Nestorian stele

Production and Content

The stele was installed in 781 (according to its text) in the capital of the Empire, Tang Chang'an (now Xi'an ), or in one of its suburbs. Created by adherents of the Assyrian Church of the East (the so-called Nestorians), the stela reported the missionary successes of this church in Tang China. The text on the stele is mainly in Chinese, but in addition, the names of the Nestorian bishop, priests and monks are also written in Syriac .

In Chinese tradition, the upper part of the stele is crowned with two intertwining dragons ; but looking closely, you can find a cross there.

It is believed that the stele was buried in the ground with the aim of preserving it during the persecution of Buddhists in 845 ( en ), which also affected Christians.

Discovery

The stele was discovered in 1625 (according to other sources, 1623) during construction work. The city leadership paid due attention to the ancient monument, placing it on a stone turtle near a Buddhist temple. Jesuit missionaries working in China soon became aware of her, and in 1625 (or soon after) one of them, the Portuguese Alvara Semeda , personally visited her. The discovery of the stele proved to be a great success for the Jesuits, since since the time of Matteo Ricci they have unsuccessfully tried to find any traces of the presence of Christianity in China. Now, they were able to both mention the stela in their missionary activities in China as evidence of the antiquity of the Christian religion in this country, and use it in Europe as one of the proofs of the significance of their activities.

As early as 1628, a French translation of the text of the stele (based on the Latin translation made by the French Jesuit Nicolas Trigot) was published in France; Portuguese, Italian, and Latin versions soon appeared. An important milestone in the history of European sinology was the publication of materials on the stele by the German Jesuit Athanasius Kircher in the China Illustrata encyclopedic volume published in Rome in 1667. Materials on the stele, which occupied a key place in this book, included the original Chinese hieroglyphic and Syriac text; phonetic transcription of modern ( guanhua ) reading of the text, using the Latin transcription of guanhua with diacritics for tones, developed by Italian Jesuits Lazzaro Cattaneo and Matteo Ricci ; Latin translation and comments. The work was done by the envoys of Emperor Yunli who visited Rome in the 1650s: the Polish Jesuit Michal Boim and the baptized Chinese Andrei Zheng, as well as another Chinese who visited Rome, of which we are only known for his Christian name (Matvey). ^{[1] [2]}

Over the next two and a half centuries, the stele became the subject of considerable debate in European and American literature. As a rule, the Jesuit opponents accused them of falsifying the stela in the interests of the Jesuits in China. But studies of serious sinologists in the late XIX and early XX centuries. (both the Jesuit Henri Havret and the secular scientist Paul Pellio ) confirmed the authenticity of the stele. ^[one]

XX century

From the end of the 19th century, voices began to be heard in the European press, suggesting that the stele be taken from China to Europe.

In 1907, the Xi'an authorities learned about the activities of the Danish adventurer Fritz Holm , who arrived in Xi'an, who apparently tried to take possession of the stele, with the aim of taking it to Europe or America and selling it to one of the local museums there. To prevent this action, the stele, together with its turtle, was moved to Xi'an " Forest of steles ." ^[3] Subsequently, a copy of the stele and turtles were installed at the Xi'an Daqin Pagoda . ^[four]

Having lost the chance to take possession of the stele, Fritz Holm hired the masons who made a copy of it, and with the help of the Russian consul, who represented Denmark in China at that time, took her to New York and tried to sell it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art . Although the museum’s management did not want to purchase a stela-copy, it was exhibited there for about 10 years, until one of the wealthy New Yorkers acquired it and sent it to Rome as a gift to the pope.

Another copy of the stele is in Japan.

“Verily, He who is pure and peaceful, who is beginningless and the origin of all origin, incomprehensible and invisible, always exists mysteriously, to the last limit, who contains the hidden axis of the universe, created and gave the development of every thing; giving mysteriously being to the whole multitude of sages, being the first worthy of honor, is not He our God (Alaha), the Trinity single, a mysterious creature, the unborn and true Lord?

