
thetic to  Mohammedans,  Manicheans  and  Buddhists  as  well  as 
to  our  Nestorians.  He  allowed  himself  to  write  "  the  sign- 
board "  for  a  mosque,  whilst  it  was  he  who  gave  Amogha-vajra 
the  posthumous  honour  of  "  Prime  Minister  of  the  Empire," 
the  highest  honour  that  any  one  could  receive  in  China. 

Moreover,  the  observation  of  the  Imperial  birthday  was 
instituted  as  a  national  holiday  in  729  A.D.  Known  at  first  as 
"  Ch'ien-ch'iu  chieh"  ff>  $r;  |p),  "The  Thousand-Autumn- 
Festival,"  it  was  afterwards  changed  to  "  T'ien-ch'ang-chieh  " 
(5^  Jtfp)'  "The  Heaven-Endures-Festival."  The  latter 
name  was,  no  doubt,  borrowed  from  "  Tao-t$-ching,"  "  The 
Book  of  Morals,"  by  Lao-tzu  :  "  As  long  as  Heaven  endures 
and  the  Earth  lasts"— T'ien  ch'ang  Ti  chiu  (%  J|  jfe  #J. 

This  festival  was  first  introduced  into  Japan  in  775  A.D. 
as  "  T'ien-ch'ang-chieh  "  (Ten-cho-setsu)  (5£  JE  lp)»  "  The 
Heaven-Endure-Festival "  or  "  The  Emperor-live-long-feast," 
whilst  the  Empress'  birthday  is  now  known  as  "  Ti-chiu- 
chieh"  (Chi-ku-setsu),  "The  Earth-Lasting-feast "  which 
may    be    translated    "The    Mother-of-the-Nation-live-long- 

Festival." 

But  natural  as  it  is  to  celebrate  the  Imperial  birthday  by 
a  national  holiday,  its  origin  in  China  may  have  been  due  to 


234  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


the  Ncstorians  keeping  "  the  Birthday  Festival  of  Messiah  "  ; 
and  we  have  reasons  for  thinking  that  even  the  Japanese 
national  holiday  of  Ten-cho-setsu  (^  J^  'jjjj)  is  indirectly 
traceable  to  a  Christian  source.     (See  p.  144,  supra) 

It  was  only  sixty-seven  years  after  "the  Birthday 
Festival"  had  been  instituted  in  729  A.D.  that  Chinese 
Confucianists  were  allowed  to  partake  in  the  Festival  Service 
conducted  in  the  Palace.  We  read  in  the  authentic  History 
of  China  (Jf  ffi  j§  £  ;  Jf  £)  :  "The  12th  year  of  the 
ChSng-yiian  (j|[  %)  period,  on  the  30th  of  the  5th  moon 
(796  A.D.),  according  to  the  long-established  custom,  the 
Buddhists  and  Taoists  were  invited  to  hold  a  religious 
service  at  the  Ling-te  Palace.  This  year,  Confucianists  were 
admitted  to  join  the  party  for  the  first  time." 

This  shows  that  the  Birthday  Festival  was  not  started  by 
the  Confucianists  of  the  eighth  century.  We  feel  sure  that 
it  must  have  had  its  origin  in  the  Assyrian  Church  in  China 
which  offered  daily  prayers  for  "the  living  as  well  as  for 
the  dead." 

(75)  Our  present  Emperor.— This  is,  of  course,  the 
Emperor  Te-Tsung  who  ascended  the  throne  in  780  A.D., 
just  one  year  before  the  erection  of  the  Monument.  Accord- 
ing to  Chinese  etiquette  it  was  not  correct  to  call  the 
Emperor  by  his  personal  name  in  his  lifetime,  so  the  author 
of  the  Inscription  denotes  the  Emperor  by  the  year- name 
M  Chien-chung,"  and  calls  him  "  the  Chien-chung  Emperor," 
which  year-name  was  chosen  by  the  Emperor  himself  when 
he  succeeded  to  the  throne.  Only  after  his  death  can  an 
Emperor  be  called  by  his  posthumous  name  which  was,  in 
this  Emperor's  case,  Te-Tsung,  i.e.  "the  Virtuous  Emperor." 
To  every  Emperor  his  posthumous  name  is  given  by  his 
successor  according  to  his  merits  and  virtues. 

(76)  The  eight  objects  of  Government,  ^.—According  to 
Chinese  Books  on  Government,  the  eight  objects  of  Govern- 
ment are  as  follows : 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  235 


(1)  Food-supply  administration.  The  people's  food  pre- 
cedes all  else  in  politics. 

(2)  Wealth  administration.  This  is  to  encourage  the 
accumulation  of  wealth  by  thrift  and  avoidance  of  waste. 

(3)  Sacrifice  and  Festival  administration.  This  is  to 
show  our  gratitude  to  our  Ancestors  and  thereby  to 
strengthen  the  Unity  of  the  Nation. 

(4)  Habitation  administration.  This  is  to  look  after  the 
people's  well-being  in  their  homes. 

(5)  Educational  administration.  This  is  to  look  after  the 
morals  of  the  people. 

(6)  Penal  administration.  This  is  judicial  administra- 
tion. No  civil  laws  in  the  modern  sense  were  as  yet 
developed. 

(7)  Foreign  intercourse  administration.  How  to  treat  the 
people  of  far  and  near  was  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems 
of  the  Chinese  government  in  all  ages. 

(8)  Army  administration.  No  navy  had  yet  come  within 
the  horizon  of  a  continental  empire  like  China. 

These  "  Eight  objects  "  form  the  third  division  of  what 
were  called  "The  Nine  Divisions  of  the  Grand  scheme  of 
Imperial  Government,"  which  may  be  roughly  explained  as 
follows : 

(1)  To  look  after  the  five  elements  of  the  Empire : 

1.  Water.  4-  Gold- 

2.  Fire.  5-  Earth. 

3.  Wood. 

(2)  To  keep  the  five  things  of  the  nation  correct : 

1.  Appearance.  4-  Hearing. 

2.  Speech.  5-  Thought. 

3.  Sight. 

(3)  To  carry  out  the  Eight  Objects  of  Administration  : 

1.  Food  supply  administration. 

2.  Wealth  administration. 

3.  Sacrifice  and  Festival  administration- 


236  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

4.   Habitation  administration. 

5.  Educational  administration. 

6.  Penal  law  administration. 

7.  Foreign  intercourse  administration. 

8.  Army  administration. 

(4)  To  observe  the  five  points  concerning  Time-record  : 

1.  Year.  3.  Day.  5.  Calendar. 

2.  Month.  4.  Stars. 

(5)  The  Greatest  Extreme,  i.e.  Establishing  the  Authority 
based  on  the  Unsurpassed  Way  of  Justice  and  Mercy. 

(6)  To  cultivate  the  Three  Virtues  of  the  people  : 

1.  Honesty.  2.  Industry.         3.  Long-suffering. 

(7)  To  encourage  Divination  ;  that  is,  to  enquire  the  Will 
of  Heaven  in  all  things  in  a  humble  spirit 

(8)  To  read  Signs  :  to  watch  rain  and  winds. 

(9)  To  enjoy  the  Five  Blessings,  viz. : 

1.  To  have  a  long  life. 

2.  To  possess  great  wealth. 

3.  To  enjoy  peace  and  tranquillity. 

4.  To  be  virtuous. 

5.  To  die  a  natural  death  in  a  good  old  age. 

(yj)  Our  great  Donor  was  the  priest  I-ssu",  etc. — The 
Chinese  characters  for  the  "  Ta-shih-chu,"  the  great  donor 
tfc  $L  .£)»  are  well-known  characters  among  Buddhists. 
They  stand  for  the  Sanskrit  "  Danapati,"  which  means  either 
"  to  give  "  or  "  one  who  gives." 

That  Priest  I-ssu  ($*  $Jf)  was  a  Nestorian  priest,  whose 
Syriac  name  was  perhaps  "Isaac,"  is  quite  clear  from  the 
context  as  well  as  from  other  sources.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  power  and  influence  in  Civil  as  well  as  Military  affairs. 
He  possessed  all  the  decorations  and  honours  recorded  here 
on  the  Nestorian  Stone,  but  this  is  not  unprecedented  in 
Chinese  history,  especially  during  the  T'ang  Era. 

The  celebrated  Japanese  Abe-no-nakamaro  (700-770  A.D.) 
held  a  very  high  official  position  in  the  Chinese  Court,  whilst, 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  237 


as  the  Inscription  given  at  the  end  of  this  book  shows,  a 
Persian  Prince  was  made  General  of  the  Chinese  Army. 
Even  amongst  the  monastic  orders  we  have  seen  many 
instances  of  priests  serving  as  soldiers  or  secular  officials. 

Priest  Fa-chien  (gj  fg)  of  the  Hsi-ming  Monastery 
(®  (#J  n?f),  Ch'ang-an,  was  the  chief  staff-officer  of  the 
rebel  army  at  the  siege  of  Feng-t'ien  (^  J%),  Hsi-an,  in 
783  A.D.  It  was  this  Fa-chien  who  introduced  into  China 
the  use  of  "  Turris  Ambulatoria,"  "  Testudo  Arictaria,"  and 
*  Testudo,"  and  some  other  Roman  military  weapons  a  little 
before  783  A.D. 

Again,  the  famous  Priest  Huai-i  (|J|  ?§f§)  was  an  Imperial 
favourite  and  a  great  Military  Commander  under  the  Emperor 
Jui-Tsung.  There  were  many  warrior  priests  as  well  as 
.civil  officials  amongst  the  Buddhist  clergy  both  in  China  and 
Japan.  The  Priest  I-ssu  was  no  exception  to  the  general 
tendency  of  the  age. 

Foreigners,  especially  those  from  Central  Asia  or  Turke- 
stan, were  best  fitted  for  such  commands,  because  the  Imperial 
army  of  China  was  then  composed  of  mercenaries  from  the 
Uigur  and  other  tribes.  It  was  an  army  of  all  races  and 
tongues  with  different  creeds.  So  the  most  important  thing 
for  the  General  was  to  understand  the  various  languages 
employed  in  it.  Even  the  Commander-in-Chief,  General 
KuoTzu-i(J5  -^  'JH),  to  whom  our  priest  Isaac  was  attached 
by  the  Emperor's  special  wish,  was  a  man  of  foreign  extrac- 
tion and  a  great  master  of  foreign  tongues. 

(7S)  Chin-tzii~kuang-lti-ta-fu.—L\terd\\y%  "  Minister  of  the 
Court  of  Imperial  Entertainments,  decorated  with  gold  and 
purple."  This  was  a  title  borne  by  civilian  officials  belonging 
to  the  upper  grade  of  the  third  class  in  the  hierarchy  of  Court 
distinctions.  There  were  9  classes  and  30  grades  in  all. 
(79)  The  city  of  the  Royal  residence.— -There  were  at  least 
two  places  known  by  the  name  of  "the  Royal  City" 
(3E  $*  £&)•    The  first  was  the  royal  residence  of  MaSadha' 


238  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

a  kingdom  in  central  India.  Rajagriha,  "  Royal  City,"  was 
the  first  metropolis  of  Buddhism. 

Of  the  second,  we  read  in  the  famous  "  Buddhist  Records 
of  the  Western  World,"  by  Hsuan-tsang,  the  Chinese 
Pilgrim,  in  629  A.D.  He  usually  calls  it  "  Little  Rajagriha  " 
(i.e.  Royal  City).  This  little  Rajagriha  is  no  less  a  place  than 
the  city  of  Balkh  in  Bactria,  which  is  some  20  li  in  circum- 
ference. We  think  that  "the  Royal  City"  mentioned  on 
the  stone  is  this  "  Little  Rajagriha/'  because  in  the  Syriac 
part  of  the  Inscription  we  find  that  many  of  the  Nestorian 
priests  came  from  Balkh. 

It  is  not  very  difficult  to  imagine  why  the  adjective 
"little"  was  dropped.  Its  omission  before  "Royal  City"  in 
this  case  was  something  like  adding  the  adjective  "  great " 
before  the  name  of  the  country,  like  "  the  Great  Tang  "  at 
the  close  of  the  Inscription. 

It  would  have  been  a  sacrifice  on  the  author's-part  to 
omit  the  important  adjective  "great"  before  the  "great 
Donor,"  or  "great  Tang,"  or  "great  Yesumband."  But  in 
the  case  of  "Rajagriha,"  the  author  attained  his  purpose  of 
glorifying  the  city  by  simply  dropping  the  prefix  "little." 
He  could  not  call  Balkh  the  "  great  Rajagriha,"  because  the 
title  belonged  to  the  Royal  City  in  Magadha. 

In  the  year  802  A.D.  a  merchant  named  Isaac,  the  Jew, 
took  an  elephant,  the  sacred  beast  of  Buddhism,  across  the 
Alps  to  Charlemagne  as  a  gift  from  the  Khaliph  of  Baghdad 
Haroun  Al-Raschid  (786-809  A.D.).  The  Nestorian  Patriarch, 
Timothy  I.,  was  a  great  friend  of  the  latter. 

The  context :  "  From  far,  from  the  City  of  the  Royal 
Palace,  he  happened  to  come  to  the  Middle  Kingdom,"  shows 
us  that  the  Nestorian  priest  Isaac  came  to  China  by  land. 
He  must  have  been  a  good  and  capable  man.  Above  all  he 
must  have  been  a  great  master  of  languages.  Who  knows 
whether  this  Isaac  was  not  the  same  Isaac  as  he  who  took 
the  elephant  to  Charlemagne  at  the  Court  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  ? 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  239 


(80)  The  Three  Dynasties. — Hsia  ( J£)   2205    B-C,  Shang 
1766  B.C.,  and   Chou  (^jjj)    1122  B.C.,  are  called  "the 

Three  Dynasties."  The  civilization  and  refinement  of  the 
T'ang  rivals  those  of  "the  Three  Dynasties."  That  is  to 
say,  when  this  Priest  Isaac  arrived,  China  was  so  advanced 
and  enlightened  that  she  was  not  unworthy  to  welcome  such 
a  saintly  man  together  with  his  companions. 

(81)  First  performing  certain  faithful  service  to  "  the  Red 
Court"— The  "  Red  Court  "  or  "Vermilion  Court "  may  mean 
the  Imperial  Palace  of  T'ang.  Dr.  Wells  Williams  was 
entirely  correct  in  saying  that  "the  Red  Court"  means  the 
Imperial  Palace,  especially  the  private  or  interior  apart- 
ments. 

It  was  in  724  A.D.,  that  vermilion  painting  and  red- 
coloured  tiles,  then  so  fashionable  in  China,  were  introduced 
at  Nara,  the  capital  of  Japan.  And  in  768  A.D.,  the  Kasuga 
Shrine  at  Nara  was  first  painted  in  the  vermilion  colour, 
which  we  still  see  there,  and  the  camphor-wood  torii  or  gate 
at  the  Itsukushima  Shrine  which  Kobo-daishi  on  his  return 
from  Ch'ang-an  changed  into  its  present  Ryobu-Shinto  form 
is  also  a  brilliant  vermilion. 

(82)  Finally,  he  inscribed  his  name  in  the  Imperial  book,  etc. 
—This  means  that  I-ssu  {i.e.  Isaac)  became  a  loyal  servant  to 
His  Imperial  Majesty  and  paid  him  court. 

To-day  the  visitors  to  the  Court,  if  they  hold  official  rank, 
inscribe  their  names  in  a  book,  which  is  presented  to  His 
Imperial  Majesty  afterwards  for  his  inspection. 

(83)  Kuo  Tzu-i,  a  Secretary  of  State,  and  Viceroy  of  Fen- 
yang  province.— Kg  died  in  782  A.D.,  a  year  after  the  erection 
of  our  Monument.  He  was  one  of  the  ablest'  Commanders 
of  the  T'ang  Era,  and  held  the  highest  posts  during 
the  reigns  of  Hsuan-Tsung,  Su-Tsung,  Tai-Tsung,  and  Te- 

Tsung. 

He  was  given  the  command  over  the  Northern  region  by 
Hsiian-Tsung  in  75°*  A.D.     He  was  again  appointed  to  the 


240  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

same  post  in  762  AD.  after  having  been  displaced  by  the 
famous  Li  Kuang-pi  (^  ^  JjJJ)  in  760  A.D. 

General  Kuo  Tzii-i  was  very  popular  amongst  the  Uigur 
tribes.  A  story  is  told  of  how  the  Uigur  soldiers  when  on 
the  verge  of  revolt  were  pacified  by  him  when  they  saw  him 
appearing  on  horseback.  They  all  smiled,  and  laying  down 
their  arms  at  his  feet  became  the  most  loyal  servants  of  the 
T'ang  government. 

But  if  the  Priest  Isaac  accompanied  General  Kuo  Tzii-i  to 
the  North  (as  the  Nestorian  Inscription  says),  he  could  not 
have  done  so  as  Vice-commander  of  the  Army  in  756  A.D., 
because  Ko  Shu-han  (^  %f  |^),  another  famous  foreigner, 
was  then  Vice-commander  and  was  taken  prisoner  after  the 
disastrous  battle. 

The  title  of  Vice-commander  given  to  our  Priest  Isaac  in 
the  Inscription  must  therefore  be  ex  post  facto.  We  are 
Inclined  to  think  that  he  succeeded  the  unfortunate  Ko  Shu- 
han,  and  if  so,  he  would  have  accompanied,  as  the  Inscription 
says,  General  Kuo  Tzii-i  in  his  second  expedition  to  the  North 
in  762  A.D. 

Isaac,  like  his  predecessor  Ko  Shu-han,  must  above  all  have 
b-en  a  great  master  of  the  Uigur  language,  for  he  had  several 
thousand  Uigur  mercenaries  under  him. 

(84)  Plo4i  (Jgj  *g).— The  Chinese  P'o-li  is  the  English 
"  Crystal,"  and  is  used  here  for  the  Sanskrit  "  Sphatika,"  which 
is  explained  by  "  white  pearl  *  or  "  water  crystal."  This  and 
other  objects  mentioned  in  the  Text  were  all  objets  de  vertu. 

(85)  Four  monasteries. — The  translators  differ  in  their 
rendering  of  this  phrase : 

(Hue)  "Every  year  he  assembled  the  religious  and 
faithful  from  the  four  temples." 

(Wylie)  "  Every  year  he  assembled  those  in  the  sacred 
office  from  four  Churches." 

(Legge)  "  Every  year  he  assembled  the  priests  of  all  the 
monasteries. 


NOTES  ON  THE    TEXT  241 


(Moule)  "  Every  year  he  gathered  the  priests  and  novices 
of  all  the  monasteries." 

Dr.  Legge  suggests  in  a  footnote  that  this  might  be 
translated  "  the  monasteries  of  the  four  quarters  "  instead  of 
M  all  the  monasteries  "  given  by  himself.  But  we  are  rather 
inclined  to  think  that  this  expression  means  "the  four 
monasteries  "  that  existed  in  Ch'ang-an  at  that  time.  Only 
the  names  of  three  Nestorian  Churches  out  of  "the  four 
Churches  "  are  known  to  us,  one  in  the  I-ning  Ward  which 
was  built  in  638  A.D.  by  the  Emperor  T'ai-Tsung's  orders  ; 
another,  in  the  Li-ch'tian  Ward,  built  in  6yj  A.D.  by  the  three 
brothers  Firus  (J|L  £§>  Jjf)  who  were  fugitive  Princes  from 
Persia  and  received  shelter  in  China  ;  and  another  in  the 
Pu-ch&ng  Ward,  which  was  built  about  708  A.D. 

Thus  far,  we  have  failed  to  find  the  fourth,  but  it  must 
have  been  somewhere  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  city  facing 
the  Imperial  Court,  because  the  first  two  were  on  the  right- 
hand  side,  whilst  the  third  was  on  the  left  of  the  Capital. 

(86)  Ta-so  (Dasa).— M.  Pauthier  thinks  that  this  word  is 
the  Chinese  corruption  of  "  Dasarhas,"  a  Sanskrit  term  which 
denotes  "  Buddha  "  or  "  Buddhist."  Dr.  G.  Schlegel  tried  to 
identify  it  with  the  Persian  "  Tarsa  "  which  means  "  fearer  of 
God,"  and  might  have  been  used  to  denote  "  Christian." 

We  believe  the  word  to  be  Sanskrit.  "Ta-so"  is  the 
Sanskrit  "Dasa,"  which  means  "Servant."  For  instance, 
Shomu  Tenno,  one  of  the  Emperors  of  Japan,  was  an  earnest 
Buddhist  and  humble  enough  to  call  himself  "  Sam-po-no-do  " 
("ZT  5te  OT ),  "  Triratna-Dasa,"  which  means  "  the  Servant  of 
the  Three  Precious  Ones  "-—lit.  "  the  preciousness  of  Buddha, 
the  Law,  and  the  Priesthood." 

Again,  the  Sanskrit  name  "  Chandra-dasa "  means  "the 
Servant  of  the  Moon,"  whilst  "Arya-dasa,"  which  literally 
means  "holy  servant,"  is  the  name  of  a  famous  representa- 
tive of  the  Mahasamghikha  School. 

Compare  the  following  different  translations : 


242  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


(Hue)  "  It  has  not  been  heard  that  there  existed  anything 
finer  among  the  Ta-so,  of  pure  duty,  the  religious  men  of  the 
Luminous  Doctrine,  clothed  in  their  white  robes." 

(Wylie)  Even  among  the  most  pure  and  self-denying  of 
the  Buddhists,  such  excellence  was  never  heard  of;  the 
white-clad  members  of  the  Illustrious  Congregation,  now 
considering  these  men,  have  desired  to  engrave  a  broad 
Tablet,"  etc. 

(Legge)  "  Among  the  purest  and  most  self-denying 
Buddhists,  such  excellence  was  never  heard  of;  but  now  the 
white-stoled  members  of  the  Illustrious  Religion  see  it  in 
this  man." 

(Moule)  "Ta-so  of  pure  integrity  had  not  so  fair  a 
reputation  ;  the  white-robed  Christian  doctor  is  now  seen  to 
be  the  perfect  man." 

We  think  Dr.  Legge's  rendering  is  the  best  with  the 
exception  of  "Ta-sa,"  and  the  meaning  of  "White-robed," 
for  "  Ta-sa  "  means  "  the  Servant  of  the  Lord,  whilst  "  White- 
robed  "  means  (according  to  the  best  Chinese  authority)  "  the 
laity"  or  "a  layman."  There  is  no  need  to  suppose  that 
"  White-robed  "  means  "  wearing  a  surplice." 

(87)  Our  Land  of  Tang. — The  Chinese  character  "  yen  " 
("||f)  means  "  here  "  or  "  hereby,"  as  in  classical  Chinese  is 
often  the  case.  It  does  not  mean  "  I  say."  Compare  the 
following  different  translations  : 

(Hue)  "The  Luminous  religion  entered  the  Empire  under 
the  dynasty  of  Tang." 

(Wylie)  "  When  the  pure,  bright  Illustrious  Religion, 
Was  introduced  to  our  T'ang  dynasty,"  etc. 

(Legge)  "  Our  brightest  Truth  then  came  to  Pang." 

(Moule)  "The  Christian  religion  shining  bright  came,  I 
say,  to  our  house  of  T'ang." 

(88)  Ning-shu. — This  name  literally  means  "  Peace-mercy," 
and  is  really  the  Chinese  name  for  Hanan-ishu,  the  Patriarch 
who  succeeded  the    Patriarch  Jacob,    and   was    consecrated 


NOTES  ON  THE    TEXT  243 


Catholicos  of  the  Assyrian  Church  at  Baghdad  in  774  a.d. 
(see  pp.  35  and  36). 

What  Dr.  William  Wright  wrote  about  Timothy  in  his 
excellent  work,  "A  Short  History  of  Syriac  Literature," 
throws  a  side-light  which  explains  why  in  the  early  part  of 
781  A.D.  the  Nestorians  in  China  had  "Hanan-ishu"  as  the 
reigning  Patriarch  of  the  Assyrian  Church  in  this  Inscription. 
He  says  (pp.  191-192) : 

"  Timothy  I.  was  a  native  of  Hazza  in  Hedhai-yabh  and 
had  been  a  pupil  of  Abraham  bar  Dashandadh  at  the  school 
of  Bashush  in  Sphsaph.  He  became  bishop  of  Beth  Baghesh, 
and  stood  well  with  the  Muhammadan  Governor  of  Mosul, 
Abu  Musa  ibu  Musab,  and  his  Christian  secretary  Abu  Nuh 
al-Anbari. 

0 On  the  death  of  Hanan-ishu  II.,  in  779  A.D.,  several 
persons  presented  themselves  as  candidates  for  the  dignity  of 
Catholicos.  Timothy  got  rid  of  Isho-yabh,  abbot  of  Beth 
Abhe,  by  pointing  out  to  him  that  he  was  an  old  man,  unfit 
to  withstand  his  younger  rivals,  and  by  promising,  if  he  himself 
were  successful,  to  make  him  metropolitan  of  Hedhaiyabh, 
which  he  afterwards  did. 

"  Meantime  Thomas  of  Kashar  and  other  bishops  held  a 
Synod  at  the  Convent  of  Mar  Pethion  in  Bagdad,  and  elected 
the  monk  George,  who  had  the  support  of  Isa,  the  Court 
physician  ;  but  his  formidable  opponent  died  suddenly. 

"  Having  by  a  mean  trick  attained  the  support  of  the 
Archdeacon  Beroe  and  the  heads  of  the  various  colleges, 
Timothy  managed  at  last  to  get  himself  appointed  Catholicos, 
about  eight  months  after  the  death  of  his  predecessor. 

"  He  still,  however,  encountered  strong  opposition,  Ephraim, 
metropolitan  of  Gunde-Shabhor ;  Solomon,  bishop  of  Al- 
Hadithah  ;  Joseph,  metropolitan  of  Maru  or  Merv  ;  Sergius, 
bishop  of  Maallethaya,  and  others  held  a  Synod  at  the  Convent 
of  Beth  Hale,  in  which  they  made  Rustam,  bishop  of  Henaitha,  ^ 
metropolitan   of  Hedhaiyabh   in  place  of  Isho-yabha,  and 


244  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

excommunicated    Timothy,   who    retorted    with   the    same 
weapon  and  deposed  Joseph  of  Merv. 

"  Joseph  brought  the  matter  before  Caliph  al-Mahadi,  but, 
failing  to  gain  any  redress,  in  an  evil  hour  for  himself  became 
a  Muhammadan.  Once  more  Ephraim  summoned  his 
bishops  to  Bagdad  and  excommunicated  Timothy  for  the 
second  time,  with  no  other  result  than  counter-excommuni- 
cation and  some  disgraceful  rioting,  which  led  to  the  interference 
of  Isa  and  the  restoration  of  peace. 

**  Timothy  was  duly  installed  in  May,  780  A.D.  He  made 
the  Bishop  of  Persia  subject  to  the  See  of  Seleucia,  and 
appointed  over  them  one  Simeon  as  Metropolitan  with  orders 
to  enforce  a  stricter  Rule  than  heretofore. 

"  In  his  days  Christianity  spread  among  the  Turks,  and 
the  Khakan  himself  is  said  to  have  become  a  convert. 
Timothy's  disgraceful  response  to  the  Caliph  al-Rashid  in 
the  matter  of  the  divorce  of  Zubaidah  may  be  seen  in  B.O.  III., 
p.  161.  He  is  said  to  have  died  in  204  A.H.  (819-820  A.D.) 
or  205  A.H.  (820-821  A.D.);  but  if  he  was  Catholicos  for 
forty-three  years,  his  death  cannot  have  taken  place  till  823 
A.D." 

But,  in  "The  Book  of  Governors'*  (Vol.  I.,  p.  in), 
Dr.  Budge  says:  "Here  (at  Nineveh)  Isho-yabh  lived  until 
he  became  an  old  man,  and  he  performed  the  episcopal  office 
with  such  success  that  on  the  death  of  Henan-Isho  II.,  who 
sat  from  774-780,  the  Bishops  and  Metropolitans  made  all 
arrangement  to  elect  him  to  the  Patriarchate." 

Again  (Vol.  II.,  p.  379) :  "  Hanan-Ishu  II.,  who  succeeded 
Mar  Jacob  as  Nestorian  Patriarch,  A.Gr.  1085,  A.D.  774,  A.H. 
1 57  ;  he  died  A.D.  780." 

If  Hanan-Ishu  died  in  780  a.d.  (as  said  by  Dr.  Budge), 
the  installation  of  Timothy  must  have  been  in  May,  781  A.D., 
instead  of  May,  780  A.D.,  because,  as  Dr.  Wright  says,  there 
was  a  lapse  of  eight  months  between  the  death  of  Hanan-Ishu 
and  the  installation  of  Timothy. 


NOTES  ON  THE   TEXT  24$ 

Both  Dr.  Wright  and  Dr.  Budge  refer  to  the  same 
authority,  Assemanni,  "  Bibliotheca  Orientalis."  But  Oriental 
writers  being  sparing  in  their  use  of  dates,  the  two  English 
writers  differ  in  their  conclusions. 

The  date  given  in  our  Monument  in  China  supports 
Dr.  Budge  ;  and  Sir  Aurel  Stein  has  pointed  out  the  exceeding 
accuracy  of  all  Chinese  historical  dates.  The  death  of 
Hanan-Ishu  probably  occurred  in  October,  780  A.D.,  but  the 
distance  and  disorder  combined  were  enough  to  prevent  the 
news  from  reaching  China. 

(89)  Tlie  great  Yao-sin-win  day, — We  think  that  Mr. 
Wylie's  identification  of  this  with  the  Persian  "  Yaksamba," 
i.e.  "the  first  day  of  the  week"  is  correct,  although  Dr.  Heller 
suggests  that  the  word  may  be  "  Ho-samba,"  which  is  the 
Syriac  for  "  the  first  day."  He  says  that  the  day  was  the 
Sunday  before  one  of  the  annual  feasts  and  so  might  have 
been  called  "great."  But  as  "Yao- sen-wen  "  is  also  found 
in  a  Buddhist  book  on  Astronomy  (fg  flf  |&)  which  came 
to  China  about  the  same  time  by  way  of  Persia,  we  are 
satisfied  with  Mr.  Wylie's  identification.  The  4th  of  February, 
781  a.d.  was  the  Sunday  no  doubt. 

(90)  Written  by  L'u  Hsiu-yen,  Assistant-secretary  of  State 
and  Superintendent  of  the  Civil  Engineering  Bureau  ofTai-chou. 
—None  of  the  writers,  whether  native  or  foreign,  on  the 
Nestorian  Inscription  have  thus  far  succeeded  in  tracing  the 
identity  of  this  Chinaman*  Lu  Hsiu-yen. 

Great  Chinese  scholars  like  Mr.  Wylie,  Dr.  Legge,  M. 
Pauthier,  and  others  have  all  failed  to  discover  who  and  what 
was  this  somewhat  mysterious  calligrapher— a  calligrapher  of 
the  first  class  during  the  Pang  Era,  and  yet  unknown  to  the 
Chinese  scholars  who  wrote  books  on  "Metals  and  Stones." 

The  Chinese  critics  of  the  Inscription,  like  Yang 
Hsiang-fu  (ti  ft  *  or  $  $  &)  who  wrote  a  book 
called   "A   Critical    Study    of    the    Nestorian    Inscription 

( J:  Ifc  #  3t  £fi  *  5fc  IE)' and  Mr-  ch'ien  (®  *  *f' 


246  THE   NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


who  wrote  a  book  called  "  Some  Considerations  on  the 
Nestorian  Inscription  "  (jg;  ^r  ^),  have  all  left  the  problem 
of  Lii  Hsiu-yen  unsolved. 

Even  in  that  most  thorough-going  and  painstaking  work 
of  Pere  Henri  Havret,  SJ. — "  La  Stele  chr^tienne  de  Si-ngan- 
fou  "  (pub.  at  Shanghai,  1897) — only  one  or  two  references 
are  made  to  Lii  Hsiu-yen,  the  Chinaman,  and  that  very 
indirectly,  so  that  this  important  question — a  question  which 
involves  the  greatest  consequences — is  left  as  dark  as  ever. 

After  devoting  over  ten  pages  (pp.  198-219)  of  the  second 
volume  of  his  work  to  the  discussion  of  the  different  styles 
of  handwriting,  Pere  Havret  only  succeeded  in  showing 
European  scholars  how  well  the  writing  on  the  Nestorian 
Stone  could  be  compared  with  that  of  the  famous  calligraphers 
of  the  T'ang  Era,  between  632  a.d.  and  841  A.D.,  but  he 
said  nothing  about  Lii  Hsiu-yen  himself,  except  to  charge 
him  (most  unjustly,  as  we  think)  with  having  omitted  one 
character  after  "the  twenty-four  sages"  in  the  Inscription. 

Pere  Havret  says  :  "  C'eteit  sans  doute  2j|  J^  ou  quelque 
chose  d'analogue,  que  le  pr£tre  jg£  jp  avait  6crit ;  Liu-sieou- 
yen  a  omis  le  second  caractere,  et  si  Ton  s'en  apercut  avant  de 
confier  la  pierre  au  sculpteur  en  lettres,  on  n'osa  lui  faire 
recommencer  son  travail  "  (p.  214).  We  have  already  said 
in  our  Note  18  that  the  Chinese  writer  did  not  omit  the 
character  unconsciously. 

We  cannot  but  feel  that  our  identification  of  this  Lii  Hsiu- 
yen  (Q  ^  j^)  with  the  famous  Lii  Yen,  a  poet  and 
calligrapher  as  well  as  the  originator  of  the  Chin -tan  Chiao 
(The  Religion  of  the  Pills  of  Immortality)  is  correct,  accord- 
ing to  reasons  given  in  the  Introduction  (pp.  49-54,  supra). 

This  Lii  Hsiu-yen  was  not  a  military  man.  His  official 
duties  were  wholly  civilian,  but  strange  to  say  almost  all 
translators  treat  him  as  if  he  had  been  a  military  man. 
Compare  the  following  translations : 

(Hue)    "  Liu-siou-yen,    councillor    of    the    Palace,    and 


NOTES  ON  THE    TEXT  247 

previously  member  of  the  Council  of  War,  himself  traced 
these  characters." 

(Wylie)  "Written  by  Lew  Sew-yen,  Secretary  to  the 
Council,  formerly  Military  superintendent  for  Tae-chow." 

(Legge)  "  Written  out  by  Lii  Hsiu-yen,  Secretary  of  State, 
formerly  discharging  the  duties  of  military  superintendent 
in  T'ai-chau." 

(Moule)  "  The  Secretary  of  the  Imperial  Council  who 
formerly  occupied  the  post  of  Military  Superintendent  at 
T'ai-chou." 

The  Chinese  title  ($j  HI  Jf R  glf  £f)  is  not  an  official 
one.  It  denotes  a  Court  Rank  corresponding  to  the  Lower 
Sixth  Rank  of  the  T'ang,  whilst  "  T'ai-chou  Ssu-shih-ts(an- 

chiin  "  (^  ^H  WJ  i  ^  St)  is  not  a  militarv  office  at  a11 
(see  Introduction,  p.  57). 

Strange  to  say,  this  ^  ^  |JJ  flff  £f  is  misunderstood  in 
all  the  works  on  the  Inscription  I  have  come  across.  The  foreign 
translators,  of  course,  must  have  had  the  very  best  Chinese 
scholars  to  consult  with,  but  somehow  they  all  made,  to  our 
great  regret,  this  serious  mistake.  J||  £|  ft  ^  fif  is  one 
title  whilst  1$  ^||R  w  another,     gfjf  ff  is  a  part  of  the  title. 

It  does  not  belong  to  £  ^H  U  ±  #  ^  at  alL  The  best 
book  to  be  referred  to  is  ^  |l*  y^  iBt. 

If  our  identification  of  this  Lii  Hsiu-yen  with  the  famous 
Lii  Yen  is  correct,  then  we  can  easily  explain  why  the 
style  of  t>e  Nestorian  Inscription  resembles  those  of  the 
schools  of  Ch'u  Sui-liang  (f§  ^  &)  and  Ou-yang  Hsiin 

(UK  R&  fQ)»  and  why  his  official»  if  not  socia1,  Position  was 
not  so  high  as1  that  of  the  two  above-mentioned  men,  whilst 
his  calligraphical  excellence  and  merit,  judged  by  modern 
standards,  can  rank  as  high  as  that  of  any  of  the  eighth- 
century  calligraphers.  The  writer  Lii  Hsiu-yen  was  only 
twenty-five  years  old  when  he  wrote  the  Inscription  for 
Ching-ching  (jj£  ^),  Adam,  who  composed  the  Nestorian 
Inscription.  R 


248  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

(91)  Kumdan  and  Saragh. — The  identification  of  these 
two  names  is  another  very  difficult  problem  in  the  study  of 
the  Nestorian  Stone.  No  one  as  yet  has  succeeded  in  the 
identification  of  "  Saragh,"  whilst  many  have  failed  to 
explain  why  the  Western  Asiatics  of  the  Middle  Ages  called 
the  Chinese  Capital — or,  more  correctly  speaking,  the  part 
of  China  where  the  Capital  is  situated — Kumdan. 

Sir  Henry  Yule  says :  "  Khumdan  was  the  name  given 
by  the  Turkish  and  Western  Asiatic  nations  to  the  city  of 
Ch'angan,  now  represented  by  Singanfu  in  Shensi,  which  was 
the  capital  of  several  Chinese  dynasties  between  the  twelfth 
century  B.C.  and  the  ninth  century  A.D.  The  name  Khumdan 
appears  in  the  Syriac  part  of  the  Singanfu  Inscription 
repeatedly ;  in  the  Arab  Relations  of  the  ninth  century 
published  by  Renaudot  and  by  Reinaud  ;  in  Masudi ;  in 
Edrisi  (as  the  name  of  the  great  river  of  China);  and  in 
Abulfeda.  Pauthier  takes  Khumdan  for  a  Western  trans- 
cription of  Ch'angan,  whilst  Neumann  regards  it  as  a  corrup- 
tion of  Kong-tien,  Court  or  Palace.  Both  of  these  explana- 
tions seem  unsatisfactory  "  ("  Cathay  and  the  Way  Thither," 

Vol  I.,  p.  51). 

We  think  "  Kumdan  "  is  the  old  pronunciation  of  Kuan- 
nei  (H|]  p*j).  We  have  in  Japanese  "  Kan-dai "  for  the  same 
Chinese  characters  and  with  the  same  meaning.  The 
Japanese  received  the  sound  "  dai "  (pj)  for  the  modern 
Chinese  "nei"  (pj)  from  the  Chinese  of  the  T'ang  period 
twelve  hundred  years  ago.  So  we  may  fairly  say  that  our 
11  Kan-dai "  is  the  nearest  approach  to  the  old  Chinese  pro- 
nunciation of  the  modern  "  Kuan-nei  "  (see  p.  222,  supra). 

"Kan"  or  "Kuan"  (g|j)  means  "citadel"  or  "gate," 
whilst  "dai"  or  "nei"  (|^j)  means  "inside"  or  "within." 
Hence  "  Kumdan  "  or  "  Kan-dai "  literally  means  "  Inside  the 
Citadels."  The  Imperial  province  in  which  the  Capital  was 
located,  and  well  protected  by  many  citadels  was  called  "  Kan- 
dai  "  or  "  Chi-nei"  (^|  p^J)  in  China  as  well  as  in  Japan. 


NOTES  ON  THE    TEXT  249 

Whether  our  explanation  of  the  word  "  Kumdan  "  would 
have  satisfied  Sir  Henry  Yule  and  others  we  know  not,  but 
the  old  sound  of  the  Chinese  characters  as  preserved  in 
Japanese  compels  us  to  say  that  the  word  "  Khumdan  "  or 
"  Kumdan "  must  be  a  corruption  of  the  "  Kan-dai "  or 
*  Kuan-nei  "—within  the  "  citadels  "  or  "  inside  of  the  forts  " 
of  the  Central  Province. 

So  much  for  the  identification  of  "  Kumdan,"  now  for  the 
identification  of  "  Saragh." 

Sir  Henry  Yule  says:  "Saragh,  it  may  be  added,  is 
referred  by  Pauthier  to  the  Saragh  of  Ptolemy,  a  city  placed 
by  the  geographer  among  the  Sinae,  and,  according  to  his 
theory,  of  course,  far  to  the  south  of  the  real  position  of 
Lo-yang.  But  we  have  seen  reason  to  believe  that  Ptolemy's 
view  of  the  Sinae  and  Seres  is  that  of  a  person  using  his 
right  and  left  eye  separately.  Binocular  vision  reduces  the 
two  objects  to  one,  and  corrects  their  displacements." 

Again,  referring  to  the  word  u  Seric,"  Sir  Henry  says,  "  I 
do  not  know  what  town  the  author  can  allude  to,  but  see  the 
Siurhia  of  Moses  the  Armenian,  and  the  Saragh  of  the 
Singan-fu  Inscription." 

We  wish  that  it  were  possible  to  identify  "  Saragh  "  with 
the  well-known  city  of  Lo-yang,  in  the  Province  of  Honan, 
but  all  the  evidences  are  against  it. 

Lo-yang  was  originally  called  Chou-nan  (^  ^)),but  ever 
since  the  time  of  the  Han  (206  B.C.)  it  has  kept  its  name  of 
Lo-yang. 

Again,  Lo-yang  was  never  known  as  a  decidedly  Nestorian 
city  either  in  the  Chinese  books  or  in  the  Nestorian  Inscrip- 
tion itself.  It  is  not  mentioned  in  the  map  attached  to  Sir 
Henry  Yule's  book,  "  Cathay  and  the  Way  Thither,"  which 
shows  the  Metropolitan  Sees  of  the  Nestorian  Church  and 
some  of  the  Latin  missionary  bishoprics  of  the  fourteenth 
century  A.D. 

We  are  inclined  to  identify  "  Saragh  "  with  Sarakhs  in 


2$o  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


the  Persian  province  of  Khorassan,  for  "Shahrakhs," 
"  Cherakhs,"  and  "  Serakhs,"  mean  the  same  thing.  We  are 
told  that  the  name  "  Shahrakhs  *  is  derived  from  the  two 
words  "  Shah  "  and  "  rauch  "  meaning  the  "  King  of  the  Day," 
whilst  "Khorassan,"  the  name  of  the  Province  where 
Shahrakhs  was  the  most  important  city  in  the  ancient  time, 
means  "The  Region  of  the  Sun."  It  was  the  most  suitable 
name  for  the  headquarters  of  "  the  Luminous  Religion." 

The  origin  of  the  name  Khorassan  is  prettily  suggested 
by  Moore,  at  the  commencement  of  his  poem  of  Lalla 
Rookh— 

"  In  the  delightful  province  of  the  Sun, 
The  first  of  Persian  lands  he  shines  upon." 

This  Persian  Sharakhs  was  known  to  the  Chinese  for 
many  centuries,  and  was  familiar  to  them  ever  since  their 
intercourse  with  Persians  in  the  early  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era.  "  Sa-la-ha-hsi "  (Jffc  j$|J  U^  $?)  and  •  Hsi- 
la-ssu"  (^:  jji|]  ££-)  are  two  different  ways  of  transliteration 
the  Chinese  have  for  Shahrakhs. 