Dividing the shape of the cross, defining them, the four cardinal points, he set in motion the original ether and produced a double principle ("yin and yang"). Darkness and void were changed: heaven and earth appeared. The sun and moon began to rotate: days and nights appeared. Thinking and completing every thing, He formed and composed the first man, giving him integrity and harmony and granting him dominion over innumerable creations. The nature of man was originally pure, humble, and unbearable; his spirit was free from lust and lust. But Satan cleverly reshaped the hopes of supreme happiness and the hopes of a state of justice and brought in a darkness similar to his own darkness of a state of sin. Then, three hundred and sixty-five forms of errors followed, hastily and stubbornly committing their work, twisting the strings of their false systems out of envy to conclude the innocent. (...)

However, the second Person of the Trinity, the Messiah (Mishikha), the shining Lord of the universe, hiding his true greatness, appeared on earth as a person. Angels announced the good news: the Virgin gave birth to a saint. A sparkling star heralded a blessed event: Persia, having seen this brilliance, came to pay tribute. Fulfilling the ancient Law, written by twenty-four sages, He taught how to rule kingdoms and families, following his great plan. Having established a new, inexpressible religion, of the Holy Spirit, another Person of the Trinity, He gave man the ability to act with true faith. Having established the rule of eight precepts, He redeemed the world from sensuality, restoring purity to it. Widely opening the gates of the three virtues, He introduced life and exterminated death. By the rising radiant sun He illuminated the abode of darkness; so all the cunning of the demon was destroyed. Managing the vessel of mercy, He brought his redeemed into the abode of light; so the souls of the dead were brought to salvation.

Having thus performed the work of the Almighty, He turned to the land of purity in full day. He left twenty-seven books of his Scripture; great means of transfiguration were spread and the sealed door of blissful life opened. He established the baptism of water and the Spirit, freeing from vain pomp and purifying until the return of perfect whiteness. (His servants) bear the cross as a seal, which extends His influence to all four directions of the world and unites everything without discrimination. Hitting a tree, they proclaim joyful words of love and mercy.

They turn to the East during ceremonies, they flow in the ways of life and glory. (...) They have no slaves, men or women, but they all hold on, noble and simple, with equal reverence. They do not collect treasures and wealth, but give an example of poverty and selflessness. Their purity of heart is achieved by solitude and reflection, their asceticism is strengthened by silence and vigil. They gather seven times a day for praise and praise and offer their prayers for the living and the departed.

Every seven days they have a bloodless sacrifice. They cleanse their hearts, regaining purity. This clean and unchanging Path is mysterious and beyond definition, but its virtues shine so brilliantly in practice that we cannot but call it a radiant religion. ” ^[5]

• Aloben

• Keevak, Michael (2008), The Story of a Stele: China's Nestorian Monument and Its Reception in the West, 1625-1916 , ISBN 9622098959 , < https://books.google.com/books?id=SCsCcij1S4AC >  
• Kircher, Athansius (1667), China monumentis: qua sacris quà profanis, ... (Monuments of China: both sacred and worldly ...) , Vienna, p. 7-28 , < https://books.google.com/books?id=-VKNZ4SAXqYC >  
• Henri Havret , Le stèle chrétienne de Si-ngan-fou , Parts 1-3 (1895, 1897, 1902). The full text of all parts is on archive.org .
• Carus, Paul; Wylie, Alexander & Holm, Frits (1909), The Nestorian Monument: An Ancient Record of Christianity in China, with Special Reference to the expedition of Frits V. Holm ... , The Open court publishing company , < https: // archive .org / details / nestorianmonume00holmgoog >  
• Holm, Frits (2001), My Nestorian Adventure in China: A Popular Account of the Holm-Nestorian Expedition to Sian-Fu and Its Results , Volume 6 of Georgias reprint series, Gorgias Press LLC, ISBN 0971309760 , < https: // books .google.co.uk / books? id = 7gjWGWRyWQYC > . Retrieved October 2, 2017.   Archived November 10, 2012 on the Wayback Machine . Originally published by: Hutchinson & Co, London, 1924.

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