According  to  certain  authorities,  it  is  now  nothing  but  a 
settlement  and  fort  in  the  Russian  Transcaspian  Territory, 
ninety  miles*  south-west  of  Merv,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
river  Tejen  (Heri-Rud),  which  here,  before  losing  itself  in 
the  sand  of  the  desert,  forms  the  boundary  between  the 
Russian  dominions  and  the  Persian  province  of  Khorassan. 
At  present  (according  to  the  1910  Report  by  the  British 
Authorities)  it  contains  about  2000  people.  On  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river — nine  miles  away  east-south-east — is  the 
old  Persian  town  of  Sarakhs,  now  in  ruins. 

This  old  ruined  town,  we  think,  must  have  been  the 
"  Saragh  "  of  the  Nestorian  Inscription. 

How  Khorassan  with  its  great  Nestorian  city  of  Shahrakhs 
was  related  to  China  in  former  days  can  be  seen  from  Sir 
Henry  Yule's  description  in  "  Cathay  and  the  Way  Thither  " 


NOTES  ON  THE    TEXT  251 


(Vol.  I.,  p.  SS)  of  the  intercourse  between  China  and  Persia. 
He  says : 

"In  the  days  of  Yang-ti  of  the  Sui  Dynasty  (605-^617) 
China  had  begun  to  regain  that  influence  over  the  states  of 
Central  Asia  which  it  had  enjoyed  in  the  great  days  of  the 
Han,  preceding  and  following  the  Christian  Era,  and  under 
Tai-Tsung  of  the  T'ang  (627-650  a.d.)  that  influence  was 
fully  re-established  and  the  frontiers  of  the  Empire  were 
again  carried  to  the  Bolor  and  even  beyond  it  to  the  borders 
of  Persia.  In  these  remote  provinces  the  actual  administra- 
tion remained  in  the  hands  of  the  native  princes  who 
acknowledged  themselves  the  vassals  of  the  Emperor.  But 
from  him  they  accepted  investiture,  Chinese  seals  of  office, 
and  decorations  as  lieges  of  the  empire.  Their  states  were 
divided  after  the  Chinese  manner  into  departments,  districts, 
and  cantons  (fu,  chou,  and  ksien),  each  of  which  received  a 
Chinese  name  by  which  it  was  entered  in  the  Imperial 
registers  ;  whilst  tributary  states  west  of  the  Bolor  formed 
sixteen  fu  and  seventy-two  clieu  over  which  were  distributed 
a  hundred  and  twenty-six  Chinese  military  posts.  The  lists 
of  the  sixteen  districts  of  the  first  class  has  been  published  by 
Remusat,  and  though  doubts  attach  to  the  localities  of  some, 
enough  has  been  made  out  to  show  that  this  Chinese 
organization  extended,  at  least  in  theory,  over  Ferghana 
and  the  country  round  Tashkand,  over  the  eastern  part  at 
least  of  Mawaralnahr,  the  country  on  the  Oxus  from  Balk 
upwards,  Bamian  and  other  districts  adjoining  the  Hindu 
Kush,  with  perhaps  Sejistan  and  part  of  Khorassan. 

"  The  states  of  Turkestan  and  Khorassan  were  probably 
desirous  to  place  themselves  under  Chinese  protection  in  the 
vain  hope  of  finding  it  a  bulwark  against  the  Saracen  flood, 
and  may  themselves  have  originated  this  action  of  the 
Chinese  Government." 

Again,  Sir  Heniy  says :  «'  The  existence  of  an  episcopal 
see   at  Merv   and  Tus  in  334  A.D.,  raised   to   Metropolitan 


252  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 

dignity   in    420   A.D.,    shows   how    early    the    church    had 
established  itself  also  in  Khorassan." 

We  believe  that  "  Saragh  " — the  modern  Sarakhs — was  a 
great  see  of  the  Nestorian  Metropolitan  at  the  time  when 
our  Assyrian  Stone  of  Witness  was  set  up  in  China. 

How  could  the  Priest  Gabriel  have  been  the  Archdeacon 
and  the  Church  "ruler"  or  "Head  of  the  Church"  of 
Kumdan  and  Saragh  at  the  same  time?  Our  explanation 
is  this  that  the  one  title  was  official  whilst  the  other  was 
honorary.  Gabriel  enjoyed  both  titles  as  he  must  have  been 
often  to  "  Saragh  "  in  order  to  represent  the  interests  of  the 
Nestorian  Mission  in  China. 

To-day,  for  example,  an  English  missionary  bishop 
in  Japan  acts  in  two  capacities.  He  is  an  English  bishop  in 
the  pay  of  a  Missionary  Society  in  London  whilst  at  the 
same  time  he  is,  canonically  speaking,  a  bishop  of  the 
Japanese  Church. 

(92)  The  Director  of  the  Imperial  Bureau^  etc. — This 
Bureau  which  was  restored  in  704  A.D.  was  one  of  the  very 
oldest  institutions  in  Chinese  history — so  old  that  it  dates 
back  to  almost  pre-historic  times. 

The  Han  Dynasty  had  this  Bureau  as  early  as  200  B.C. 
Its  organization  of  the  Bureau  is  thus  described  in  the  old 
institutional  works  : 

"  One  director  with  two  assistants  under  him,  looks  after 
the  ceremonies,  music,  festivals,  sacrifices,  and  worship." 

That  this  was  a  most  important  office  from  a  religious 
point  of  view  is  quite  clear,  and  that  it  should  have  been 
occupied  by  our  Priest  Yeh-li  {i.e.  Gabriel)  shows  how 
influential  the  Nestorians  were  at  the  time  when  the 
Buddhist  Patriarch,  Amogha-vajra,  was  all-powerful  at  the 
Chinese  Court. 

(93)  The  Head  Priest  of  the  Monastery. — This  may  mean 
"The  Lord  High  Abbot,"  or  "the  Prior."  The  priest  had 
great  power  and  was  appointed  by  the  Imperial  Government 


I 


NOTES  ON  THE    TEXT  253 

of  the  T'ang.  The  Empress-Dowager  Wu  once  appointed 
her  favourite  priest  Huai-i  (fH  =§f|)  as  Chief  Priest  of  the 
"White-Horse  "  Monastery  in  685  A.D. 

The  Head  or  Chief  Priest  of  the  monastery  must  •  have 
ranked  as  high  as  a  Metropolitan  or  Bishop  in  China  at  that 
time. 

(94)  Balkh. — The    capital    of   the    ancient  kingdom   of 
Bactria  or  Zariaspa  and  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Adirsiah  or  Balkh  River.     The  modern  town,  enclosed  by  a 
mud  wall  and  having  a  citadel,  occupies  but  a  fraction  of  the 
surface  embraced  by  the  ancient  city,  the  remains  of  which 
cover  a  space  twenty  miles  in  circumference,  and  comprises 
eighteen  aqueducts,  besides  buildings  of  various  ages,  all  in 
utter  ruin.     The  antiquity  and  greatness  of  the   place  are 
recognized  by  the  native  population,  who  speak  of  it  as  "  the 
Mother  of  Cities*'     At  a  very  early  date,  it  was  the  rival  of 
Ecbatana,  Nineveh,  and  Babylon,  and  is  said  to  have  dated 
back  to  Nimrod.     For  a  long  time  the  city  and  country  was 
the  central  seat  of  the  Zoroastrian  religion ;  Zoroaster  himself 
is  said  to  have  died  within  its  walls. 

From  the  Hsi  yu  chi  {%  J|f  g§  *£  f£)  of  Hsuan-tsang, 
a  Chinese  Pilgrim,  we  learn  that  in  his  time  in  the  seventh, 
century  (653-646  A.D.),  there  were  in  Balkh,  or  its  vicinity, 
about  a  hundred  Buddhist  convents,  with  3000  devotees,  and 
that  there  was  a  large  number  of  stupas  and  other  religious 
monuments. 

There  were  several  important  trade-routes  from  Balkh, 
stretching  as  far  as  India  and  China,  and  the  city  itself  was  of 
a  cosmopolitan  nature  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

In  1220  Genghis  Khan  sacked  the  venerable  city, 
butchered  its  inhabitants,  and  levelled  all  the  buildings ;  but 
Marco  Polo  describes  it  "  as  a  noble  city  and  a  great," 
although  it  was  far  greater  in  former  days.  But  the  Tartars 
and  other  nations  have  greatly  ravaged  and  destroyed  it. 
There  were   formerly   many  fine  palaces  and   buildings  of 


254  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


marble,  and  the  ruins  of  them  still  remain.  The  people 
of  the  city  state  that  it  was  here  that  "Alexander  took 
to  wife  the  daughter  of  Darius."  ("  Travels  of  Marco  Polo," 
by  Sir  Henry  Yule,  p.  158.) 

In  1 348,  Timur  completed  the  work  of  devastation  which 
Genghis  Khan  and  others  had  left  undone. 

Again,  the  city  of  Balkh,  we  are  told,  formed  thr  seat  of 
the  government  of  Aurungzeb  in  his  youth. 

In  1736  it  was  conquered  by  Nadir  Shah.  Under  the 
Durani  monarchy,  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  A  fghans.  It 
was  conquered  by  Shah   Murad  of  Kurduz  1820,  and 

for  some  time  past  has  been  subject  to  the  Kha  of 
Bokhara. 

(95)  Shiang-thsua.  This  word  is  very  difficult  to  identify. 
Assemanni  has,  as  we  are  told  by  Prof.  Margoliuth, "  Sinastan  " 
(*'.*.  China)  for  it.  But  this  identification  cannot  be  accepted 
since  in  another  part  of  the  Inscription  the  name  "  Zhinastan  " 
is  used  to  represent  China. 

Dr.  Heller  thinks  (1897)  tnat  tne  word  "  Shiangatsuo,"  as 
he  has  it,  is  "  Hsiang-chu  "  ($&  fj£),  i.e.  "  country-lord,"  the 
Chinese  translation  of  "  Chorepiscopos." 

We  wish  this  were  so!  But  neither  in  Buddhist  termi- 
nology nor  Taoist  phraseology  do  we  come  across  such  a  word 
as  "  Hsiang-chu  "  ($$  :£). 

If  we  grant  that  the  word  "  Hsiang-chu "  did  exist 
some  twelve  hundred  years  ago  as  an  independent  title 
for  a  Nestorian  priest,  we  can  find  no  reason  why  it  should 
have  been  written  only  in  the  Syriac  without  a  Chinese 
equivalent. 

Would  it  not  be  more  natural  to  find  it  written  in  Chinese 
rather  than  in  Syriac,  if  it  were  the  Chinese  translation  of  the 
term  "  Chorepiscopos  "  ? 

For  a  long  time  we  entertained  the  view  that  the  word 
u  Shiang-thsu  "  might  be  a  Syriac  form  of  the  Chinese  title 
of  a  bishop — "  Shang-tso  "    ( J^  Jtjg),  the  word  itself  being 


NOTES  ON  THE    TEXT  255 

the  Chinese  translation  of  the  Sanskrit  word  "Sthavira," 
which  means  "  Head  of  the  local  priesthood  "  or  "  Chairman 
of  the  Synod."  But  we  have  had  to  give  up  our  theory 
for  the  same  reason  that  we  found  Dr.  Heller's  theory  in- 
acceptable,  viz.  that  if  it  were  the  Chinese  translation  of 
"  Chorepiscopos  "  or  u  Sthavira,"  it  would  have  its  equivalent 
in  Chinese  and  not  in  Syriac. 

If  we  compare  the  name  and  title  of  this  chorepiscopos  Mar 
Sergius  with  those  of  the  other  chorepiscopos  mentioned  in 
the  Inscription,  we  see  at  once  that "  Shiang-thsua  "  is  nothing 
more  than  a  local  name.  The  force  of  analogy  compels  us 
to  think  that  it  must  be  a  name  of  the  Nestorian  district  in 
China. 

Mar  Yesbuzid,  who  erected  the  Nestorian  Stone,  is 
mentioned  as  "priest  and  chorepiscopos  of  Kumdan,  the 
Royal  City." 

Adam,  the  author  of  the  Inscription,  is  designated  as 
"  priest  and  chorepiscopos  and  Papas  of  Zhinastaa" 

The  two  other  bishops,  Bishop  John  and  Chorepiscopos 
Mar  Sergius  whose  Chinese  name  was  Hsing-t'ung  $f  jg), 
have  no  name  of  a  see  attached  to  them. 

We  are  inclined  to  identify  the  word  "  Shiang-thsua  " 
with  a  local  name  known  to  the  Nestorians  of  the  time— at 
least  to  the  Persian  missionaries  in  China— as  that  of  a  district 
of  the  Nestorian  Church  in  China.  It  seems  to  us  that,  if 
Mar  Yesbuzid  was  the  chorepiscopos  of  Kumdan  (as  stated 
in  the  Inscription)  he  must  have  been  bishop  of  the  north- 
western part  of  the  modern  province  of  Shensi ;  and  that 
Mar  Sergius,  priest  and  chorepiscopos  (of)  Shiang-thsua 
must  have  been  bishop  of  the  south-eastern  part  of  the 
same  province.  The  south-eastern  part  of  Shensi  was 
commonly  known  as  Hsi-an-tso  (®  *££)  or  Hsi-an-ch'ien 

(I§  j2c  itlP'  because  lt  is  in  front  of  Hsi_an"fu'  but  its  legal 
name  during  the  early  part  of  the  T'ang  Era  was  Hsi-an-chou 

(@  :2c  WP»  with  the  city  of  HsinS"an"fu  as  the  head  of  the 


256  THE  NESTORIAN  MONUMENT  IN  CHINA 


district.  "  Shiang-thsua  "  may  be  the  foreign  corruption  of 
the  local  name. 

In  this  Hsing-an-chou  (Si  ^  ^|»|),  there  is  to-day  a 
famous  "  Shun-yang-kung  "  (jjfcj£  ^  ^),  a  temple  dedicated 
to  the  memory  of  the  originator  of  "  the  Pills-of-Immortality- 
Religion  "  whose  name  is  known  as  Lii  Yen,  but  whom  we 
identified  with  Lii  Hsiu-yen,  the  Chinese  scholar,  who  wrote 
the  Inscription  for  its  author  Adam. 

The  Ta-Ch'ing-I-T'ung-Chih  (;fc  ffi  —  $jg  jg)  says 
that  "the  old  monastery  site  is  in  the  south-eastern  corner 
of  the  city.  It  is  commonly  known  as  '  Tzu-fei-tao-yuan ' 
(^  H  all  1^)'  <the  Monastery  of  the  Purple-Door1  or  the 
Purple  Screen." 

It  is  very  strange  that  this  "Lii  Yen"  relic  should  be 
preserved  in  this  city.  Is  it  not  due  to  the  fact  that  Lii  Yen, 
i.e.  Lii  Hsiu-yen,  was  one  of  the  most  influential  Christian 
converts,  and  that  he  founded  the  Chin-tan  Chiao,  "the 
Religion  of  the  Pills  of  Immortality,"  that  his  relics  were 
preserved  in  the  old  monastery,  which,  we  think,  must  have 
been  a  Nestorian  monastery  in  Hsing-an-chou  ? 

If  we  read  "Shiang-thsua"  for  "Shan-tso"  ($£  £), 
i.e.  "the  eastern  district  of  Shen-si,"  we  come  to  the  same 
conclusion. 

Finally,  if  we  were  to  read  "  Shiang-thsua  "  for  Shang-tu 
(Jt  ?$)>  *•*  "the  Metropolis"  or  "the  Capital,"  which  was 
the  common  appellation  of  Hsi-an-fu  at  that  time,  we  must 
conclude  that  the  Bishop  of  Kumdan  was  Bishop  of  the 
north-western  district  of  Shen-si,  whilst  the  Bishop  of  Shiang- 
thsua  or  Shang-tu  would  have  been  Bishop  of  the  south- 
western part  of  Shen-si  with  Shang-tu  at  the  head  of  the 
district,  and  Hsing-an-fu  is,  of  course,  included  within  the 
district  of  Shiang-thsua.  In  any  case  we  are  inclined  to 
identify  this  "  Shiang-thsua "  with  the  modern  district  of 
Hsing-an-fu    (f|L  t£  ffl )»  the   old  district   of   Hsi-an-chou 


APPENDIX  L 

(The  following  is  the  translation  of  the  newly  discovered 
inscription  which  can  be  seen  in  the  Imperial  Museum,  Uyeno, 
Tokyo.  The  original  stone  belonged  to  the  late  Governor-general 
Tuan-fang  (j^g  ^j),  whose  collections  of  "Metals  and  Stones'1 
are  well  known.  The  rubbing  itself  is  about  18  inches  square 
and  contains  306  Chinese  letters.  Only  eighteen  letters  are 
illegible,  the  rest  being  quite  clear. 

This  Inscription  which  is  72  years  older  than  that  on  the 
Nestorian  Stone  settles  the  vexed  question  of  "A  -lo-pin!*  No  one 
may  maintain  that  "A-lo-han  "  in  this  Inscription  is  the  Chinese 
corruption  "  Raban") 

"  The  Inscription  on  the  Stone-tablet  set  up  in  memory 
of  the  late  Great  Persian  Chieftain,  the  General  and  Com- 
mander of  the  Right  Wings  of  the  Imperial  Army  of  T'ang 
(i.e.  China)  with  the  title  of  Grand  Duke  of  Chin-ch'£ng-chiin 
(in  Kan-su)  and  the  Rank  of  Shang-chu-kuo  (  |»  jfi-  jig), 
i.e.  lit.  '  The  first-class  Corner  Stone  of  the  Empire ') : 

This  is  the  Stone-tablet  erected  in  memory  of  A-lo-han 
(PpJ  jJH  I)|§£),  a  Persian  prince  by  birth  and  the  most  illustrious 
of  the  whole  tribe.  During  the  period  of  Hsien-ching 
(a.d.  656-661),  the  then  reigning  Emperor  Kao-Tsung  the 
Great,  hearing  of  the  meritorious  service  and  illustrious  deeds 
of  this  Persian  prince  sent  a  special  messenger  to  invite  him 
to  his  own  palace  (here  are  two  illegible  characters). 

As  soon  as  the  Prince  arrived  at  the  capital,  the  Emperor 
appointed  him  Generalissimo,  and  charged  him  with  the  re- 
sponsibility of  defending  the  Northern  Gate  (i.e.  the  northern 


258 


APPENDIX  I. 


region  of  China) — {here  is  one  illegible  character)  and  sent  him 
as  the  Imperial  Envoy  to  the  tribes  of  Tibet,  Ephraim,  and 
other  countries. 

On  the  western  borders  of  Ephraim,  he  set  up  a  sjtone 
monument  which  is  still  visible  and  is  still  preaching  the 
essence  of  the  Holy  Teaching  to  the  wild  tribes ;  ever  since 
all  the  surrounding  countries  {i.e.  around  the  monument)  have 
become  very  peaceful. 

This  is  mainly  due  to  the  virtuous  deeds  and  wise  guidance 
of  our  great  General,  the  Prince  of  Persia,  who  ruled  over 
those  peoples,  and  invited  several  foreign  tribes  to  organize 
the  Imperial  Guards  as  well  as  the  other  Army  Divisions. 
So  his  meritorious  service  to  the  country  and  its  Rulers  is 
manifold. 

His  name  should  be  written  for  ever  on  the  walls  of 
Ch'i-lin-ko*  (|$£  f$£  ^),  whilst  his  peerless  wisdom  and 
priceless  talents  are  worthy  of  being  inscribed  on  this  stone. 
Surely  his  name  should  be  numbered  as  one  of  the  Faithful 
in  the  Yun-fat  Hall  t  (§  &  |§). 

On  the  ist  of  the  4th  moon,  the  first  year  of  the  Ching- 
yiin  Period  (a.D.  710)  at  the  age  of  ninety  and  five  years, 
the  Prince  died  suddenly  at  his  own  private  residence  in 
Ho-nan-fu. 

O  woeful  day  on  which  we  lost  this  Great  Prince,  the 
Generalissimo  and  Leader  of  the  Tribes!  When  he  died, 
the  wind  that  blew  over  the  mountain-tops  sighed  more 
sorrowfully  than  ever !  The  sun  that  shines  over  us  peered 
most  drearily  through  the  dark  clouds !  Even  the  birds 
refrained  from  singing  on  that  sad  day  because  of  his  death ! 
How  could  we   therefore  restrain  ourselves   from  shedding 


•  Ch'i-lin-ko  is  the  name  of  an  Imperial  Palace  Hall  where  the  Chinese 
Emperor  had  the  portraits  of  eleven  illustrious  men  painted,  in  51  A.D.,  and  is  a 
Chinese  Walhalla  of  the  first  century. 

f  Yun-t'ai-ko  is  another  Imperial  Palace  Hall  where  the  Chinese  Emperor  had 
the  portraits  of  thirty-two  famous  generals  painted,  and  is  a  Chinese  Pantheon  of 
the  third  century. 


APPENDIX  1.  259 


tears  I  The  pine-tree  suffers  from  the  drought,  and  we  feel 
the  silence  of  the  waterless  fountain  the  harder  to  bear.  So 
felt  all  who  followed  him  to  the  grave  on  that  sorrowful  day. 
O  woe  betide  the  day ! 

On  the  .  .  .  {illegible)  day  of  the  month  .  .  . 
{illegible)^  his  son  and  heir  Chti-lo  (/£|L  jj^)  {i.e.  Gur)  and  his 
friends,  weeping  and  lamenting  most  sincerely  with  ceaseless 
tears,  and  afterwards  faithfully  observing  Spring  and^  Autumn 
Festivals  every  year,  finally  buried  the  Prince  in  the  suburb 
outside  the  Chien-ch'un  Gate,  Ho-nan-fu,  and  made  a  small 
grave-mound  so  that  his  soul  might  rest  in  peace ! " 

(T/ie  names  of  neither  the  author  nor  the  calligraphical 
writer  of  the  Inscription  are  given) 


The  Syro-Cliinese  Text  of  the  Nestorian  Inscription. 


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204 


m  mmmn  £  w  «i  ±#»  s  31  mm 

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265 


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266 


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(Words  added  by  a  visitor  in  A-  D.  1859.) 


On  the  right  side. 
Tap  roio. 

ft  3&  ^  3:  $t  n£<^    ^.cuu. 

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270 


Appendix  No.  II. 
The  original  text  of  the  Appendix  No.  I. 


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271 


1ft 


Appendix  No.  Ill 

The  original  text  of  the  Netftorian  Hymn  discovered 

by  Prof.  Pelliot  at  Sha-chou  in  1908. 

*  ft  =  a  m  m  m 


272 


Appendix  No.  I\. 
The  Chinese  texts  for  the  quotations  on  pages  150  and  151. 

273 


lUo 


(A) 


Appendix  No.  V. 
Materials  for  Ciiou-chih  question. 


ffi  3fc  «  HE  «•  «J «  HI  2  It  &i8ft*$cffiij£-  W 
***£*:%*•  Tfti££-  M*tt«.^*iiB 
£.*«*****•  *£*«•&£***.&& 

ff  JtftJTY-  ^«!;&#&.  *  It  3»  #  JE  £  2S  & 

ft&mmz-  mxnn&z-  ft&issie-  *& 

#j#5i#-   *lEgfffi*U^.  SUBS 

«^fti£.w^ftBa^.«j?.    iiserr-. 

(B) 


274 


«#at«»£#.   £  ft  *•  »  a  2  ft  ttf  tf  &  $ 
3f  tt  J0. 5 1?  *t  3S- 

(E) 


276 


(F)     Postal  system  of  Tang  Era  as  described  by  Liu  Tsung-yiian 
in  804  A.  D.     In  this  we  read  about  Chou-chih.     (Cf.  p.  23.) 

KMmzft'  mnz&-  nTzm&m&nn 

Tat-  A^inBwikinnmn-  unmrnz 
mm&BX  £*b**n.  smamm-  smm 
smmm^mm'  Mmx-%mBmm%B 
w- a  bb  h  *  »•  sE^ifi-sfif^^iH 

ft#*'SSB'*ft-AH*£ft-1if3#£-  a 

S;T  M-  A  M  £  ft- *  W  #  £•  &L  M  -T  I «•  m  A 

27G 


m%%%m-  mm.--f%zfM&ftz-  #a#±£ 
'gG^MM&.ftmmz-   ftB5#-«f* 

m-  &m*z-m9tmm&9A*z&+&nz 
B.&v.m&®w&ai&&mtfcgz&. 


277 


(G)  The  description  of  the  Banqueting  Hall  at  Chou-chih  by 
Liu  Tsung-yiian  in  802  A.  D.  The  whole  text  is  translated  on 
page  23  of  the  Introduction. 

mwntm-ni&xm.&tozxn-i&zftT-  m 
&z±'b*mnzfc  *w*&.  ftiiiftft.* 

«^*.  /§«&&•  £  jus  &  a.  7*  £  «  ^  a  * 
#.#*&£•«&*«•*&  if.  i*ffc2«-  mii£ 

m-®M^m&&.m&i&mfeMzm-  *mm 

jfc*r»fftii.  *i»*3E2:fta.fi'erww*.  *ja 
«*«*£&•  »£«ifii*£&.  «»**at 

U78 


279 


(H)  The  Poem  about  Chou-chih  by  Lu.     The  translation  of  the 
poem  in  given  on  page  25  of  the  Introduction. 


280 


Appendix  No.  VI. 
The  Edict  entitled  "  the  Proclamation  ordering   the  destruction 
of  the  Buddhist  monasteries  "    by  the  Emperor  Wu-Tsung,  845 
A.  D.      The  whole   translation  of  the  text  is  given  on  pages 
86-89  of  the  Introduction. 


»  f*  #  « 


nn±*z&.  *Kmn£itzmm%mn 
mmzm-  m&tonm.mzm-  mmmx-mm 

Mmz^nrmfe  ■**s&m-%ft&m'k-  ft 

aa; «  *•  jc  te  ra  7c-  &  f  it  *•  »■■%*■••*« 

«  »•  #  1$  E  n  §•  &  *  n  &•  iiii*!*^ 

a.  us  *  *  »  £•  m  flfe«8^tt  *  #  tr- 


281 


m^"£Z&U>  Jfc  W  3E  £  *  i£.  fc  A  ?»J  *•  ¥M 
**fc«*HT«feA««.  **  +  #£*•  » 

m-Mi&7fcft-  ©»#**•  &*w.£'  sib tn*. 

w&m^.&ikmwmA-Mmnzm.  «** 
&.m-®z$]-m®ix&&% -PhtAfe  tfia 
^h^js-  h  ffi  *  ^j.t  mu  pj  g.  a  ft  ^  at- 

()i -£  £  «  36  jE  £  ::  +  rt.  #  SB  H  +  A 1C) 


282 


Appendix  No.  VII. 
The  destruction  oi  the  Buddhist  monasteries  as  described 
(A)  i*1  tne  Chinese  History. 

mmmmmmmmm-  r+*s5.^A.8u* 

ft HHf .^®r  +  A-E»^I^^FSR.   *T 

(B) 

a±tts E3FM&2,  7b%m\um&&m%- 

+  A-  5£T«£«£tt?&0f-  &ffi*ifiiifc*H4i- 


283 


*.««««  muse, 

A  JO 


284 


Appendix  No.  VIII. 
The  letter  addressed  to  the  Emperor  Wu-Tsung  by 
His  Prime  Minister  Li  Yii  in  845  A.  D. 
(See  page  89,  the  Introduction.) 


3s£«3t&#r:+.frg-ssiim 


m% 


-IT-. 

m 


&  #?.  a  ®  it  m-  nnmnmmp-  *-^ra  +  - 

mik&.^.^zm-^mmmm-'A^nm^^- 

m^*fcz&-nm%iz%:-i&®.&rtizm-  & 
m-  is  #  *  st  m  m  m  x  m- f?.  #  ±  ^-  &  a  » ft 


285 


-»^:5i^SBiifl-Jii5:iaa*jr,ii!i5&^>5 
mMftmr-  mmnx.  n&nm. umwrn® 

c  zm%  nm  K&mmzmmm  zmx-w  %. 
z±i&:&mtzmm.-  mmmzm-  n&zz 


28« 


i 


Appendix  No.  IX. 

The  Persecution  against   Buddhists  in  845  A.  D.  as 

described  by  a  contemporary  historian. 

\u^mmm%'  &  *&  ±  t&  m  «  #  s  r  #.  #^ 

gf£H  +  A.^Tfp£S-#^-%^#H^.  3 

+  AH.15A.  j^^Bam^^^.  &**  +  £& 
A.2£*1t££#-l»lW35««Bll£'irfBB- 

&  75  in  gg  m  ^. «  ft  ft  j&  $  #i £  &  •  ffe  ^  a  p  • 


287 


Appendix  No.  X. 
The   Imperial  Rescript    mentioned   in  the  Nestorian    Inscription 
as  preserved  in  the  Book  called  T'ang-hui-yao  compiled  in  the 
11th  century. 

um&&m&!£-  wok  m  mm*-  &#!&&* 
A.ftftkTmm.  mnm*& &*$-&•  site 

if-  -  A- 

(H  Mf  #  g  U9  +  *,  #  +  JC) 

Appendix  No.  XI. 

The  Imperial  Edict  of  the  Emperor  Hsuan-Tsvmg  in  745  A.  D. 

(See  page  130,  the  Introduction.) 

ifii  #•  X  1f  *  ■•  S  *fl  &  %  0  &  &  %■  *  ^  *  A- 

Appendix  No.  XII. 

Quotations  from  Hsi-an   Topography  showing  the 

position  of  the  Nestorian  monastery. 


.(A) 

( %  m  PI  £  S  «  ft  3c  *  +  *  E  H) 


288 


(B) 


#•  ^SHS 


t\ii\ 


#• 


(C) 

Appendix  No.  XIII. 
Quotation  from  "  the  New  Catalogue  of  the  Books  (of  teaching) 
of  S'akya  in  the  Period  of  Cheng-yuan  "  (A.  D.  785-804). 
(See  page  71,  the  Introduction.) 


m 


m  & £•  m  ® M m- &m m m- m m m ft-  m ±  m 


289 


Appendix  No.  XIV. 
The  visit  of  P'an-na-mi,  the  Persian  Chief  and  Bishop  Chi-lieh 

in  782  A.  D. 
(See  pages  76  and  225,  supra.) 

(A) 

m,  m  jff  it  m  x  is  -b + -  *  ^l  h) 

(B) 


290 


Appendix  No.  XV. 
Opinions  of  Chinese  experts  on  the  Nestorian  Stone. 


(A) 


mm&-mmB-  n^MM^mmm m-  m%m 

^tt^fcM^-  i^it-^-  *^*^ii 

®*zm- 

(B) 


& 


291 


xnmmxmiL-  to  +  mm&mx^.  aim 
n\mm%*.*.  %ffir%mzw- m^rnxmrn 
#  it, 


292 


Appendix  No.  XVI. 

Mr.  Ch'ien,  a  Chinese  authority  of  "  Metal  and  Stone  "writings/* 

on  the  Nestorian  Inscription. 

*  at? 


mn±mmmmmmm±'   x^m&yjz* 
mmznmwi5tm.-3im.mm%ft-mu-%Lm 

mt.zmm&-n^-±mm-ti±BBMm*- 
^^mxm^-  m m. # bp u m $f &•  ^mz®. 

mmm^n^-  ^xTHHt.  *&£©#& 
-'b&z^-m^m--  n^f *r h-  m m w m ^ 

293 


KJ»-  31?  fit  *H  E  3$  £  «•  *  &  E  51  H  51  f§  S  ■ 
a±H.  **«?|)t«*HlilIil»H-  £tfcfil* 


294 


#  0  mm  h  £  h + a  $*.   myk^m^mmm 
&  j&  *  sir  £• » ti  *  as  *  «•  &^#£i&.  n*i 

E4*.ftH#fc£^-ft±*m-  ffc  7J  ±  ±  IB- It  * 


295 


Appendix  No.  XVII. 

A  criticism  of  Mr.  Ch'ien's  view  about  the  Nestorian 

Inscription. 

m^^a^iif.  *  m  a  in  una  a  *  h-  mm 

*smm.m®0®mmm&-  #«&«#•  01a 
mmm-^mmm-  mmnnmmmn.  mm% 

ft*. «  &  « -ft- ^  tfc  tt  «•  »  *  *2  H£- *f  A  H  £  ft 
£  ♦  #?#•  ft  £  &  *  H  #  ft?  *•  H  *f  A  35-  Jfc  -£- 

«*  htutlMi* si ***##»•  wmm 

2UC 


bxbmwi-  Bmwi-  z^n^^^mmmmz 
a.  &&*!&•  mmzfem&%&mmzm-$x 

(HID  3l*tt.@8g*)£«£**#.  &« 
pS ir S 3: "S # S JR sg.    tiSiaiW^ 

*«»&  &mm&zmftmfe&  m%-& 
£«»&•#  \-mmz±mm.ikmmfax*!m 
m-  as*  sennit*-  mmmnAttz-g-m 

zm^mm^rn'm-  B#f±ts^^if 
5 «?  a  tt  b  *  x  »  joi  g  %  *ti  jn  %  a.  mmz 

^K».pt.  £fflaa&B»;2:*&-  ^#£tsc£ 


297 


H::2:.(||S*)|K»a^.^»Ai5».^«»jg-2: 

II  m  m  S  &  9§  &  8  K- 7J  *&  A  K-  SB^^ffiiB 
IS  #  ^  5i  £*  ffi)  -  £-  £&&MW$.ZM-  BM 

^  *r  IB  *  *U:  E  ■&  B- 


298 


Appendix  No.  XVIII. 

On  the  Nestorian  Stone  by  Mr.  Wang,  a  Chinese 

expert  on  "  Metal  and  Stone  writings." 

$^iss.  mm&mmit-  m®LMty±m& 

nz.am*±-^jiM&zm.&-%*mm-&.  * 
««##&  mmmmmm^z-  xm-zzn 

zw-^m^n-^mmzm^-  w^zmm-m: 
y^^^.mzmit-mm^-^m^nm^nm- 

m^z-  &^*mmzM-  -£f&w®35-  *n 


299 


-^ASffcA* 


HP 


mm-  mm&-%±m-  & 
mzm-m+mm».V(m-m*,mto&.(m*uM 

mmmmirmmm- mftmmtomwim,  mm 

m^mxnm-mm^mm.  mmm*m.  mm 

if.  Ill  IB  £  ^  to- ffi  » IB  £  JR  »•  £  &  K  »  B-  * 
&IB£5>ti.  if  £l5*c!££.  ftttftftftrHftfil 
H4HRlii^  fln*»ftf&j*«.  fltftJIX-* 

-*%&<+*  it  HH  ft.  IB£*t^^.  X»£* 
*  B  *T  K  ft- #  «  flfc  ft  J£  il-  *ngSUtFf.  J£1£& 

300 


301 


Appendix  No.  XIX. 
Dr.  Leon  Li's  writing  on  the  discovery   of 

the  Nestorian  Stone,  written  in  1625  A.  D. 


>R 


B-mm&%*Mt&mn-  %b-  ttfifii'i 
mm-  &%t*zmm-  %wm&mmpxmm%k 

"«S^^jIt.^SH-^#.  BPHtt-fUfc.  Sic 

®>RmM-m-%£Bm-m^®v&ftm-  m 


*m-ife'&&n*-%-  &&A 


s.  sit$ 


•&•  H  it  IB  *,  ^-  ±Mt*Ft£i£*Si£.  &«* 
^  ^  ««:.?&«  IS  ±.^:J»  IS  «B3lfi.|«*e  *• 

a  if  m  m-  m  n  f  m  m  m-  biswr-  ^i£Ai§ 
liiiseiiiimfttg'  *  ?t  j«  *  ^ 

A®-£i&m«aifi:^:J&-  miasms-  *fg 

3pj  ft  2,  lo  A  s:  ^  &•  ^«tt#SU*-  ^S«± 

303 


&m-mmmn.mmmn-  &&  a  *t  «•»  am* 

-£HB*.£*nm*jfc4f.  &  S  *  ft  #  0f  #•  H  + 

**jR*.**±*:b  »**«  >nn*zm 

ft.  mr-mmmwmz-  f&mmmm$.nnm 

BA-  II Ht ft « U ^ -•  75±i^l*4rtiar.S 
#*/£.**  *#•*  It  fc*  A  &  ffl$#itffii 

KIT  Kit.  «R*X-  W*HH*AJim>Mt* 

&  5^  ffi  «  Jll «  *  £•  A  *E  *  t»  *•  #  *  -  «•  flff 


304 


tnjimxzm-  m^m&m^.  &&&&&•& 
m±'®ft:$zM-&^mm 


305 


Appendix  No.  XX. 

Dr.   Paul  Hsu's  writing  on  the  Nestorian  Stone  in  1627  A.  D. 

The  Quotation  from  his  book  called  u  The  Iron  Cross." 

»**£*•&£#*.  *«+::*.  m^nt. 


306 


Appendix  No.  XXI. 

Quotation  from  Emmanuel  Diaz's  work  on  'the 

Nestorian  Inscription. 

§f .  *  h!  M  igi- H  *  JMi     ^ci^MJiS- 
ill  iE  W± £ R- yft  &««• » JB  » T  Eft  M- 

»» jr-A*MW-***  *•*****£• 
i3Btt*m.*si«RHtt..«iratt-  **# 

£  M  j«  ife.  19  jlfc  *  ±- £  tt  &  #  &•   ffiffltts-T- 


307 


*«t 


tfe.  mQ&tomWLto  B.  £  *o  ft  5fc  ua  #  Jife.  &  & 

&•  a*  #  jb  *  ±  &  *.  £.  n&*  as  asm.  just 

£  jft.  &  *  «  &.  *si  jh  &  «.  x^tii^j&.aa 
»n*.*se*tfc.  *  ^  ±  isi  h  &  i$  us-  &* 

».  ft  JS  >fc  £  A  4*.  ^^ilit^HHt 
E  *F- M  B  tt  K  *f  +  it-  il$c;£*.  m^tif&M 

& •  £#*&•* 9§ * bf h *.  HA  *  ir * bf ±.  ^  & 

*%*m****tM*^'ifc  •*»»•  up* 

fc*****.  $^£&-  «»*»*•«$** 
ji#*».  «»i^«ggja0ii3B{ft.  Banff 


303 


309 


Appendix  No.  XXII. 

Quotations  from  the  Chinese  historical  works  concerning 

Ta-ch'in  and  Fu-lin. 


(A) 


(B, 

Still!  ®®&ffiM&%*mMM&*.%W 

(C) 

aio 


+  A) 

(D) 

W3C  m ««  Oi  ±  «  El  0  +  &M  13 IS  H  *£*  ffl 
#S  &$!>?»4^*ft «*«*«£  imp  §§ 

IS^  jffi  «  »  3  *3c  &  *  &  »  -  8  M  #  ffi  *  «) 

fttfcl£ii53c.ftiS#<&AiB£Bi»*«:fc#* 
AfcAESfHSSafcl^ftAI^***:* 


311 


(JEfc8&*l8A  +  A4&iS#fllSS-b  +  A) 


(E) 


BP£l#ft«*3EMmie€JIgteiS#*r1fW 
&#■£+*  ***fttf*itX**ft.A  it 


312 


*a»»*j»f*  *#♦«#«  £«•&**£ 

jB*ft«>a£iB£-»0fE*ft;&B0fAto3l* 
S^«^iS«rWtfeH2cHWAim^#ll 

f££&g£l|ft#*ftaifliiSM*a§AJK*« 


313 


(F) 

«7iSB»««-*l*m«Aft*ili«l*t>BA 

»a«»«  +  t£«;£-3cA^*A$*££ 

314 


(G) 

ffiM^KSi&^IEAeSffiaaESRSfc^aE 
|?I2f  II5£«3!frSAe# £  US ««»»¥&  B 

&  &  ft  be  h  #  -  a  « JMfc  a  #  &*esb  £  s&  k 

ft££A«]Efc:k*R¥H««  +  B'a:0-« 
fPj£Afg£±&£i«^A^3iffl^M*M 


315 


£UlE£liliB2ri5  3E-»lll3£agSf£ 

(H) 

***«*&-<*£.«*  am* 


£  &  ®  * 


m±zm 

B  J&  M  M, 

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316 


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B**«t«ilB*«*lltfS  ****** 

317 


A) 

(I) 
tt'&ft fcum^^m^itamj^^r^as 

*»**B  +  r*t&H3£fli-A**aiEW 
K«#**»«ttitH2f*jJiltlO|i;»3EK:fc 

318 


m  M  M  P  *n  i^#  ?»l  7K  ±  m  ft*  jh  ^  =?  M  M 

ife^7KJ£#^lo4#^±e^PK-*^ffn®H 


319 


•  \ 


T) 


320 


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Book  of  Governors.)    2  vols.     1899. 
Duchesne,  Louis.    Histoire  ancienne  de  PEglise.    Paris.    1908.    Origines 

du   culte    Chretien.     Paris.     1898.    (The   English   Edition  of  the 

same.    London.    S.P.C.K.     1912.) 
Edmunds,  A.  J.  Buddhist  and  Christian  Gospels.   (Edited  and  annotated 

by  Dr.  Anesaki.)    Tokyo.     1905. 
Eitel,  E.  J.    Hand-book  of  Chinese  Buddhism.    Hong-Kong.    1888. 
Etheridge,  J.  W.     The  Syrian  Churches.    London.     1846. 
Gibbon,  Edward.    The  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman 

Empire.    (Edited  by  J.  B.  Bury.)    7  vols.    London.     1909-1914. 
Giles,  H.  A.    China  and  the  Chinese.    Columbia  University  Press,  New 

York.     1902.    The  Civilization  of  China.     London.     191 1. 
Hammond,  C.  E.     Liturgies  Eastern  and  Western.    (Edited  by  F.  E. 

Brightman.)     Oxford.     1896. 
Havret,  Pere   Henri.    La  Stele  chr&ienne  de  Si-ngan-fou.    (Varies 

Sinologiques,  Nos.  VII.,  XII.,  XX.)    Shanghai.    1895-1902. 
Heller,  J.  E.     Das  Nestorianische  Denkmal  in  Singan-fu.     Innsbruck. 

1885. 
Hirth,  Frederick.    China  and  the  Roman  Orient.    Shanghai.     1885. 
Holm,  Dr.  Frits.     The  Nestorian  Monument.     (Edited  by  Paul  Cams.) 

Chicago.     1909. 
Hue,  Abbe\    Christianity  in  China,  Tartary,  and  Tibet.    (Translated 

into  English.)     London.     1857,  1858. 
Humboldt,  Alex.  v.     Cosmos.      5    vols.      (Translated    into    English.) 

London.     1 849-1 858. 
Legge,  James.    The  Nestorian  Monument  of  Hsi-an-Fu.    Oxford.     1888. 
Lloyd,  Arthur.     The  Creed  of  Half  Japan.     London.     191I. 
Milman,  H.  H.     History  of  Latin  Christianity.    London.     1855. 
Moule,  A.  C.    The  Christian  Monument  at  Hsi-an-Fu.    (Journal  of  the 

North-China    Branch    of   the   Royal    Asiatic   Society,  Vol.   XII.) 

Shanghai.     1910-  .        c  .     „  JJU.  . 

Nanjio,  Bunyiu.     Catalogue  of  the  Chinese  Translation  of  the  Buddhist 

Tripitaka.    Oxford.     1883. 
Pauthier,G.    L'Inscription  Syro-chinoise  de  Si-ngan-fou.    Pans.     1858. 


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Richard,  Timothy.    The  Awakening  of  Faith,  by  Ashvagosha.    Shanghai. 

1907. 
Schaff,  P.     History  of  the  Christian  Church.     7    vols.     New  York. 

1886-1910. 
Stanley,  A.   P.    Lectures    on    the   History  of   the    Eastern    Church. 

London.    1883. 
Williams,  S.  W.    The  Middle  Kingdom.    New  York.     1883. 
Wright,  W.     A  Short  History  of  the  Syriac  Literature.    London.    1894. 
Wylie,  Alexander.    The  Nestorian  Tablet  in  Se-gan-Foo.     Shanghai. 

1854,  1855. 
Yule,  Sir  Henry.     Cathay  and  the  Way  Thither.     2  vols.    London. 

1866.     New  Ed.,  4  vols.,  1913-15.    (Vols.  I.,  II.,  III.  of  new  edition 

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Marco  Polo.    (Edited  by  H.  Cordier.)     2  vols.    London.     1903. 


INDEX 


A-FANG-KUNG,  3 

A-lo-han,  133,  206,  257;   Tablet  in 

memory  of,  206,  257-259,  271 
A-lo-he,  133,  188 
A-lo-pe-n,  51,  81,  82,  90,  94,  113,  153, 

158,    165-167,  204-207,   209,  210, 

213,  257 
Alopun.     See  A-LO-PEN 
A-lo-ssu,  81,  82 
"  A-ssu-chii-li-yung  ching,"  69 
Aaron,  177 
Aba,  Mar-Aba,  183 
Abbot,  252 

Abe-no-nakamaro,  236 
Abhd-isho,  113,  176,  179 
Abi,  176 
Abidharma,  157 

Abraham,  141, 168, 207, 224,  225  ;  bar 
Dashandadh,  243  ;  Mar,  107,  in 
Abu-Becker,  116 
Abulfeda,  248 
Abu  Musa  ibn  Musab,  243 
Abu-nuh-al-Anbari,  243 
Adam,  56,  71-74,  92,  l«i  "4,  140, 
148,  154,  162,  175,  178,  186-188, 
194,  202,  203,  208,  214,  224,  228, 
247,  255,  256 

Adiabene5  37 

Adirsiah,  253 

Aethiopia,  218 
Afghanistan,  43 

Afghans,  254 

Africa,  m  ;  N.,  115 

Ahmed  Rasmi  Effendi,  50 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  238 

Alcott,  144 

Aleni,  J.,  21,  28 

Alexander,  of  Alexandria,  99;   the 
Great,  254 

Alexandria,  39,  4°,  99,  io2,  io4,  "5i 
116;  Patriarch  of,  112 

Alhazen,  117 

Allan,  W.,  130 

Aloha,  67,  75,  162 


Alopano,  204 

Alps,  238 

Amaterasu  Omikami,  126 

America,  32 

Amitabha,  121,  123,  125,  147-149, 
151,  152,  155,  158,  160;  Doctrine, 
190,  197,  216  ;  meaning  of,  122, 
125;  origin  of  doctrine,  149; 
-Sutra,)  122 

"  Amitayur-dhyana-sutra,"  133,  149, 
151,  188,  197 

Amitayus-sutropadesa,  13 

Amogha-vajra,  127,  135-141,  143, 
232,  233,  252 

Amsterdam,  29 

An-hsi  (Parthia),  45,  46,  219  ;  (Pro- 
vince), 221 

An-hsi-hsiang,  45 

An-hsi-liu,  46 

An-hui,  221 

An  Lu-shan,  23,  51,  226,  231 

An-shih-kao,  46,  122,  149 

An-tu,  40,  181, 182 

An-tun,  41 

Ananda,  138 

Anamnesis,  145 

Ancestor- worship,  113,  133-136,  138- 
140,  143,  158,  160,  201 

Anesaki,  M.,  118,  202 

Ansoku,  45 

Ansoku-ko,  45,  219 

Antaxata,  41 

Antioch,  40-43,  97~99,  103-105,  115, 
124,  132,  181-183,  190;  Patriarch 
of,  91,  112 

Antoninus,  M.A.,  41,  42 

Apollinarianism,  99 

Apostles'  Creed,  70 

Arabia,  Arab,  45,  5*.  52,  105,  109, 
1 1 5-1 17,  156, 158,  206 

"Arabian  Nights,"  51,  226 

Aranyakah,  187 

Archdeacon,  113,  175,  178,  etc. 

Arhan, 133 


324 


INDEX 


Arhat,  120,  133,  188 

Arians,  99 

Armenia,  43,  109,  no 

Armenian  Christians,  61 

Arnobius,  no 

Arohan,  207 

Arsacide  dynasty,  46 

Arsakes,  46,  122,  149,  219 

Art,  63  ;  Hittite,  64 

Arya-dasa,  241 

Asamgha,  130 

Ascension,  The,  195 

Asceticism,  Buddhist,  120,  121 

Ashvaghosha,  120,  121,  147,  155,216 

Ashiki,  149 

Asia,  Central  or  Upper,  158, 206,  216, 

232,  237,  251,  etc.  ;   Buddhism  in, 

118, 120-122, 130, 131 ;  Christianity 

in,  118,  130 
Asia  Minor,  77 
44  Asiatic  Society,  Journal  of  China 

Branch  of,"  190,  etc. 
Assemani,  J.  S.,  35,  no,  183,  204, 

206,  207,  245,  254 
Assyrian  Church,  passim 
Aston,  W.  G.,  125 
Astronomy,  Indian  books  on,  46 
Asuka-oka,  145 
Athanasius,  99,  124 
Athens,  116,  158 
Aurelianus,  42 
Aurungzeb,  254 
Avalokita,  123 
Avalokiteshvara,  123, 195 

Bab-el-Mandeb,  217 

Babylon,  253 

Babylonia,  40,  105,  206 

Bachus,  176, 179 

Bactria,  39,44,  238,253 

Baghdad,  35,  51,  52,  106,  109,  182, 

238,  243,  244 
Bajazet,  Sultan,  108 
Balkh,  62,  no,  175,  238,  251,  253, 

254 
Bamian,  251 
Bandot,  J.,  137 

Baptism,  Buddhist,  137,  138,  141 
Baptismal  Hymn,  Nestorian,  65-71, 

115  ;  translation,  66,  67  ;   text  of, 

272 
Bardesanes,  44 
Bashush,  243 
Bartoli,  D.,  17,  29 
Basil,  99 


Beal,  S.,  55 

Beards,  200 

Behistan,  rock  of,  1,  155 

Benares,  119,  121 

Beroe,  243 

Beth-Abhe,  243 

Beth  B.i.ghesh,  243 

Beth  Hale,  243 

Bethlehem,  76,  77 

Beth  Sinaye,  186 

Bethune-Baker,  J.  F.,  in 

Bible,  155,  157,  164,  165,  207-209 

"  Bibliotheca  Orientalis,"  35, 183, 245 

Birthday,  Festival  on  Emperor's,  86, 
141,  142,  232-234 

Bishops,  113,  176,  205,  etc.  ;  Mis- 
sionary, 252,  etc.  ;  Nestorian 
Metropolitan,  109,  no,  113,  etc. 

Bishop,  Mrs.  I.  B.,  13 

Bismarck,  208 

Biwa,  146 

Board,  Beating  of,  198 

Bodhidharma,  147 

Bodhiruchi,  13,  136,  147,  194 

Bodhisattva,  121,  etc. 

Bodleian  Library,  72 

Bokhara,  254 

Bolor,  251 

44  Book  of  Changes,"  187 

Books,  Buddhist,  passim  ;  Chinese 
in  Japan,  146  ;  Nestorian  in  China, 
68-71,  208,  209  ;  rare  Buddhist  in 
Korea,  119;  translation  of  Chris- 
tian, 208,  209 

44  Books,   New    Catalogue 
dhist,"  72,  289 

Bfcpvs,  45 

Boym,  M.,  29 

Breviary,   Malabar,    no; 

137 

Brahmans,  156 

Bridgman,  E.  C,  29,  185 

British  Museum,  8,  10, 30 

Brittany,  144 

Broomhall,  M.,  49 

Buchus,  68 

Buddha,  13,  73,  77,  120,  121,  123- 
125,  133,  138,  150^52,  178,  188, 
195,  217,  241,  etc.  ;  bone  of,  86 

Buddhas,  Cave  of  Thousand,  216, 
232 

Buddhism,  92,  114,  116,  132-134, 
136,  138,  186,  193,  194,  205,  209, 
238,  etc  ;  Chinese,  139,  144,  145, 
158,    etc.;    difficult    to    compare 


of  Bud- 


Roman, 


INDEX 


325 


with  Christianity,  119;  Hinayana, 
65,  etc.;  Indian,  118,  136,  139, 
149,  etc.  ;  influence  of  Nestorians 
on  Chinese,  118-161  ;  Japanese, 
65,  121,  139,  144-147,  152,  155, 
197,  198,  201,  219,  etc. ;  Mahayana 
or  Northern,  86,  118,  119,  121, 
149,  etc.  ;  not  in  Fu-lin,  80 ;  per- 
secution of,  82,  85-90,  133,  134, 
143,  etc.  ;  relation  to  Christianity, 
118-161  ;  rise  of,  87  ;  Southern, 
118,  119,  122,  139,  144,  146,  148, 
149,  156,  etc. ;  spread  of,  134,  135, 
140 
"  Buddhism,  Biographical  History 
of,"  142,  233 ;  "  Handbook  of 
Chinese,"  138  ;  "  N.  T.  of  Higher," 

131 
Buddhist,  Books,  65,  119,  133,  etc.  ; 
versions  of,  137,  149 ;  Mahayana, 
44,  46,  etc. ;  doctrine,  157  ;  evi- 
dence of  Nestorian  Christianity, 
71-75  ;  number  of  monasteries 
and  of  monks,  86-89,  91  ;  ditto  in 
Japan,  86;  Sects,  119,  120,  126, 
146,  etc.  ;  sutras,  135,  etc.  ; 
Temples  in  Korea,  181  ;  terms, 
132,    217,    218,  254,   etc. ;    texts, 

273 
"  Buddhist  and  Christian  Gospels," 

120 
"  Buddhist  Catechism,"  144 
"Buddhist   Scriptures,    Catena  of," 

"  Buddhist  Sects,  History  of  Twelve," 

13 

Buddhists,  1,  12,  13,  74,  233,  234, 
242,  etc.;  number  of,  118;  ditto 
in  Japan,  146 

Budge,  E.  A.  W.,  36,  186,   198,  244, 

245 
Bu-do,  45 
Bun-mei,  177 
Bun-tei,  177 
Bunyan,  J.,  195 
Bureau,   Imperial  (T'ai-ch'ang-ssii), 

252,  etc. 
Burma,  118 

"  Bussetsu  Amida  kyo,"  149,  150 
"Bussetsu  Muryo  ju  kyo,"  149 
But-lam,  76 
But-lim  (-lin),  76,  77 
Butrum,  77 
Byzantine  Art,  63 
Byzantium,  39 


Caliph  Al-Mahadi,  244 

Caliph  al-Rashid,  244 

Cambridge,  44 

Canton,  72 

Capital,  Eastern,  4 ;  Western,  4,  5, 

etc. 
Carthage,  Bishop  of,  in 
Carus,  42 
"  Cathay  and  the  Way  thither,"  52, 

90,  no,  130,  200,  204,  248-250 
Catholicos,  68,  132,  175,  etc. 
Celestine,  102 
Celibacy,  153,  etc. 
Ceylon,  72,  118,  137 
Chakravarti,  123 
Chalcedon,  104  ;  Council  of,  91 
Chaldaea,  183 
Chaldaeans,  105 
Ch'an  sect,  126 
Chandra-dasa,  241 
Chang  Ch'ien,  39-41 
Chang  K£ng-yii,  17,  20,  27,  95 
Chang  Kuang-cheng,  84 
Chang-sun,  219 
Chang- te"  fu,  216 
Ch'ang-an,  1-5, 12,  17,  18,  21,  23,  26, 

27,  35,  37,  62,  83-85,  93,  137,  140, 

144,  146,  159,  165,  214,  219,  222, 

223,  228,  237, 239,  241,  248  ;  hsien, 

3  ;  and  see  Hsi-an  fu 
"  Ch'ang-an  chih  (Topography),"  4, 

81,  220  ;  texts,  288,  289 
"  Ch'ang  ming  huank  to  ching,"  68 
Ch'ang  shSng  chSn  chiieh,  54 
Chao  (million),  129  ;  and  see  Chau 
Chao-i-lang,  247 
Chao-i-lang-ch'ien-hang,  57,  247 
Chao-kuang  Chiao,  48 
Chao-td,  177 
Chao-t'i,  187 
Charlemagne,  37,  238 
Chau  Ju-kua,  183 
"Chau  Ju-kua,"  182,  183 
Chavannes,  E.,  76,  190 
Cheikho,  L.,  204 
Chekiang,  20,  27, 57,  58,  9A  J75  J  E-, 

58 
Cher     sect,     146,    219  ;    and    see 

Shinshu 
Chen-tan,  187  n 

Ch6n-yen  sect,  126,  131,  138;  and 

see  Shingonshu 
Chfing-chou,  8,  10 
Chcng-kuan  (period),    81,   88,    165, 

166,  207-209 


326 


INDEX 


"  Cheng  tsu  t'ung,"  22 
Cheng-yuan  (period),  85,  234 
"Cheng  yuan  hsin  ting  Shih  chiao 

mu  lu,"  71,  72,  289 
Ch'eng-ch'i,  226 
Ch'eng-hua  (period),  7 
Ch'eng-shih  sect,  126 
"  Ch'£ng-tsan    Ching-t'u     Fo    nieh 

shou  ching,"  149 
Ch'eng-tu,  231 
Cherakhs,  250 

Cfa'(x),  132 

Chi,    1 1 

Chichintales,  90 

Chi-chou,  221 

Chi- ho,  168,  169,  229,  230 

Chi-ku-setsu,  233 

Chi-lieh,  75,  76,  168,  224,  225,  230, 

290 
Chi-nei,  248 
Chi-tao,  54 

Ch'i  dynasty,  87  ;  Prince,  203 
"  Ch'i  chen  ching,"  70 
Ch'i-lin  ko,  258 
Ch'i-shan,  20 
Ch'i-yang,  17,  95 
"  Ch'i  yuan  ch€n  ching,"  7 
Chia-ching  (period),  7 
Chiang  Chen,  84 
Chiang- chou,  83 
Chiang-liang-yeh-she,  1 5 1 
Chiang-nan,  222  ;  E.  &  W.,  58 
Chiao,  127 
Ch'iao  Lin,  84 
Chien,  202 
Chien,  Mnt.,  222 
Chien-ch'un  Gate,  259 
Chien-chung  (period),  35,  170,  174, 

175,  234 
Chien-nan,  222 
Ch'ien-ch'iu  chieh,  233 
Ch'ien-chou,  84 
Ch'ien-fo  tung,  216,  232 
Ch'ien-lung  (period),  211 
Ch'ien  Ta-hsin  (Mr.),   20,  59,  177, 

245,  293,  296 
Ch'ien-yen,  68 
"  Chih  chieh  ching,"  69 
Chih-chien,  179 
Chih-i,  44 
Chih-k'ai,  130 
Chihli  (Pechili),  44,  221 
Chih-te,  179 

"  Chih  yuan  an  lo  ching,"  68 
Chin  dynasty,  87 


Chin-ch'Sng  chiin,  206,  257 

Chin-kang-chih,  127,  135,  137 

Chinkiang-fu,  Churches  at,  90 

Chinnampo,  13 

Chin-sheng  ssu,  6,  7,  19 

"  Chin  shih  tsui  pien  "  prohibited  in 
Japan,  31 

Chin-tan  Chiao,  2,  48,  49,  53,  55-61, 
91,  158,  160,  161,  246,  256 ; 
Liturgy,  61  ;  relation  to  Christi- 
anity, 53  sqq. 

Ch'in-chou,  221 

Ch'in  dynasty,  3,  187,  221 

China, passim;  communication  with 
W->  39-47  ;  Metrop.  See  of,  109- 
iii  ;  N.,  216;  S.,  132,  215 

"  China,  and  the  Chinese,"  45  ;  "  and 
the  Roman  Orient,"  40,  76,  77  ; 
"  Hist,  of,"  234,  etc.  ;  "  Illus- 
trated "  (Afon.  Ilhistrata),  29; 
"  Mission  Handbook,"  56  ;  "u.  die 
Chinesen,"  49 

Chindamani,  12 

Chinese,  Christians,  30,  etc.  ; 
Empire,  40,  etc.  ;  Foreign  words 
in,  44-46  ;  Republic,  30 

Ching  %  127-129,  132,  183,  184, 
186 

Ching  (or  King),  R.,  6,  73 

Ching-chao  (-yin),  3 

Ching-chdn,  177 

Ching  Chiao,  127-132,  etc. 

11  Ching  chiao  k'ao,"  246,  293-295 

Ching  chia  pei.  See  Nestorian 
Monument 

"  Ching  chiao  pei  wen  chi  shih  k'ao 
ch£ng,"  190,  245 

"  Ching  chiao  San  Wei  meng  tu 
tsan,"  65-81,  272 ;  and  see  Bap- 
tismal Hymn 

Ching-ching,  34,  36,  71-/4,  92,  162, 
184,  186-188,  194,  214,  224,  228, 
232,  246,  247 

Ching-chou,  221 

Ching-fu,  179 

Ching-hsiang,  132 

Ching  Kang,  84 

Ching-shih,  129 

Ching-te,  177 

Ching-t'u,  195,  etc,  ;  see  JODO,  SUK- 
havati,  etc.  ;  sect,  126 

Ching-t'ung,  68,  178 

Ching-yang,  208 

Ching-yiian,  83 

Ching-yun,  258 


INDEX 


327 


Ch'ing-chou,  42 

"Ch'ingi  ching,"  69 

Chinghiz  Khan,  90,  109,  253 

Chiu-chiang,  58 

Chorepiscopos,  62,  103, 114, 154, 162, 

175,  178,  187,  222,  254,  255, etc. 
Chou  (Department),  251,  etc. 
Chou  dynasty  or  state,  3,  59,  87, 166, 

186,  210,  211,  214,  215,  223,  239; 

Duke  of,  214  ;  Eastern,  167,  223 * 

King  of,  3 
Chou-chih,  16-27,  84,  85  ;  poem  by 

LuLun,  25  ;  texts,  274-280 
"Chou-chih,  On  the  completion  of 

the    new    Banqueting    Hall    at," 

23-25 
Chou  K'ii-fei,  182, 183 
Chou-nan,  22,  249 
Christ,  160,  etc. 
Christian,  132 
"Christan    Archaeology    and   Art," 

124 
"  Christian  Art,  Symbolism  in,"  190 
"  Christian    Churches,    History  of," 

100,  101 
"Christian  Teaching  of  Coin  Mot- 
toes," 130 
"  Christianisme  en  Chine,"  etc.,  95, 

97  \      . 

Christianity,     Christians,     passim; 

Assyrian  (Nestorian  or  Syrian),  1, 
38,43,  47,  48,  140-144,  148,.  152, 
153,  155.  I9'»  *92,  etc-J  Chinese 
name  for,  127-132  ;  in  China,  30, 
38,  39,  73,  etc. ;  difficulty  of  com- 
paring with  Buddhism,  1 19  ;  early 
in  China,  no;  like  Buddhism, 
129,  130 ;  not  mentioned  in  China 
9th  to  13th  cent.,  90  ;  influence  of, 
93,  94  ;  Nestorian  common  under 
Mongols,  90  ;  persecution  of,  159 ;. 
prohibition-boards,  29,  32  ;  rela- 
tion to  Buddhism,  118-161  ;  rela- 
tion to  Islam,  50-52 ;  sects,  201 ; 
spread  of,  43,  94,  96 
"  Christianity  in  China,  Tartary  and 

Tibet,"  95,  97   .    . 

"  Christianity,  Mission  and  Expan- 
sion of,"  44 

"  Chronicles  (Shih  Chi),"  39,  4S 

Chrysostom,  99,  102 

Chu  (i.e.  T'ien-chu),  17 

Chu  Tz'ii,  83-85 

Chu-wa,  178 

Ch'u,  129 


Ch'u,  185 

Ch'u  Sui-liang,  57,  247 

Chii-hsin,  78,  177 

Chii  Po-yii  (or  Yu),  59 

Chii-lo,  259 

Chii-lu,  68 

Ch'ii-shen,  180 

Ch'uan  hua  ching,"  69 

Chuang-tzu,  135 

Chung,  189,  190 

Chung-ho,  178 

"  Chung-hsii  chen  ching,"  135 

Chung  kuo,  185,  186 

Chung-li  Ch'uan,  54 

Chung-Tsung,  82,  223,  224,  228 

Ch'ung-ching,  176 

Ch'ung-je*n  ssu,  7,  16 

Ch'ung-sheng  ssu,  6 

Ch'ung-tS,  179 

Church,  The,  passim;  Assyrian  or 
Nestorian,  95,  106,  112,  etc.  ; 
Catholic,  143  ;  Celtic,  144 ;  Greek, 
95,  112,  113;  Head  of,  175,  252; 
Roman,  95, 112,113, 144;  Western, 
112,  114 

Civilization,  Ch'ang-an,  1,  2,  92,  94, 
95,  146,  159  ;  Chinese,  i,  157,  etc. ; 
Christian,  2  ;  Graeco-Roman,  157, 
182  ;  Greek,  115  ;  Roman,  1,115 ; 
Western  elements  in  Chinese,  117, 
155  ;  Western  introduced  by  Nes- 
torians,  11 5-1 18 

Clarke,  P.,  11 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  115 

Cloud,  on  Nest.  Mon.,  14,  27  ;  Fly- 
ing, 14 ;  Monastery  and  sect  of 
Great,  220 ;  White,  14  J  Sect  of 
White,  48 

Cochin-China,  28 

Conduct,  Eight  Rules  of,  194 

Confucianism,  Confucianists,  1,  92, 
132,  134,  138,  139,  142,  143,  156, 
158,  234  ;  join  in  Birthday  Service, 
86 
Confucius,  39,  93,  15°,  2I4 

Constantine,  78,    177 ;    the  Great, 

124, 132,  196 
Constantinople,  76,  97-i°°>  io2>  io4» 

106 
Convents,  Buddhist,  214,  220,  etc. ; 

Nestorian,  81,  141,  etc. 
"Cosmos,"  115 
Cowley,  63 
Cranganor,  28 
Craze,  La,  33 

Y 


328 


INDEX 


Cremation,  134,  139,  144 

Cromwell,  O.,  29 

Cross,  The,  70,  162,  164,  188,  196, 

197  ;    Doctrine  of,  70 ;    on  Nest. 

Mon.,  14,  27  j  Sign  of,  113 
"  Cross,  The  Iron,"  18,  306 
Crystal,  240 
Ctesiphon,  41,  42 
"Culte  Chretien,  Origines  du,"  124, 

H5 
Cyriacus,  179,  225,  230 
Cyril,  102-105,  in,  112 
Cyzicus,  101 

Daikon,45 

Dai  Nichi  Kyo,  127 

Dai  Seishi,  123 

Danapati,  236 

Daniel,  157 

Danna,  44 

Darius,  254 

Darkness,  188 

Dasa,  15,  172,  241 

Dasarhas,  241 

David,    68,    176 ;    Metropolitan    of 

China,  no,  i 11, 186,  187 
Dead,  Prayers  for,  165, 201,  202,  234 
Demetrianus,  43 
Dengyo  Daishi,  37,  57,  126, 140 
Dharma,  125 
Dharmagupta,  136 
Dharmakaya,  124,  125,201 
Dharmaraksha,  136,  138,  194 
Dhyana,  125,  126  ;  Bodhisattva,  125 
Dhyani,  157  ;  Buddha,  125 
Diaz,  E.  (Jr.),  15,  17-19,  21,  229,  307 
"Dictionary,    Eng.-Chin.,"      128; 

"K'anghsi,"  129 
Diodorus,  99 
Dioscorides,  117 
Diptychs,  61,  65-70,  75»   "3i  H3> 

201  ;  Syriac  names  on,  75,  78 
"  Doctrine  of  the  Mean,"  156 
Dogs,  Korean,  64 
Donran,  13,  147 
Doshaku,  13,  147 
Dowling,  191 

Dragon's  Beard,  168,  228,  229 
Dschondisapur,  116 
Dsiheber,  117 
Ducange,  183 

Duchesne,  91,  it  I,  112,  124,  145 
Dunyn-Szpot,  260,  276 
Durani,  254 
Dynasties,  The  Three,  171,  239 


E^Fu-Lin,  70,  78 

"  E-fu-lin  ching,"  70 

E  ko,  201 

E-ning.     See  I-NING 

East,  Children  of  the,  109 ;  worship 

towards  the,  198-200 
"East  Syrian  Daily  Offices,"  13,  196 
"  Eastern  Church,"  132 
Ebedjesu.     See  Abdh-Isho 
Ecbatana,  253 
Ecgfrith,  130 

Edessa,  42-44,  105,  115,  158 
Edict  of  638, 136, 166, 209-213  ;  text, 

288 
Edict  of  745,  213  ;  text,  288 
Edict  of  845,  47,   48,  86-89;  text» 

281,  282 
Edkins,  J.,  74 
Edmunds,  A.  J.,  120 
Edrisi,  248 
Edwin,  130 
Egypt,  42,  77,  98,  105,  "4,  "5.  124, 

199 
Ei-toku,  178 
Eight,   Cardinal    Virtues,    192-194 ; 

Precepts,  193  ;  Rules  of  Conduct, 

194 
Eitel,  E.  J.,  12,  137,  138 
Elias,  176,  178 
Elijah,  70,  204 
Eliya,  Mar,  no,  186 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  49,  50 
Elnathan,  204 
Eloah,  15 
"Eloge  des  trois    Majeste's,"    etc., 

fransl., 66, 67, 70.  See  Bapt.  Hymn 
Eloh,  188,  190 
Eloha,  133 
Elohim,  188 

Embassies  from  Rome,  41,  42 
Emerson,  W.,  154 
Emmanuel,  179 
Emperor,  Birthday  Festival,  232-234, 

etc.;  Portraits  of,    166,    168,  216, 

227-229;  late  of  Japan,  201  ;  The 

Yellow,  229 
En-wa,  176 
England,  130 

Enoch,  78,  177  .,     r 

Ephesus,  102-105,  in  ;  Council  of, 

102-104,  in,  112 
Ephraim,  Ephrem,  70,  75,  76,  78,  80, 

141,  176,  179,  181,  182,  230,  238  ; 

of  Elam,  37  ;  of  Gunde-Shabhor, 

243,  244 


INDEX 


329 


Episcopos,  132;  and  see  Bishop 
"  Essay  on  Man,"  193 
Etheridge,  206 
Eudokia,  102 
Euphrates,  39,  218 
Euprepius,  Convent  of,  105 
Europe,  38,  132 
Evangelists,  The  Four,  68 

Fa-Chien,  237 

Fa-chu,  132  ;  cf.  167,  175 

Fa-hsiang  sect,  126 

Fa-hsien,  42,  198 

Fa-lu  sect,  48 

Fa-wang,  68-70 

Fa-yuan,  178 

Faith,  Salvation  by,  151,  216,  etc. 

Falcon,  46 

Fan  Yeh,  18 

Fang  Hsiian-ling,  165,  208 

Fasts,  114,  200 

Favre,  L.,  183 

feii-shhiy  190 

Fen-yang,  54,  171,  239 

Feng-chSn,  179 

Feng-hsiang  fu,  17 

Feng-shui,  3 

FSng-t'ien,  83,  84,  237 

Ferghana,  45,  251 

Fernandez,  A.,  28 

Fetneh,  226 

Firuz,  Brothers  of,  82,  106,  241 

"  Fo  shuo  A-mi-t'o  ching,"  149 

"  Fo  shuo  kuan  wu-liang-shou  ching," 
188 

"Fo  shuo  Pao-t'ai  ching,"  193, 
194 

"  P'o  shuo  Wu-liang-shou  ching,"  149 

"  Fo  tsu  li  tai  t'ung  tsai,"  233 

Football,  145 

"  Four  Gates  sutra,"  70 

Fu,  251 

Fu-kien,  58,  222 

Fu-lin,  40,  76-80,  181-183  ;  Mystery 
of,  76-80  ;  same  as  Li-k'an  or  Ta- 
ch'in,  76  ;  =  Bethlehem,  76,  77  ; 
=  Ephraim,  78,  79 ;  =  Polin,  76  ; 
=  Rome,  77  ;  =  Syria,  77  ;  de- 
scribed, 79 ;  Greater  and  Little, 
80;  King  of,  78,  79',  texts,  310- 
320;  Priest,  75,  78,  79,  176 

Fu-p'ing  hsien,  12 

Fu-shou,  176 

Fu-shui  chen,  8 

Eu-tsu-lin,  176 


Fujiwara,  Kanesane,  154;  Sudatoshi, 

146 
Fukuju,  176 
Fuku  Kongo,  137 
Funazoko,  195 

Gabriel,  94,  175,  180,  225,  252 
Gandhara,  120, 130, 216  ;  Council  at, 

133 
Ganem,  226 

"Garbha  sutras,"  193,  194 
Gaul,  137 

Gautama,  119,  120,  150 
Genghis.    See  Chinghiz 
Genichi,  177 

Genku,  146-148,  153,  154 
Genran,  178 
Genshin,  147,  177 
Genso,  179 
Gentoku,  179 
George,  68, 69,  75,  141, 176,  178, 205, 

230,  243 
Germany,  208 
Getai,  44 
Ghanta,  198 

Gibbon,  E.,  29,  38,  52,  73,  90 
Giesler,  in 
Gikyo,  178 
Gilan,  206 
Giles,  H.  A.,  44,  45 
Gisai,  179 
Giwa,  229 

Giwargis,  205,  230  ;  and  see  GEORGE 
"  Glossarium,"  etc.,  183 
Good  Hope,  C.  of,  64 
Goodness,  Three  kinds  of,  151,  152 
Gordon,  Mrs.,  32,  118,  131,  138 
Gouvea,  A.  de,  17,  29 
Government,  Eight  objects  of,  170, 

234-236 ;  Grand  scheme  of,   235, 

236 
"Governors,  Bopk  of,"   36,  37,  no, 

186,  198,  206,  244 
Grapes,  45 

"  Great  Learning,  The,"  157 
Great-Sun  worship,  144 
Great  Wall,  39,  41 
Greek,  Art,  63  ;  buckle  in  Far  East, 

63,  64  ;  used  by  Nestorians,  115  ; 

words  in  Chinese,  45 
Greeks,  117 
Gur,  68,  259 
Gyoga,  92 

Gyogi  Bosatsu,  32,  125,  136,  139 
Gyori,  225 


33° 


INDEX 


Hadrian,  41 

Hai-yen  ward,  220 

Han  dynasty,  3,  40,  41,  59,  87,  167, 

221,  249;  Eastern,  4,  221  ;  Minor 

or  Shu,  4 
"  Han  dynasty,  History  of,"  181,216; 

"  History  of  After,''  181,  182 
"  Han-shan-tzu  chi,"  135 
Han  T'ai-hua,  180 
Han  Yu,  57,  85,  86,  91 
Hanan-Ishu,  Henan-Isho,  35,  36,69, 

Jo7,  175.  183,  242-245 
Hang-chou,  17,  20,  26,  95 
Hao,  219;  Western,  168,  223 
Harnack,  A.,  43,  44,  132 
Hase  (Hasi),  46 
Hasitaka,  46 
Havret,  H.,  17,  19,  30,  187,  191,  204, 

246 
Harun  al-Rashid,  51,  226,  238 
Hay  ton,  90 
Hazza,  243 
Heaven,  Idea  of,  156  ;  Western,  122, 

etc.  ;  worship  of,  136 
Hebrew  words  in    Chinese,  45,  46, 

188,  189,  191 
Hebrews,  Epistle  to,  197 
Hedhai-yabh,  243 
Heller,  J.  E.,  30,  225,  245,  254,  255 
Hen-Rud,  250 
Herodotus,  218 
Hierarchy,  Court,  237 
Himalayas,  119 
Hinayana,   65,    1 19-123,    134,    139, 

146,  148,  isy;  unlike  Christianity, 

120 
Hindu  Kush,  251 
Hindus,  no,  158,  187 
Hirth,  F.,  40,  76,  77,  182 
"  Histoire  de  Pancienne  Eglise,  112 
"  Historical  Magazine,"  78 
"History,  Mirror  of,"  158,  159 
Hittites,  63,  64 
"  Hittites,  The,"  63,  64 
Ho-chi,  141,176 
Ho-kuang,  179 
Ho-ming,  179 
Ho-nan,  49,  53,  207,  221,  249  ;   fu, 

258,259 
Ho-pei,  221 
Ho-sa-yeh,  68 
Ho-tung,  221 
Hogen,  178 
Hogg  C.F.,51 
Hokekyo,  130 


Hoko,  179 

Hokoku,  179 

Holm,  F.  von,  9,  11,  30,  32 

Honchi  suijaku,  136 

Honen  Shonin,  146,  148,  153,  154 

Honeysuckle  design,  63 

Honganji,  51 

Hongwanji,  197 

Horses,  Arab,  45 

Hosamba,  245 

Hosea,  68 

Hoshin,  179 

Hoshu,  12 

Hotatsu,  776 

Hotoke,  65 

"Hou  Han  Shu,"  181,  182 

Hsi-an-ch'ien,  255 

Hsi-an  chou,  255,  256 

Hsi-an  fu,  2-12,  15-23,  26-28,  37, 
38,  41,  47,  5i,  54,  55,  61,  65,  75, 
79,  85,  92,  95,  96,  114,  126,  129, 
130,  137,  140,  145,  161,  183,  186, 
187,  207,  214,  221,  222,  225,  237, 
248,  249,  255,  256  ;  described,  5, 
6  ;  history  of,  3,  4 ;  size  of,  4 

Hsi-an-tso,  255 

Hsi  fang  ching  t'u,  151 

Hsi  kua,  45 

Hsi-la-ssu,  250 

Hsi-ming  monastery,  72,  237 

Hsingan.    See  Hsi-an  FU 

Hsi  wang  mu,  218 

"  Hsi-yu-chi,"  238,  253 

Hsia  dynasty,  87,  239 

Hsiang-chu,  254 

Hsieny  251 

Hsien  (King  of  Chou),  3 

Hsien-ching,  257 

Hsien-fgng  (period),  180 

Hsien-j£n,  218 

Hsien-nan-yeh,  68 

Hsien-ning,  3,  6 

Hsien-t'ien  (period),  167,  223 

Hsien-Tsung,  86    , 

Hsien-yang,  3 

Hsien-yu  ssu  (monastery),  84,  85 

Hsin  Wen-fang,  60 

Hsing-an,  chou,  256  ;  fu,  255,  256 

Hsing-ch'ing  Palace,  141,  169,  230 

Hsing-t'ung,  175,  255 

Hsu  Kuang-ch'i  (Paul),   17,  18,  96 
97,  306 

Hsuan,  185 

Hsiian-chen,  177 

"  Hsiian-i  ching,"  69 


INDEX 


33* 


Hsiian-lan,  178 

Hsiian-te,  78,  179 

Hsiian-tsang,  79,  135,  139,  149,  238, 

253  ;  "  Travels  of,"  33 
Hsiian-Tsung,  58,  130,  137, 140,  141, 
168,  173,  208,  213,  216,  221,  223, 
224,  226-228,  230-232,  239,  288 
"  Hsiian  yuan  chih  pen  ching,"  68 
Hu  language,  72 
Hu-nan,  222 
Hu-pei,  221 
"  Hua  hu  ching,"  215 
Hua-yang,  23,  26 
Hua-yen  sect,  126 
Huai-i,  237,  253 
Huai-nan,  221 
Huan-shun,  177 
Huan-Ti  (Han),  41 
Huang-ho,  31 
Huang  P'u,  62 

Hue,  Abbe\  30,  95-97,  189,  192,  196, 
202,209,  211,  228,  232,  240,  242, 
246 
."  Hui-chWs    Visit     to     the     Five 
Indies,"  80 

Hui-ho,  220 

Hui-ming,  176 

Hui-tao-chen-jSn  (or  -shih),  60 

Hui-t'ung,  176 

Hui-yiian,  215 

Hulaku  Khan,  109 

Hulme,  190 

Humboldt,  A.  von,  115,  117 

"  Hun  yuan  ching,"  69 

Huns,  39,  77 

I-CHI,  179 

"  I -ching,"  187 

I-feng  (period),  81 

I-ho-chi-ssu,  68 

"  I-li-yeh  ching,"  70 

"  I-li-yiieh-ssu  ching,"  69 

I-ning  ward,  16,  81,  '166,   209-211, 

213,  220,  241 
I-p'u-lan  ssii,  181 
I-ssu,  26,  170,  171,  236-240 
"  I-tse-lu  ching,"  70 
Ibreez,  63 
lhai,  65,  143 
Image  Teaching,  87   ■ 
Images,   132;   used  by  Nestonans, 

113 
Immortals,  The,  8,  54,  167,  218 
Incense,  45,  219  ;  -wood,  62,  63,  65 
India,  14,  39,  44,  65,  74,  77,  79,  IQ9, 


no,  116,  146,  198,  216,  217,  253; 
Central,  42,  72 ;  North,  43,  72, 
137  ;  North-west,  118,  121  ;  South, 
131  ;  West,  121 

Indian  Ocean,  217 

Inscriptions,  Book  of,  prohibited  in 
Japan,  31 

"  Iron  Cross,  The,"  18,  306 

Isa,  243,  244 

Isaac,  176,  178, 180  ;  i.e.  I-ssu  {q.v.), 
236-240 ;  the  Jew,  238  ;  the 
Patriarch,  37;  Nestorian  Patri- 
arch, 106 

Ise\  125 

Isho-yahbh  III.,  36,  37,  52,  107,243, 

244 
Ishvara,  123 
Islam,  see  Mohammedanism  ;  True 

man  of,  60 
"  Islam  in  China,"  49 
Italians,  115,  117 
Italy,  137,  144 
Ito,  Dr.,  63 

Itsukushima  shrine,  239 
Iyetsuma,  29 
Izadsafas,  177 

Jaballaha,  204,  206,  207,  and  see 

YAH  BH- ALLAH  A 

Jacob,  178,  179,  231  5  Mar,  36,  242, 
244  ;  the  Patriarch,  37 

Japan,  II,  29,  31-33,  37,  45,  46, 
61-65,  86,  91,  92,  "8,  119,  136- 
140,  I45-H7,  156,  I59-16',  J98, 
201,  202,  219,  220,  224-226.  231, 
237,  239,  241,  252  ;  influenced  by 
Nestorians,  93;  national  move- 
ment in,  145  ;  visited  by  Persians, 
61,62  . 

Japanese,  77  ;  foreign  words  in,  44" 

46,  93 
Jaquet,  76 
Javan,  no 
Jen,  191 
Jen'-hui,  177 
Jerusalem,  132 
Jesu-ameh,  177 
Jesudad,  177,  179 
Jesus,  160 
Jesus,  Mercy  of,  175 
Jewish  Inscription,  207,  224,  225 
Jews,  50 
Jigaku,  92 
Jih,  128,  183,  184 
Jih-chin,  176 


332 


INDEX 


Jinkei,  177 

Jnanagupta,  130 

Jo-shui,  218 

Job,  177 

Jodo,  195,  cf.  Ching-t'u,  etc.  ;  sect, 

146,  147,  etc. 
"  Jodo-ron,"  13 
Joel,  176 
John,    176-180  ;    Bishop,   176,  255  ; 

Patr.  of  Antioch,   103,    104;   St., 

68 
John,  Gospel  of  St.,  200 
Joseph,  son  of  Mari,  37  ;  of  Merv, 

243,  244 
Ju-lai,  123,  133 
Judaea,  40,  182,  191,  207 
Jui-Tsung,  223,  224,  226,  228,  237 
Julien,  S.,  33 
Jundo,  181 
/*»#,  Jung-?ung%  197 

Justin  Martyr,  41 
ustinian,  116 

K'Ai-FiNG  FU,  207,  225 

K'ai-yuan  (period),  88,  225 

"  K'ai-yiian  mu-lu,"  122 

Kalayashas,  151,  188 

Kammu,  130 

Kan-chou,  Kanchau,  90 

Kan-su,  49,  206,  221,  231,  257 

Kan  Ying,  41 

Kandai,  222,  248,  249 

Kanishka,  121,  133 

"K'ang-hsi  Dictionary,"  129 

Kanjun,  177 

Kappa  (*),  132 

Kao  Li-shih,  141,  168,  227 

Kao-Tsu,  3,  203,  228 

Kao-Tsung,  94,  153,  167,  173,  219, 

223,  228,  257 
Kapilavastu,  119,  218 
Kapisa,  72,  148 
Kardagh,  206 
Kash-kul,  70 
Kashmir,  140,  186,  194 
Kasuga  shrine,  239 
Katherine  the  Great,  93 
Kechien  Kwango,  138 
Keifuku,  179 
Keimei,  176 
Keishin,  177 
Keitoku,  177 
Keitsu,  176,  178 
Keng  Wei,  25 
Kennaya,  68 


Kenyu,  177 

Keum-chyong,  13 

Khanbalig,  Khambling,  no 

Khorassan,  250,  251,  252 

Khotan,  43, 131,  148,  198,  216 

Khurdistan,  116 

Kiang-nan,  57,  58  ;  and  see  Chiang- 

NAN 
Kiang-si,  54,  58,  96,  222 
Kiang-su,  58,  222 
Kin    Tan    Kiao.     See    Chin-tan 

Chiao 
King,  186 

King  Kiao.    See  CHING  Chiao 
King  Tsing.    See  CHING-CHING 
Kiogin,  180 
Kircher,  A.,  17,  29 
Kiyoshin,  177 
Knowledge,  200 
Ko  Shu-han,  240 
Kobo  Daishi,  II,  12,  32,  37,  75,  91, 

92,   126,   136,  139,  140,   142,    144, 

214,  239 
Kohana,  119 
"  Kojiki,"  37,  61 
Kokei,  176 
Kondo  Seisai,  31 
Kong-t'ien,  248 
Kongobuji,  n 
Korea,  13,  45,  46,  64,  90,  118,  119, 

.181 
11  Korea,"  13 
Koreans,  77 
Korean  script,  63 
Kkou,  184,  185 
Kosai,  178 
Kosei,  179 
Kotoku,  180 
Koya,  Mount,  II,  12,  32 
Kuan-chung,  18,  221 
Kuan-nei,  25,  221,  222,  248,  249 
Kuan-tzu-tsai,  123 
Kuan-yin,  55,  123,  195 
Kuang-ch£ng,  179 
Kuang-chi,  178 
Kuang-ch'ing,  176 
Kuang-lu-ta-fu,  170,  237 
Kuang-pSng  Prince,  231 
Kuang-si,  222 
Kuang-te,  180,  225 
Kuang-tung,  222 
Kublai  Khan,  145,  146 
Kumarajiva,  136,  149,  194 
Kumbet,  64 
Kumbhira,  12,  13 


INDEX 


333 


Kumdan,  25,  73.  94,  154,  i75»  178, 
222,  248,  249,  252,  255,  256 

Kuo-i,  225 

Kuo  Tzu-i,  26,  54,  171,  231,  237,  239, 
240 

Kusumapura,  218 

Kuwabara,  Dr.,  6,  7,  32 

Kyoto,  37,  51,64,  118,  197,214 

Kyuretsu,  225 

Lai-wei,  177 

Laity,  242 

"  Lalla  Rookh,"  250 

Lao-tzu,  156,  192,  195,  202,  212,  215, 

216,219,224,233 
"Lao-tzu  hsi  sheng  hua  hu  ching," 

215 
Languages  of  Churches,  115 
"  Last  Essays,"  50 
Latin,  used  by  Nestorians,  115 
"  Latin  Christianity,  Hist,  of,"  1 1 1 
Law,  Buddhist,  125 
Leek,  45 
Legge,  J.,  29,  34-36,  127,  156,  184, 

185,  189,  190,  193,  194,  197*  203, 

209,  211,  217,  222,  228,  232,  233, 

240-242,  245,  247 
Leiju,  177 
Leitoku,  177 

Leon  Li.    See  Li  Chih-TS'ao 
Li-chien,  177 
Li  Chih-ts'ao  (Ldon),  17,  19,  20,  27, 

95-97,302 
Li-ch'iian  ward,  81,  241 
Li-k'an,  40,  76,  181,  182 
Li-kien,  182 
Li  Kuang-pi,  240 
Li-mi,  62 
Li-mi-i,  62 
Li-p6n,  178 
Li  Shih-min,  203 
LiTuan,  25  e 

Li  T£-yii,  or  Yii,  47  :  Letter  of,  89, 

285,  286 
"Li  Yii  (TS-yu),  Complete  Works 

of,"  89 
Li  Yuan,  203,  204,  208 
Li-yung,  179 
Liang  dynasty,  87 
Liang-chou,  221,  222 
"  Liber  Synodalis,"  43 
"  Lieh  hsien  ch'iian  chuan,"  60 
Lieh-tzu,  135 
Life,  Eternal  (Amitabha),  122,  125, 

148,  160 


Light,  130,  188 :  Author  of,  126  ; 
Boundless  (Amitabha),  122,  125, 
148  ;  Cross  of,  196  ;  of  the  World, 
131 

Lin  Lai-chai,  16 

Lin-ssu,  208 

Ling  (*>.  Ling-yin),  17 

Ling  Chih-ch£,  60 

Ling-chou,  231 

Ling-nan,  222 

Ling-pao,  175 

Ling-p'ai,  65,  143 

Ling-shou,  78,  177 

Ling-tg,  177  ;  Palace,  234 

Ling-wU,  141,  169,  231 

Lions,  46,  64 

Lisbon,  29 

Liturgy,  Gallican,    124 ;   Nestorian, 

145 
Liu  Pang,  3 
Liu  T'i-shu,  60 
Liu  Tsung-yuan,  22,  26,  85,  91,  94, 

218,  270,  278 
Lloyd,  A.,  118 
Lo  Chen-yii,  65 
Lo-han,  141,  168,207,  224,  225 
Lo-po,  45 
Lo-yang,   or  Lo,  3,    122,   147,  223, 

249 
Lobscheid,  128 
Lochana,  125 
Logos,  The,  99-101,  215 
Lokarakcha,  149 
London,  252 

Lotus  on  Nestorian  Monument,  14 
M  Lotus-Gospel,  etc.,  The,"  131 
Louvre,  The,  10 
Love,  Incarnation  of,  126 
Lowrie,  W.,  124 
Lu-chia,  68 

Lu-ho-ning-chii-sha,  67 
Lu  Lun,  25,  280 
Lii  sect,  126 
Lu  Hsiu-yen,  34,  37,  56-59,  61,  74, 

175,  184,  245-247,  256;  identified 

with  Lii  Yen,  56-61 
"  Lii  Tsu  ch'iian  shu,"  60,  61 
Lu  Yen,  54-61,  246,  247,  256 ;  Lives 

of,  60  ;  miracles  of,  61 
Lucius  Verus,  41 
Luke,  68,  75,  l77 
Lunar  race,  123 
Lung,  Mount,  221 
Lung-yu,  221 
Luther,  M.,  154 


334 


INDEX 


Ma-Lo  (Mar),  46 
Ma-lo-fu,  183 
Macleane,  A.  J.,  13 
Madhyamika,  121 
Madhyimayana,  120 
Madrid,  4 

Magadha,  77,  217,237,  238 
Magi,  Adoration  of,  63 
Mahabidjna  Djnana  Bhikshu,  123 
Mahadad,  68,  69  ;  Goushnasaf,  176 
Mahasamghika,  241 
Mahasthanaprapta,  123 
Mahayana,   86,    119-121,   131,    134, 

139,  144,146,  149,  155,  156,  198, 

215 
"  Maha  Vairochana  sutra,"  124 
"  Mahome'tanisme    en    Chine,"    51, 

220 
Maitreya,  130 
Makhikha,  108,  109 
Malabar  Breviary  and  Church,  no 
Manchu  dynasty,  7,  26,  27,  55 
Manchuria,  53,  77,  90 
Manichean,  Temple,  220;  writings, 

65. 
Manicheans,  232,  etc. 
*  Manichden,  Un  Traite*,"  etc.,  190 
Manjusri,  72 

Mar,  46,  etc. ;  Sergius,  13,  etc. 
Maran  Zekha,  198,  199 
Marga,  186,  194 
Margoliouth,  Prof.,  254 
Mark,  St.,  68 

Marriage  of  Priests,  145-155,  160 
Martini,  M.,  15 
Maru,  Maro  (Mar),  46  ;  (Merv),  243, 

244,250,251 
Mary,  The  Virgin,  50,  99-102,  112 
Masudi,  248 

Matai,  177 

Matsumoto,  M.,  no 

Matthew,  75,  177  ;  St.,  68  ;  a  vege- 
tarian, 115 

Maudgalyayana,  138 

Mawaralnahr,  251 

Maximian,  104 

Mecca,  116 

Medes,  no 

Medicine,  Schools  of,  1 16 

Meiitsu,  179 

Meiji,  32 

Mel'  hites,  52 

Meliapor,  14,  27 

Memento,  The,  65,  145 

Memnon,  Archbishop,  103,  104 


Mercy,  Vessel  of,  195 

Merv,  See  of,  251,  252  ;  and  see 
Maru 

Meshihadad,  176 

Mesopotamia,  39,  41,  43,  109,  114, 
116,  218 

Messiah,  The,  15,  40,  46,  67,  68,  70, 
73-75,  152,  160,  163, 190,  191, 195, 
232,234;  Religion  of,  130;  Bud- 
dhist, 130,  etc. 

"  Messiah,  Desire  of  the  Nations," 

131 

Metropolitan  Bishop  of  China,  186, 

187 

Metropolitan  Sees,  Nestorian,  249 

Metropolitan  Museum,  New  York, 
11 

Mi-li,  62 

Mi-le  fo,  160 

Mi-mi-kiao,  55 

Mi-shih-ho  (Messiah),  191 

"  Mi-shih-ho  tzu  tsai  t'ien  ti  ching," 
70 

Michael,  176 

Michel,  Dr.    See  Yang  Chi-yen 

Middle  Kingdom,  162,  185,  186 

"Middle  Kingdom,  The,"  186 

Milis,  62,  114,  142,  154,  175 

Milman,  H.  H.,  in 

Min-yen,  68 

Ming  dynasty,  7,  26,  27,  59,  81, 
221 

Ming-i,  179 

Ming-t'ai,  68,  177 

Ming-Ti,  86 

Miroku,  12,  160 

Missionaries,  Buddhist,  72,  140,  etc. ; 
Christian,  159,  etc.;  Jesuit,  26; 
Nestorian,  1,  12,  13,  47,  54,  64,  72, 
107,  109,  126,  131-133,  H8,  157, 
159-161,  216,  217,  227,  228,  etc.; 
Persian,  255  ;  relation  of  to  Bud- 
dhists, etc.,  92 

Mitama,  65 

Mo  (Mar),  46 

Mo-chii-ssu,  68 

Mo-mu-chi-ssu,  68 

Mo-sa-chi-ssu,  68 

"  Mo-sa-chi-ssu  ching,"  70 

Moabite  Stone,  10,  155 

Mohammed,  50,  52,  116,  220 

Mohammedan,  -anism,  -ans,  1,  2,  7, 
14,  47-53,  60,  89,  91,  116,  158,  160, 
161,  220,  224,  232,233  ;  Christians 
absorbed  by,  91,  109  ;  persecution 


INDEX 


33S 


of,  82,  85-90;  population,  49,  etc. ; 
writings,  65 

Monasteries,  destruction,  86-88,  etc. ; 
281-287 ;  Head  of,  252, 253  ;  names 
of,  132,  230,  231  ;  Nestorian,  213, 
214,  219,  220,  226,  etc.  ;  number 
of  Nestorian,  240,  241  ;  Persian, 
213,  etc.  ;  Ta-ch'in,  213,  214,  219, 
220,  etc.  ;  White  Horse,  253  ;  and 
see  Buddhist 

Mongolia,  53 

Mongol  dynasty,  90 

Mongols,  77 

Monks,  Assyrian  or  Nestorian,  132, 
208,  209,  214,  etc. ;  Buddhist,  125, 
1 27,  etc. ;  number  of  foreign,  88, 
91  ;  as  soldiers,  237 

Monophy sites,  91,  99 

Monte  Cassino,  116 

Monte  Corvino,  John  of,  90 

Moon,  worship  of,  136 

Moore,  T.,  250 

Mopsuestia,  Bishop  of,  99 

Morality,  Chinese,  157 

Moses,  68,  70,  176  ;  the  Armenian, 

249 
Mosques,  220 
Mostasin,  109 
Mosul,  243 
Mou-shih,  68 

"  Mou-shih  fa  wang  ching,"  70 
Moule,  A.  C,  20-22,  49,  189-191,  193, 

197,  203,  204,  210,  211,  228,  232, 

241,  242,  247 
Mu-chia-ho,  138 
Mu-hu-fu,  47,  88 
Mu-yii,  198 
Mukan,  no,  186 
Murad,  Khan,  49,  50;   of  Kurduz, 

254 
Murakami,  S.,  134 
Murddhabhichikta,  137 
"Musulmans    Chinois,    Recherches 

sur  les,"  49 
Muller,  Max,  50,  93 
Mykenae,  64 

Na-ning-i,  68 

Nadir  Shah,  254 

Nagarjuna,   120,  121,  131,  147,  x55> 

216 
Naisho,  179 
Nakamura,  32 
Nakatomi-no-asomi,  62 
Nama  Amitabha,  148,  149 


"  Nan-hua  chen  ching,"  135 

Nanjio,  Bunyo,  13,  74.  H9,  *5i 

Nara,  62,  63,  145,  239 

Nativity,  The,  232,  234 

Navarra,  49 

Neander,  98,  III 

Nei-cheng,  179 

Nepal,  118 

Nestorian,  Books,  language  of,  115  ; 
Church,  doctrines  of,  99-101,  111- 
115  ;  rise  of,  97-1  n  ;  Churches  in 
China,  90,  etc.  ;  Fasts,  1 14  ;  In- 
scription, passim;  text  of,  260-270 ; 
translation  of,  162-180;  Liturgy, 
61  ;  Missionaries,  1, 12, 13,  etc.,  and 
see  Missionaries  ;  Patriarchs, 
51,  52,  106,  109,  etc. ;  list  of,  106- 
108;  Physicians,  62,  116,  117; 
Priest,  titles  of,  94,  etc.  ;  Writings, 
65,  etc. 

"  Nestorian  Inscription,  Considera- 
tions on  the,"  246  ;  "  Critical  Study 
of  the,"  18,30,245 

Nestorian  Monument,  56,  57,  62,  71, 
73-75,  89,  91,  94,  107,  III,  124, 
126,  133,  140-143,  153-155,  159, 
174,  175,  180,  234,  236,  252,  255, 
etc. ;  Buddhist  terms  on,  74,  132, 
217,  218,  etc. ;  Chinese  authors 
upon,  291-306;  Conclusion  of 
Introduction  to,  155-161 ;  Copies 
of,  10-12  ;  Erection  of,  35,  81, 
etc. ;  Described  by  Semedo,  27  ; 
Em.  Diaz  upon,  307-309  ; 
Effect  of  Discovery,  95-97  ;  First 
known  in  Japan,  31  ;  Historical 
value  of,  1,  etc. ;  How  found,  21, 
22;  Japanese  ignorance  of,  31, 
32  ;  Not  in  early  "  Stone  and 
Metal  Collections,"  81,  82  ;  Mate- 
rial of,  12  ;  Persian  word  on,  15  ; 
Position  of,  3,  6-9  ;  Quotations  on, 
15  ;  Removal  of,  6-9  ;  Replica  of 
in  Japan,  II,  32;  in  New  York, 
11  ;  Rubbing  of,  17  ;  Sanskrit  on, 
15  ;  Size  of,  12  ;  Study  of  in  the 
East,  30-32  ;  Syriac  on,  15,  28-30, 
35,  75,  76,  78,  175-180,  230,  238, 
248,  etc.,  260,  265-270  ;  Versions 
of,  28-30,  34,  35,  162-180  ;  When 
buried,  81-92  ;  When  found,  19- 
21  ;  Where  found,  15-19;  Where 
first  erected,  22-26 

"  Nestorian  Monument  in  China, 
The,"  35;  "of  Hsi-an  fu,"    184; 


336 


INDEX 


"  On    the    Genuineness    of  the," 

34 

Nestorians,  passim;  causes  of  their 
failure,  159;  chief  merit  of,  157; 
Chinese  name  of,  127-132  ;  fate  of 
early,  48  sqq.  ;  influence  of,  1 56  ; 
on  Buddhism,  118-161  ;  introduce 
civilization,  52,  11 5-1 18;  persecu- 
tion of,  82,  85-90 ;  vegetarians, 
114 

Nestorius,  97-106,  ill,  112,  183 

Neumann,  30,  33,  248 

New  Testament,  Syrian  Canon  of, 
196 

New  York,  10,  11 

Nichiren,  139,  146 

Nieh-p'an  Sect,  126 

Nteny  229 

Nien  Ch'ang,  142,  233 

Nien-ssu  sh£ng  (24  Sages),  68,  163, 
191 

Nijo  Castle,  214 

Nimoksha,  120 

Nineveh,  244,  253 

Ning,  King  of,  226,  230 

Ning-hsia,  231 

Ning-kuo,  Prince  of,  141,  168 

Ning-shu,  175,  242 

"  Ning-ssu  ching,"  69 

"  Ning  yeh  tun  ching,"  69 

Nirmanakaya,  1*25,  195 

Nirvana,  121,  126,  etc. 

"  Nirvana  sutra,"  44 

Nisibis,  105,  109 

Nisshin,  176 

Noah,  177 

Normans,  137 

Northern  Region,  239,  etc. 

Northumbria,  130 

Noyes,  H.  V.,  49 

O-Bon-Matsuri,  140 

Odoric,  90 

Old  Testament,  163,  191 

Ollone,  d\  49 

Olopan,  -pen,  -pun.    See  A-LO-PEN 

Okakura,  Y.,  1 1 

Okuno-in,  12 

One-stroke-freedom,  185 

Ono-no-imoko,  140 

Orders,  Nestorian,  113,  114,  193 

Origen,  99 

"  Origines  du  Culte  Chretien,"  91, 124 

Osrhcene,  43 

Otsuki,  44 


Ou-yang  Hsiin,  57,  133,  247 
Oxford,  6 
Oxus,  40,  25 1 

Pa-Kua  Chiao,  48 

Pai-lien  Chiao,  48 

Pai-yun  Chiao,  48 

Palestine,  39,  182 

Palmyra,  42 

Pamphylia,  103 

Pan  Ch'ao,  41 

Pan-ku,  181 

P'an-na-mi,  76,  225,  290 

"  Pao-hsin  fa  wang  ching,"  70 

Pao-kuo,  179 

Pao-ling,  178 

Pao-lu,  68 

H  Pao-lu  fa  wang  ching,"  69 

"  Pao  ming  ching,"  69 

Pao-ta,  176 

Papas,  162,  187,  224,  255,  260 

"  Paramita  sutra,  Six,"  186,  194 

Paramitas,  Six,  151 

Parthia,  39,  41,  44-46 

Parthian,  fruit,  46 ;  incense,  45,  219 

Pataliputra,  218 

Patriarch,  79,  97-100,  102-104,  106, 
181-183,  etc.  ;  Buddhist,  137,  252, 
etc.;  Nestorian,  51,  52,  114,  175, 
186,  238,  242,  etc.  ;  hereditary 
after  1557,  115  ;  list  of,  106-108 

Patricius,  183 

Paul,  68,  69,  75,  178  ;  Hsu  (see  Hstf 
Kuang-ch'i),  St.,  157,  158,  216 

Pauthier,  G.,  30,  34,  76,  90,  130,  204, 
207,  241,  245,  248,  249 

Pearl,  12-14 

Pechili,  44,  96.    See  Chih-li 

Pei-lin,  6,  8 

Peking,  6,  8, 65  ;  Metrop.  See  of,  no 

Pelliot,  P.,  61,  65,  66,  68,  70,  71,  75, 
78,  80,  115,  190,  207,  208,215,  216, 
272 

Pen,  185 

P'en-ch^ng,  58 

P*eng  Yen,  84 

Persecution  of,  Buddhists,  133,  134, 
143 ;  the  third,  89 ;  Christians, 
159,  etc.  ;  Foreign  Faiths,  82,  83, 
85-90;  Nestorians,  109,  116 

Persia,  39,  42-44,  46,  52,  76,  79,  80, 
91,  105,  109,  no,  114-116,  130, 
158,  189,  213,  225,  241,  244,  245, 
250,  251,  etc. 

Persian,  Persians,  98,  153,  163,  202, 


INDEX 


337 


225,  etc. ;  Chief,  206,  257,  258 ; 
tablet  in  memory  of,  271  ;  Cos- 
tume, 63  ;  Hawk,  46  ;  in  Japan, 
61,  62  ;  Monastery,  81,  213,  etc.  ; 
Physicians,  142  ;  Priests,  72,  etc. ; 
Religion,  130,  etc. ;  Words  in  China, 

45.  46 
Peter,  177  ;  Disciple"  of  Mar  Timothy, 

in 
Pethion,  Mar,  243 
Phillips,  G.,  78 
Phrin,  182 
Phrygia,  64 
Phrygian  caps,  63 
Phuses,  178 
Physicians,  Nestorian,  62,  116,  117  ; 

Persian,  142 
"  Pi  S  ch'i  ching,"  70 
Pi-lu-ssu,  241  ;  and  see  FlRUZ 

Pien-liang,  4 

Pill  of  Immortality,  53  ;  Sect  of,  see 
Chin-tan  Chiao 

Ping-yang,  13,  181 

P'ing-wang,  226 

P'ing-yang,  55 

Po-jo,  135 

Po-ssii,  46 

Po-to-li,78,79, 181, 183  ;  =  Patriarch, 

79 

P'o-li,  240 

Polin,  76 

Polo,  Marco,  90,  108,  253  ;  "  Travels 
of,"  254 

Polycarp,  41 

Pomegranate,  46 

Pope,  A.,  192,  213 

Poro,  178 

Post-towns,  Number  of,  5  ;  inscrip- 
tion on  wall  of,  23,  276,  277 

Praise-sutra,  65,  etc. 

Prajna,  72-75,92,  135,  x4o,  148,  186, 
194  ;  known  to  Kobo,  75 

Ylpdffou,  45 

"  Pratimoksha  sutra,"  1 20 

Precepts,  200,  201  ;  Eight,  193 

Precious  Mountain,  167,  217 

Priesthood,  Head  of  the,  255 

Priests,  Buddhist,  200,  etc. ;  marriage 
of,  145-155,  160;  Nestorian,  148, 
200,  236,  238,  etc. 

Proclus,  10 1 

"  Prodromus  Coptus,"  29 

Provinces,  The  Ten,  221,  222 

Psalm  cxix.  quoted,  113 

Ptolemy,  117,  249 


Pu-cheng  Ward,  82,  241 
Pu-k'ung-chin-kang,  127,  135,  137 
P'u-chi,  159,  178 
P'u-chou  fu,  54 
P'u-hsien,  137 
P'u-lun,  141,  168,  230 
P'u-t'ao,  45 

Pure  Land.    See  Sukhavati 
"  Pure-land  Sutra,"  13,  etc. 
Purgatory,  113,  139,  140 
Pushi,  178 
Pyramids,  The,  161 

Quakers,  192 

"  Question  of  Ta-ts'in,"  etc.,  78 

Quietists,  192 

R  initial,  77,  205 

Rabban,  204,  205,  211,  257 

Radish,  45 

Rai-i,  177 

Rajagriha,  217,  238  ;  Little,  238 

WH  45 

Ratnaghiri,  217 

Ratnamati,  217 

Real  Presence,  The,  1 1 3 

Reformation,  The,  143 

Rei-hai,  65,  143 

Reinaud,  248 

u  Relations,"  etc,  248 

Religions,     Harmonizing      of,      14, 

136  sqq. 
Renaudot,E.,  248 
Republic,  Chinese,  30 
Resurrection,  The,  196 ;    Hymn  of, 

199,  200 
Ricci,  M.,  18,  28 
Richard,  T.,  53,  56,  118,  131 
Richi,  218 
Riken,  177 
Rinsai  Sect,  146 
Rippon,  178 
Riyo,  179 

Rockhill,  W.  W.,  182 
Roman,  Empire,  40,  41,  76,  157, 182, 

207  ;  Military  Engines,  137 
"  Roman  Empire,  Decline  and  Fall 

of,"  38,  52 
Rome,  28,  29,  38,  41-43,  77,  106,  137 
Rosetta  Stone,  1,  10,  155 
Roumania,  no 
Royal  Residence,  City  of,  171,  237, 

238 
Ruha-dekudsa,  67 
"  Ruins  of  Desert  Cathay,"  232 


33» 


INDEX 


Rupa,  20 1 

Russia,  93,  205  ;  Trans-Caspian,  250 

Rustam  of  Henaitha,  243 

Ryobu  Shinto,  136,  239 

Sa-la-ha-hsi,  250 

Sabrisho,  175,  177 

Sage,  202, 203 

Sages,  Twenty-four,  68,  163,  191 

Sahesvaradja,  123 

Saikyo,  5 

Saints,  Festival  of  All,  136,  137  ; 
Names  of,  68 

Sakyamuni,  or  Shakyamuni,  7,  72, 
93,  125,  130,  132,  138,  147,  ifli 
216,  218 

Sakya-putriya-sramana,  73 

Sakyas,  119 

Salerno,  116 

Salisbury,  E.  E.,  33,  34 

Salvation,  by  Faith,  Goal  of,  Self-, 
120 

Samadhi,  194 

Samarkand,  90,  109,  no 

Sambhogakaya,  124,  125 

Samgha,  125,  138 

Samghapala,  149 

Samgharama,  72 

Samgha  varman,  149 

Samponodo,  241 

Samson,  178 

Samyak  sambuddha,  133 

San  chi  eking,  69 

San-lun  Sect,  126 

San-pao-nu,  241 

"San  Wei  (meng  tu)  tsan  ching," 
70 ;  transl.,  66,  67,  272 

San-yuan,  15-17 

San'a,  in 

Santhran  Basilica,  124 

Sanskrit,  44,  72,  75,  92,  122,  241,  etc. 

Saracens,  137  ;  and  see  Mohamme- 
dans 

Saragh,  94,  175,  222,  248-250,  252 

Sarakhs,  249 

S'astras,  imported,  137 

Satan,  15,  46 

M  Sat-paramita  sutra,"  72,  186,  194 

Sayce,  A.  H.,  63,  64 

Schaff,  100,  101 

Schlegel,  G.,  241 

Science,  physical,  ([7 

Scriptures,  132,  etc. 

Sea,  Coral  or  Red,  167,  217 

Secret  Societies,  48,  49,  53 


Sects,  Buddhist,  126,  etc. 

Sees,  List  of   Nest.   Metrop.,    109, 

no 
Sejistan,  251 
Seleucia  (-Ctesiphon),  41,  106,  no, 

115,  244  ;  Council  at,  106,  453 
Semedo,  A.,  14,  17,  19,  27-29,  95 
Se-ngan.    See  Hsi-an 
Seng,  132 
Seoul,  13 

Sepulchre,  Priest  of  the,  176 
Serakhs,  250,  252 
Seres,  no,  249 
Sergius,  of  Maallethaya,  243 ;  Mar, 

68,  7o,75,9o.  177-179,255 
Seric,  249 

Sha-chou,  61,  65,  71,  208,  215,  272 
Shahrakhs,  250 
"  Shan  k'o  lii  ching,"  69 
Shan-nan,  221 
Shan-si,  44,  53,  54,96,221 
Shan-tao,  147,  148,  152,  1  S3,  219 
Shan-tso,  256 
Shan-tung,  53, 96,  221 
Shan-wu-wei,  127,  135 
Shang  dynasty,  239 
Shang-chu-kuo,  206,  257 
Shanghai,  77,  118 
Shang-te,  205 
Shang-tso,  254 
Shang-tu,  3,  256 
ShS-ti-ko,  46 
Shedek,  46 
Shen-lung,  82 
Shen-shen,  178 
Shen-si,  8, 21,  27, 44, 49,  53,  221,  255, 

256 
Shing,  187,  188,  191,  203 
Sheng-hsien  Chiao,  49 
Sheng-jen,  246 
Sheng-li,  167,  222,  223 
Shiang-thsua,  178,  254-256 
Shih  (Lion),  46 
"Shih-chi,"  181,  etc. 
"  Shih-ching,"  128 
"  Shih-li-hai  ching,"  69 
Shih-lun  Sect,  126 
Shih  Ssii-ming,  23 
Shih  Tao,  221 
Shih-tsun,  132 
Shiken,  179 
Shin  Sect,   Shin-shu,   12,    146,   197, 

198,  201 
Shingon  Sect,  -shu,  11,  12,  138,  142, 

146.  201 


I 


INDEX 


339 


Shinran,  139,  146-148,  152-154,  197, 

219 ;  his  predecessors,  147 
Shin-shin,  178 
Shinto,  125,  136,   201  ;   Number  of 

priests  and  shrines,  86 
"Shinto  the  Way  of  the  Gods,"  125 
Shir  (Lion),  46 
Shiratori,  K.,  40,  77,  78,  205 
Shitoku,  179 
Shomu,  125,  220,  241 
"Shosan  Jodo  Bustu  Setsuju  kyo," 

149 
Shotoku,  177 
Shou-i,  178 
Shoubhalmaran,  179 
"  Shu  lio  ching,"  69 
Shuitsu,  178 
Shun-yang-kung,  256 
Shun  Yang-tsze,  54*  SS 
Shutoku,  179. 
Si-an.    See  Hsi-an 
Siam,  118 
Siddartha,  119 

Si-gan,  or  Si-ngan.    See  Hsi-an 
"SiKva,  45 
Silas,  68 
Simeon,  68,   176,  178,  179 ;  Metro- 

politan  of  Persia,  244 
Simonians,  105 

Sinae,  249  ;  Metrop.  See  of,  109 
Sinan  Pasha,  50 
Sisinnius,  97 
Siurhia.  249 
Slaves,  88,  94,  103 
Smyrna,  41 

So-lo,  68 

Socrates,  98 

Sodo  Sect,  146 

Solomon,  180  ;  of  Al-Hadithah,  243 

Soltania,  Archbishop  of,  90 

Soul,  Survival  of  the,  201 

Souls,  Festival  of  departed,  136-140, 
143,  144,  155,  i°°  a     , 

Southern  Sea,  Islands  of,  72 

Sozomen,  quoted,  43 

Sphatika,  15,  171,240 

Sphsaph,  243 

"  Spring  and  Autumn,"  39 

Sravasti,  218 

Ssii,  132,  187,  214 

Ssu-chu,  132 

Ssii-ch'uan,  53,  222  ;  Chiao,  48 

Ssu-ma  Ch'ien,  39,  45,  181 

Ssii-ma  Kuang,  158 

"  Ssu-men  ching,"  223 


Ssu-shSng,  223 
Ssu-shih-ts'an-chun,  57,  247 
Stanley,  A.  P.,  132 
Stein,  M.  A.,  51,  63,  148,  216,  232, 

245 
"Stele  Chre*tienne  de  Si-ngan  fou,M 

246 
Sthavira,  255 
Su-chou,  Suchau,  90 
Su  Tan,  59 
SuTsung,  137,  141,  169,  171,  173, 

231,  232,  239 
Su  Tzu-tan,  59 

Subhak'arasimha,  127,  135,  143 
"  Suddharmapundarika  sutra,"  130 ; 

Versions,  136 
Suddhodana,  119 
Sugawara-no-michizane,  140 
Sui  dynasty,  4,  134,  181,  215,  251 
Suikwa,  45 
Sukei,  176 

Sukhavati,  123,  147,  149,  I5r»  x52 
"Sukhauati  Vyuha,"  149,  ^o,  *5«i  l97 
Sumantrabhadra,  137 
Sun  Yat-sen,  30 

vSun,   128,   150,  152,  etc.;  -goddess, 
125,  126  ;  Horn  of,  228,  229 ;  on 
Nest.    Monument,  131 ;  Region  in 
the,  250  ;  worship  of  the,  136 
Sunday,  202 

Sun-religion,  48  ;  The  Great,  127 
Sung  dynasty,  4,  59,  8l»  l56>   I58, 

160,  221  ;  Liu,  87 
Sung  Ching,  208 
Sung  Min-ch'iu,  81,  82,  220,  etc. 
Sutras, passim;  imported,  137 
Svara,  123 

Syria,  42-44,  64,  72,  73,  77,  79,  9»» 
105,  no,  115,  116,  132,  182,  191, 
207,210,211 
Syriac,    232,    etc.  ;    Alphabet,    63  ; 
Language,    115;    Names,    68-70, 
175-180,    204,    206 ;    Script,   51  ; 
Terms,  188, 189, 191  ;  in  Japan,  46 
"  Syriac,  Church, The," 206  ;  "Litera- 
ture, Short  History  of,"  36,  243 
Syrian  Bishops,  103,  104,  etc. 
Szechuan.    See  Ssu-CH'UAN 

Ta-Ch'in,  39-42,  47,  76-78,  81,  85, 
88,  141, 162, 163, 165-168,  181-183, 
191,  207,  209,  210,  213,  216,  217, 
229, 230,  etc. ;  310-320 ;  Coins,  40 ; 
Emperor,  83,  84 ;  Monastery,  72, 
73,    81,    162,  166,  213,  214,  219, 


34© 


INDEX 


231  ;  Parchment,  40 ;    Rebellion, 

82-85 
"Ta  Ch'ing  I-t'ung-chih,"  256 
Ta-jih  Chiao,  125,  127,  1 29-131 
"Ta-jih  Ching,"  124 
Ta-kuang-chih-san-tsang,  137 
Ta-shih-chih,  123 
Ta-shih-chu,  236 
Ta-so,  241,  242 
"  Ta  Tang  lu  tien,"  57,  247 
Ta-te1,  132,  205 
Ta-ts'in.     See  Ta-CH'IN 
Ta-yiin  Ssu,  220 
Tachibana,    Z.,     51,    63,    72,    148, 

216 
Tadjik,  80 
Tai-Tsung,  137,  141,  142,  169,  174, 

232,  233,  239 
T'ai-ch'ang  Ssii,  252 
T*ai-chi,  223 
T'ai  Chou,  37,  57,  58,  175,  245,  247  ; 

fa,  58 
T'ai-ho,  179 
T'ai-Tsung,  51,  81,  88,  165,  203,  204, 

207-209,    212,    214-216,   220-222, 

224,  227,228,  241,  251 
T'ai-yang  Chiao,  48 
Taiwa,  179 

Takakusu,  J.,  32,  71,  74 
Tama,  12 

Tamerlane.     See  TiMUR 
T'ang  dynasty,  or  Land  of,  2,  4,  5, 

15,  18,  30,  32-35,  46,  51,  57,  58,  61, 

75.  77,  92-94,   n6,  134-136,    H5» 

148,  156,  158,  166,  172,  173,  175, 

181,   184,  200,  203,  206-208,  210, 

211,  214,  215,  223-225,  228,  229, 
236,  238-240,  242,  245-248,  251, 
253,  255,  257,  276 

"T'ang,  History  of,"  78  ;  "Six  Codes 

of,"  57,  247 
T'ang  Chang,  62 
"T'ang  ching  chiao  pei  sung  ch^ng 

ch'iian,"  229 
"T'ang  huiyao,"  211,  288 
"Tang  Shu,"  78 
"  T'ang  ts'ai  tzu  ch'uan,"  60 
Tangut,  90,  1 10 
Tao,  60,  202,  203,  212,  215,  224 
Tao-an,  215 
Tao-ch'o,  147,  152,  219 
"Tao  te  ching,"  192,  212,  224,  233 
Taoism,  92,  132,  188,  192,  202,  205, 

212,  215,  etc. 

Taoist,  Taoists,  1,  53,  134,  138,  139, 


143,   156-158,   167,  219,  234,  254, 

etc. 
Tarsa,  241 
Tarsus,  99 

Tartars,  77,  253  ;  Christian,  90 
Tashkand,  251 
Tathagata,  123,  133,  149 
Te-chien,  180 
T6-hua,  58 

T6-Tsung,  72-74, 83-85,  232,  234, 239 
Tehuristan,  175 
Tejen,  250 

Tencho-setsu,  233,  234 
Tendai.    See  T'ien-t'ai 
Tenduc,  90 
Tennyson,  A.,  195 
Terauchi,  119 
Testudo,  237 
Theodore  of  Mopsuestia,  99,    100, 

104 
Theodosius  II.,  98,  102 
Theophilus,  99,  102,  124,  190 
Theotokos,  99,  100,  112 
Thian  shan,  90 
Thiersant,  D.  de,  51,  220 
Thomas,  of  Kashar,  243  ;  of  Marga, 

36,  186;  St.,  95,  no;  Christians 

of  St.,  28  ;  Tomb  of  St.,  14,  27 
Thorns,  Crown  of,  155 
Three,  Dynasties,  87  ;  Gates,  195  ; 

Kingdoms,  4 
"  Three-sphere  sutra,"  69 
Ti-chiu  chieh,  233 
Tiao-chih,  39 
Tibet,  118,  137,  258 
T'ien-ch'ang  chieh,  233,  234 
T'ien-ch'i,  18 

T'ien-pao,  141,  168,  227,  229 
"  Tien-pao-tsang  ching,"  69 
T'ien  shan,  90 
T'ien-t'ai,  92;    Sect,  126,  130,  131, 

146  ;  Mount,  37,  57,  126 
Tigris,  39,  105,  218 
Timothy,  Mar,  36,  37,  107,  11 1,  186, 

187,  206,  238,  243,  244 
Timur,  48,  52,  106,  108,  109 
To-hui,  68 

"  To-hui  sheng  wang  ching,"  69 
Tokhara,  122,  138 
Tokharestan,  80 
Tokuken,  180 
Tokyo,  40,  62i  63,  71,  77,  82,  118, 

257 
"  Tokyo  Asahi  Shimbun,"  202 
Toleration,  Religious,  212,  213 


INDEX 


341 


Tonsure,  200 
"Toung-pao,"7i,76 
Tower,  124 
Transmigration,  121 
Transubstantiation,  113 
Trigault,  N.,  15-17,  19,  21,  28 
Trikaya,  124,  125,  196 
Trinity,   Buddhist,   123-125 ;    Doc- 
trine of,  148  ;  False  doctrine  of, 
50  ;  The  Holy,  67,  190 
Tripitaka,  Chinese,  71,  135  ;  Cata- 
logue of,  74 
Tripitaka  Bhadanta,  137 
Triratna-dasa,  241 
Trividha  Dvara,  195 

Tsaiy  229 

Tsao-ho,  19,  22 

"  Ts'ao-shu  tzu  kao,"  59 

Ts'en-wen,  68 

Tsingy  186 

Tsou  Ching-chtrng,  16 

Tsun-ching,  65 

Tsung  (Emperor),  133 

Tsung  Ch'u-k'o,  82 

Tsushima  Channel,  45 

Tu  Ju-hui,  208 

Tuan  Fang,  257 

Tun-huang,  65,  216,  232 

Tung  Pin,  54 

Tung  Ch'ang,  59 

Tung  Ch'i-ch'ang,  59 

"  T'ung  chen  ching,"  69 

"T*ung  hsiian  ch£n  ching,"  135 

Turkestan,  43,  48,  237,  251 

Turki,  232 

Turks,  77,  244,  248 

Turns  ambulatoria,  237 

Tus,  251 

"  Tsii  chih  t'ung  chien,"  158, 1 59, 234 

Tzii-fei  tao  yiian,  256 

Tzii-mu  Chiao,  48 

"  Tz'u  li  po  ching,"  70 

Uigurs,  51,  52,  60,72, 106, 109,  220, 
231,232,  237,  240  ;  Christians,  90  ; 
Script,  51,  232 

Ullambana,  136,  138-140 

"  Ullambana  sutra,"  138 

Uno,  T.,  9 

Ural-Altaic  tribes,  77 

Urum,  77 

Urumtsi,  90 

Uyeno  Library,  or  Museum,  62,  82, 

89,  257  M 
Uzumasa,  64 


Vaidachi,  151,152 

Vairochana,  124-127,  130,  131,  136, 

144,  155,  160 
"Vairuchana  sutra,"  129 
Vajra  Bodhi,  127,  135,  137,  143 
Valentinus,  102 
Vasubandha,  147 
Vidjnana,  200 
Vinaya,  126 
Virya,  194 
Visitor,  187 
Voltaire,  33 

Wagis,  141 

Wah  Abi  Kobsha,  51,  220 

Wakichi,  176 

Wamyo,  179 

"  Wan  hsing  t'ung  p'u,"  60 

Wang  Ch'ang,  31,  81,  299 

Wang  Hung,  83 

Wang     Hung-hao,     15  ;     and    see 

Wang,  Philip 
Wang  Mang,  3 
Wang,  Philip,  15,  16,95 
Wang-she  ch'6ng,  237 
Wang  Shih-ch6n,  60 

Wang-yang  Tzu,  54 

Water-melon,  45 

Way,  The,  202,  203,  212,  215,  224 

Weak  Waters,  167,  218 

Weiy  203 

Wei,  dynasty,  4,  59,  87,  167  ; 
northern,  208  ;  River,  6,  19,  22,  73 

"Wei,  History  of,"  182,  216 

Wei-nan,  221 

Wei-p'ai,  65,  143 

"Wei  Shu,"  182,  216 

Week,  202 

Wen-cheng,  177 

W£n-chung,  135 

Wen-ming,  177 

Wen-shun,  178 

M  Western  Heaven,  Lao-tzu's  ascent 
to,"  215;  "  Travels  to>»i55r)>     . 

"  Western  Lands,  Records  of/  107, 
216 

Western,  Paradise,  123,  147,  H9> 
155,  215  ;  Regions,  39.  4©,  42,  05, 
158,  231  ;  Sea,  218 

"Western  World,  Records  of,"  79, 
238,253  . 

White  Foreigners,  39 

White  Lily  (Lotus)  Sect,  48,  57,  215, 

216 
Williams,  S.  W.,  186,  239 


342 


INDEX 


Wood,  Striking  of,  197,  198 

Wooden  Fish,  198 

World,   Saviour  of  (Buddhist),  144, 

148,  150 
"World-healers,  The,"  131,  138 
World-honoured,  132 
Wright,  W.,  36,  243-245 
Wrum,  77 
Wu,  Emperors,  133  ;  Empress,  167, 

219,  220,  222-224  ;  227,  253  ;  King, 

223 
Wu-lin,  180 
"  Wu  sha  na  ching,"  70 
Wu-Ti,  41 
Wu-Tsung,  47,  48,  52,  82,  83,  86,  89, 

90,  281,  285 
Wu  Tzii-pi,  180 
Wu-  wei  Chiao,  48 
Wylie,  A.,  29,  34,  127,  189,  190,  193, 

I96,    202,    2IO,   211,   228,   232,   240, 
242,  245,  247 

Xavier,  St.  F.,  140 

Yabhallaha,  204,  206,  207 ;  III., 

52,  106,  108,  109 
Yaguma,  178 
Yaksamba,  245 
Yamagachi,  140 
Yaman,  m 

Yang  Chi-yen  (Michel),  97 
Yang-chou,     23,     26,     221,     222 ; 

Churches  at,  90 
Yang  Hsiang.fu.    See  Y.  Jung-chih 
"  Yang  hsin  lu,"  59 
Yang  Hsiung,  129 
Yang  Jung-chih,  30,  190,  193,  194, 

245 
Yang  Kuei-fei,  226 
Yang-Ti,  181,251 
Yangtzekiang,  222 
Yao  Ch'ung,  208 
Yao  Ling-yen,  83 
Yao-lun,  176 

Yao-sen-wen,  46,  175,  245 
Yao-yiian,  177 
Yao-yueh,  176 
Yarkand,  90 
Yaso,  160 
Yedo,  31 
Yeh,  216 


Yeh-chii-mo,  178 

Yeh-hu,  231 

Yeh-li,  175,  225,  252 

Yellow  River,  3,  6,  122 

Yen,  242 

Yen  (State),  129 

Yeh-ho,  176 

Yen-hsi,  41 

Yesbuzid,  62,  73, 114,  154,  175,  255 

Yesumband,  46,  238 

Yin  dynasty,  87 

Yin  and  Yang,  54,  188,  189 

Ying-hsii,  178 

Ying-t6,  178 

Yoetsu,  176 

Yogacharya,  137,  139 

Yogen,  177 

Yorin,  176 

Yule,  H.,  76,  90,  no,  130,  200,  204, 

248-251,  254 
Yung-chou,  3,  221 
Yung-hsing,  221 
Yii-chou,  221 
Yu-han-nan,  68 
Yu-lan-p6n,  136 
Yuan  dynasty,  221 
Yiian-chao,  72,  73 
Yuan-ho,  85 
Yuan  Hsiu,  84 
Yiian-i,  177 

"  Yuan  ling  ching,"  69 
Yiian-tsung,  179 
Yueh-chih,  44 
Yiieh-tung,  222 
Yiin-fang  Hsien-sheng,  54 
Yiin-luan,  147 
Yiin-nan,  90 
Yiin-t'ai-ko,  258 


Zach arias,  69,  179 

Zariaspa,  253 

Zendo,  13,  147 

Zeno,  105,  116 

Zenobia,  42 

Zhinastan,  162,  187,  255 

Zimmermann,  J.,  130 

Zinai,  199 

Zoroaster,  253 

Zoroastrians,  1,  114;  Persecution  of, 

82,  85-90 ;  Temple  of,  82 
Zubaidah,  244 


s 


N    A' 
V